Joint Statement: El Nadim Center must not be silenced

As increasing numbers of cases of torture,deaths in detention and forced disappearances are being reported in Egypt, somegaining international media attention, the Egyptian authorities have takenmeasures to shut down the renowned El Nadim Center for Rehabilitation ofVictims of Violence and Torture, a key source of informationon the issues of torture, deaths in detention and impunity for these crimes inEgypt. This move clearly represents anotherstep in the ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders in Egypt.

On 17 February 2016, a policedelegation sent by local authorities entered the center’s premises in centralCairo and presented an order of administrative closure “for breaching licenseconditions,” referring to Law 453/1954 on the registration of businesses andshops, but based on a decision from the Health Ministry. No explanation wasprovided as to the grounds of this decision. The lawyer representing El Nadim Center convinced theauthorities to postpone the execution of the closure order until 22 February.

On 21 February, several membersof El Nadim visited the Ministry of Health to inquire about these allegedbreaches. They were told that the closure order was final and that the decisionwas based on the fact that El Nadim conducted activities beyond their mandate,such as the publication of torture reports. El Nadim’s request for a postponementof the closure until their medical activities could be disengaged from theirhuman rights advocacy work was denied. Meanwhile, El Nadim filed an urgentmotion to the Administrative Court to suspend the implementation of the closureorder.

The undersigned organisationsbelieve that these developments confirm that the center is being targeted forits human rights activities. The main aim of the closure order is clearly to suppress a keysource of information on the issues of torture, deaths in detention andimpunity for such crimes in Egypt.

Since its establishment in 1993,El Nadim Center has been committed to combating violence, torture and injusticeby providing psychological support and therapy to victims of torture andviolence against women, and calls for the provision of medical care to personsin detention. El Nadim Center enjoys a well-deserved reputation of expertise inthis field as the leading organisation providing care and support to torturevictims in Egypt, as well as for its documentation work. Indeed, it is the onlyorganisation that systematically compiles total figures of cases of torture,denial of medical care and deaths in detention, among other human rightsviolations.

Inthe past months, dozens of prominent human rights defenders have been harassed,arrested, investigated or detained, in a clear attempt to terrorize and silenceEgypt's vibrant civil society. The ongoing harassment against Egyptian civil society is hindering anygenuine process of democratisation, in which civil society organisations playan indispensable role. This closure order appears to beanother attack on freedom ofassociation, as underlined by Kamal Abbas, member of the quasi-governmentalNational Council for Human Rights, on 18 February.[1]

The closure of ElNadim Center would constitute an unprecedented violation of the right tofreedoms of association and of expression, as well as a dramatic threat tocivil liberties, with thousands of political prisoners behind bars, allvirtually threatened with systematised acts of torture. El Nadim Center mustnot be silenced.

We call uponthe Egyptian authorities to:

· Immediately andunconditionally withdraw the order of administrative closure issued against ElNadim Center, as it clearly only aims at sanctioning its legitimate humanrights work;

· Immediatelyand unconditionally put an end to harassment of Egyptian human rights defendersand civil society organisations, including at the judicial level;

· Repeal allnational legislation that hinders freedoms of association, assembly andexpression, in order to bring it in line with Egypt’s Constitution, and withthe international and regional instruments it has ratified.

Signatory organisations:

Arci

EuroMedRights

Front LineDefenders

InternationalFederation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of the Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders

Reprieve

WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of the Observatory forthe Protection of Human Rights Defenders

[1] His interview with Al Bedaya is publishedhere http://albedaiah.com/news/2016/02/18/107291