Ongoing judicial harassment of 32 Nubian human rights defenders

EGY 005 / 1117 / OBS 114.4

Judicial harassment /

Restrictions to freedom of assembly

Egypt
March 16, 2018

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDHand the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new informationand requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Egypt.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the ongoingjudicial harassment of 32 Nubian human rights defenders actively involved inthe defence of minority and Nubian rights in the Aswan governorate, includingMessrs. Mohamed Azmy, lawyer andPresident of the General Nubian Union[1], Maysara Abdoun, TrainingCoordinator at Border Center for Support & Consulting (BSC)[2], and Ms. Seham Osman[3].

According to the information, on March 13, 2018, a judge in the AswanMisdemeanour State Security Emergency Court recused himself from presiding thetrial of Messrs. Mohamed Azmy and Maysara Abdoun, Ms. Seham Osman as well as 29other Nubian rights activists, allegedly over issues of impartiality althoughno further information was available as of publication of this urgent appeal. Adifferent court circuit for the trial as well as a date for the next hearingare yet to be determined.

The 32 Nubian activists have appeared before the State SecurityEmergency Court under charges of “participating in an unauthorised protest”,“inciting protests” and “disrupting public order” on the basis of the Protest LawNo. 107 of 2013. If convicted under these charges, they could face up to fiveyears in prison and fines of 100,000 EGP (approx. 4,734 EUR).

A Cabinet decree issued under the state of emergency allows civiliansexercising their constitutional right to peaceful assembly and freedom ofexpression to be tried by State Security courts. The verdicts of these courtsare implemented immediately upon signature by the President of the Republic andcannot be appealed.

Messrs. Mohamed Azmy, Maysara Abdoun, Ms. SehamOsman and the 29 other Nubian rights activists werearrested and detained throughout September and November 2017, during peacefuldemonstrations demanding the rights of the Nubian minority in Egypt to beupheld as well as solidarity demonstrations following the death while incustody of Mr. Gamal Sorour,French-Egyptian resident and prominent Nubian human rights defender (seebackground information).

The Observatory expresses its concerns over the reprisals against rightsactivists defending the constitutional Nubian right of return[4], as well as over the fact that the exercise of theirright to peaceful protest is being prosecuted by a State Security EmergencyCourt with no possibility to appeal.

The Observatory calls upon the Egyptian authorities to put an end to thejudicial harassment of Messrs. Mohamed Azmy, Maysara Abdoun, Ms. Seham Osman and the above-mentioned 29 otherNubian rights defenders.

The Observatory urges the Egyptian authorities to ensure the physicaland psychological integrity of all 32 Nubian rights defenders and to ensurethat, until charges are dropped, all the judicial proceedings are carried outin full compliance with their right to a fair trial and due process as well aswithout undue delays, as protected under international law.

Background information:

Originally spread over Southern Egypt and Northern Sudan, the Nubianpeople were subjected to forced displacement from their ancestral land as aresult of various government-led projects such as the construction of the AswanHigh Dam in the 1960s.

Article 236 of the 2014 Egyptian Constitution provides for the Nubianright of return by stating that “the State works on developing and implementingprojects to bring back the residents of Nubia to their original areas anddevelop them within 10 years in the manner organised by law”. Since then,Nubian people have been demanding for their constitutional right of return tobe upheld.

However, in October 2015, President el-Sisi announced a massive landreclamation project, including Nubian ancestral land[5].Later in October 2016, the Egyptian government put plots of Nubian land up forsale to Egyptian and foreign investors, as well as farmers.

In response, Nubian rights activists organized a series of peacefulactivities to protest the move by the Egyptian government and to demand theirright of return to be upheld, including a caravan driving towards theirancestral land in November 2016.

In early 2017, Egyptian intelligence in Aswan called in members of theGeneral Nubian Union threatening them with closure and asset freeze if Mr.Mohamed Azmy was to remain President.

On September 3, 2017, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, Nubian rightsdefenders held a peaceful demonstration, demanding the return of Nubians totheir ancestral lands. On that same day, Messrs. Gamal Sorour, Mohamed Azmy,Maysara Abdoun together with 22 Nubian activists were assaulted by securityforces, arrested and taken into custody to Shallal Central Security forcescamp. They were reportedly being held in one cell with several sleeping on thefloor.

Mr. Gamal Sorour, who suffered from diabetes, was not given properaccess to medical care during his detention. As a result, on November 5, 2017,he entered in a diabetic coma and died while in custody. Reportedly, the prisonauthorities did not give him access to his medication for five days prior tohis death, allegedly because they could not understand the label on themedication, which was written in French. In addition, prison authoritiesallegedly did not immediately transfer Mr. Gamal Sorour to the hospital when hefell into a coma.

Subsequently, other Nubian rights activists were arrested duringpeaceful solidarity protests carried out in October and November[6],and eight of them were added to the case.

On November 13, 2017, Messrs. Mohamed Azmy, Maysara Abdoun Ms. Seham Osman and the other 29 Nubian humanrights activists were referred to a Misdemeanour State Security Emergency Courtunder charges of “participating in an unauthorised protest” and “repeating chantsagainst the state for the purpose of harming public interest” [7].

On November 15, 2017, the Aswan Misdemeanour State Security EmergencyCourt ordered the release of Messrs. Mohamed Azmy, Maysara Abdoun, Ms. Seham Osman and 29 other Nubian rights activists,pending trial. The Court adjourned the trial to December 12, 2017.

On December 26, 2017, an appeal procedure to have their case triedbefore a regular procedural Court was rejected.

On January 30, 2018, all 32 Nubian rights activists appeared before theAswan Misdemeanour State Security Emergency Court, who adjourned the trial toFebruary 27, 2018.

On February 27, 2018, the Aswan Misdemeanour State Security EmergencyCourt postponed the verdict hearing to March 13, 2018.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Egypt asking them to:

i. Guaranteein all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs.Mohamed Azmy, Maysara Abdoun, Ms. Seham Osman, the above-mentioned 29 other Nubian rights activists andall human rights defenders in Egypt;

ii. Order animmediate, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into Mr. GamalSorour’s death in custody, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, andsanction them as provided by the law;

iii. Put an end to all actsof harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs. Mohamed Azmy, Maysara Abdoun, Ms. Seham Osman, the above-mentioned 29 other Nubian rights activists as well as against all human rights defenders in Egypt,and ensure that they are able to carry out their activities withouthindrance;

iv. In themeantime, guarantee the right to a fair trial and due process of all 32 Nubianrights activists;

v. Conformwith the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted bythe General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especiallyArticles 1, 6(c) and 12.2; and

vi. Moregenerally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of HumanRights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified byEgypt.

Addresses:

· Presidentof the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Fax: +202 2391 1441. Email:p.spokesman@op.gov.eg,Twitter: @AlsisiOfficial

· PrimeMinister, Mr. Sherif Ismail. Fax: + 202 2735 6449 / 27958016.

· Minister ofthe Interior, Mr. Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar, Fax: +202 2579 2031 / 2794 5529

· Minister ofJustice, Mohamed Hossam Abdel-Rahim, Fax: +202 2795 8103 


· Minister ofSocial Solidarity, Ghada Waly, Fax: +202 3337 5390

· PublicProsecutor, Counsellor Nabeel Sadek, Fax: +202 2577 4716

· Mr. MohamedFayeq, President of the National Council For Human Rights, Fax: + 202 25747497/ 25747670. Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg

· H.E. Mr.Amr Ramadan, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations inGeneva, Switzerland, Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15

· Embassy ofEgypt in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 675.58.88; Email: embassy.egypt@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Egypt inyour respective country.

***

Paris-Geneva, March 16, 2018

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of thisappeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (theObservatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation AgainstTorture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent orremedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCTare both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanismimplemented by international civil society.

Tocontact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Teland fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22809 49 29

[1] The General Nubian Union based in Aswan is a recently founded movementthat actively promotes the Nubian community’s right to return to theirancestral land.

[2] BSC is an organisation led by a group of youth with experiencein community development and human rights.

[3] The29 other Nubian rights defenders being tried are: Mohammad Osman, Wafaa Ali,Hamdy Ali, Moneer Basheer, MohammadFadl, Tamer Taha, Safwat Ahmad, Hamdy Abdelhafez, WaleedNasser, Zakareya Ahmad, Tariq Khaleel, Abdelqader Mohammad, BakryKarar, Yehya Suleiman, Magdy Mohammad, Ahmad Abdelmalik, HamzaHammoud, Hisham Taha, Saleh Ahmad, Mohsin Mohammad, AmmarAbdennaeem, Mohammad Hussein, Mostafa Taha, Fahd Sayyed, KhaleefaKhaleefa, Yasser Mohammad, Magdy Ibrahim, Ezzeddeen Ali, and FawzyGaber.

[4] Article 236 of the 2014 EgyptianConstitution.

[5] The desert reclamationaimed at expanding Egypt’s farmland by 20 percent.

[6] In particular, on November 5, 2017, following Mr. Gamal Sorour’s deathin detention, solidarity demonstrations were held in Aswan.

[7] See Articles 7, 8, 19, 21 and 22 ofthe 2013 Protest Law and Article 103 of the Penal Code.