Egypt
21.05.02
Urgent Interventions
Egypt: arbitrary arrests and detention of nine activists from the Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada
Case EGY 210502
Arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention / Torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrests and detention of nine activists from the Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada, in Egypt.
According to the information received, nine activists were arrested after they announced that they were organising a peaceful demonstration on the anniversary of the Palestinian massacres in 1984, to protest against alleged massacres committed by Israeli troops in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
According to the report, on May 5th, 2002, Manal Khaled, an editor for an Egyptian TV station, and Sameh Kamal, a computer engineer, were arrested at El Tahrir Square by several plainclothes policemen. They were taken to Kasr El Neil Police Station and presented to the State Security Prosecution, where they were charged with holding documentation and publications - reportedly a newsletter and other documents of the Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada - that allegedly disrupt public security. No further information has been provided concerning the whereabouts of these two activists.
According to the information received, on May 14th, 2002, members of the Alexandria State Security Investigation arrested Eng. Ali Abd El Fatah, the secretary General of the Popular Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada; 45-year old Gamal Mady, 30-year old Ahmed Abd El Hafez and 28-year old Khaled Souleman (all three owners of a publishing house); and 30-year old Ahmed Ali and 28-year old Ashraf Ali (both owners of a printing house), from their respective homes. The aforementioned persons were reportedly beaten and insulted during their respective arrests. They were then brought before Cairo State Security Investigation (report no. 517 of 2002 – Supreme State Security), and were charged with publishing propaganda to disrupt public security.
According to the report, on May 13th, 2002, an anti-drugs force from the Directorate of Cairo Security arrested Dr. Gamal Abd El Fatah Abd El Dayeim, another activist from the Popular Committee of solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada, from his pharmacy, called “Misr pharmacy,” on El Horeyia Street, in Hadayiek, El Maadi. He was reportedly assaulted, beaten and insulted by the members of the security forces, with one of the pharmacy’s doors having been broken during these events. He was then taken to the Security Directorate and brought before El Basateen Prosecution (Case no. 7341 of 2001- El Basateen Administrative). He was reportedly charged with selling expired medicines and with announcing false news, propaganda and publications that disrupt public security. It is thought that the charge of selling expired medicine was used as a pretext to harass him for his political activities. Dr. Gamal Abd El Fatah Abd El Dayeim was released on May 19th, 2002, on bail worth 1000 L.E., following a decree by the South Cairo Public Prosecutor.
While the International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the release of Dr. Gamal Abd El Fatah Abd El Dayeim, it questions the reasons that motivated his arrest and deplores the beatings to which he was subjected during his arrest. OMCT also remains gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Manal Khaled and Sameh Kamal, and also calls for their release, as well as that of Eng. Ali Abd El Fatah, Gamal Mady, Ahmed Abd El Hafez, Khaled Souleman, Ahmed Ali, and Ashraf Ali, who OMCT believes are being detained for purely political reasons. OMCT is also concerned about the Egyptian authorities’ use of arbitrary arrests, detention and beatings as a means of stifling peaceful demonstrations and political opposition in Egypt, in violation of the right to the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:
i. immediately locate the whereabouts of Manal Khaled and Sameh Kamal, and take all necessary measures to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order the immediate release of all the afore-mentioned detainees in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of members of the Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada, and, more generally, all other political activists in Egypt;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· H.E. President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, Email : Webmaster@presidency.gov.eg
· H.E. Faruq Sayf al-Nasr, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Midan Lazoghly, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 795 8103, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg
· H.E. General Habib Ibrahim El Adly, Minister of the Interior, Al – Sheik Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: + 202 579 2031, e-mail: moi@idsc.gov.eg.
Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.
Geneva, May 21st, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention / Torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrests and detention of nine activists from the Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada, in Egypt.
According to the information received, nine activists were arrested after they announced that they were organising a peaceful demonstration on the anniversary of the Palestinian massacres in 1984, to protest against alleged massacres committed by Israeli troops in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
According to the report, on May 5th, 2002, Manal Khaled, an editor for an Egyptian TV station, and Sameh Kamal, a computer engineer, were arrested at El Tahrir Square by several plainclothes policemen. They were taken to Kasr El Neil Police Station and presented to the State Security Prosecution, where they were charged with holding documentation and publications - reportedly a newsletter and other documents of the Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada - that allegedly disrupt public security. No further information has been provided concerning the whereabouts of these two activists.
According to the information received, on May 14th, 2002, members of the Alexandria State Security Investigation arrested Eng. Ali Abd El Fatah, the secretary General of the Popular Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada; 45-year old Gamal Mady, 30-year old Ahmed Abd El Hafez and 28-year old Khaled Souleman (all three owners of a publishing house); and 30-year old Ahmed Ali and 28-year old Ashraf Ali (both owners of a printing house), from their respective homes. The aforementioned persons were reportedly beaten and insulted during their respective arrests. They were then brought before Cairo State Security Investigation (report no. 517 of 2002 – Supreme State Security), and were charged with publishing propaganda to disrupt public security.
According to the report, on May 13th, 2002, an anti-drugs force from the Directorate of Cairo Security arrested Dr. Gamal Abd El Fatah Abd El Dayeim, another activist from the Popular Committee of solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada, from his pharmacy, called “Misr pharmacy,” on El Horeyia Street, in Hadayiek, El Maadi. He was reportedly assaulted, beaten and insulted by the members of the security forces, with one of the pharmacy’s doors having been broken during these events. He was then taken to the Security Directorate and brought before El Basateen Prosecution (Case no. 7341 of 2001- El Basateen Administrative). He was reportedly charged with selling expired medicines and with announcing false news, propaganda and publications that disrupt public security. It is thought that the charge of selling expired medicine was used as a pretext to harass him for his political activities. Dr. Gamal Abd El Fatah Abd El Dayeim was released on May 19th, 2002, on bail worth 1000 L.E., following a decree by the South Cairo Public Prosecutor.
While the International Secretariat of OMCT welcomes the release of Dr. Gamal Abd El Fatah Abd El Dayeim, it questions the reasons that motivated his arrest and deplores the beatings to which he was subjected during his arrest. OMCT also remains gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Manal Khaled and Sameh Kamal, and also calls for their release, as well as that of Eng. Ali Abd El Fatah, Gamal Mady, Ahmed Abd El Hafez, Khaled Souleman, Ahmed Ali, and Ashraf Ali, who OMCT believes are being detained for purely political reasons. OMCT is also concerned about the Egyptian authorities’ use of arbitrary arrests, detention and beatings as a means of stifling peaceful demonstrations and political opposition in Egypt, in violation of the right to the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt urging them to:
i. immediately locate the whereabouts of Manal Khaled and Sameh Kamal, and take all necessary measures to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order the immediate release of all the afore-mentioned detainees in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of members of the Committee of Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada, and, more generally, all other political activists in Egypt;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· H.E. President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, Email : Webmaster@presidency.gov.eg
· H.E. Faruq Sayf al-Nasr, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Midan Lazoghly, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 795 8103, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg
· H.E. General Habib Ibrahim El Adly, Minister of the Interior, Al – Sheik Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: + 202 579 2031, e-mail: moi@idsc.gov.eg.
Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.
Geneva, May 21st, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.