Egypt
19.02.03
Urgent Interventions
Egypt: arbitrary detention and unfair trial of eight men in the so-called El Qora’anyeen case
Case EGY 190203
Arbitrary detention / Unfair trial / Disproportionate prison sentences
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary detention and subsequent unfair trial of eight men in the so-called “El Qora’anyeen” case in Cairo, Egypt.
According to the information received, Amin Yousef Ali Hassaan, Ali Mandouh El Sesi, Zakareya Amin Ahmed Ali, Mohsen Yousef Ali Hassan, Seam Ali Mandouh Abd El Mawla El Sesi, Ashraf Mahmoud Hanafi El Sesi, Gad Ahmed Gad El Rab Abd El Rahman, and Amal Mahmoud El Sayed Ahmed were all arrested in September of 2001 for allegedly exploiting religion for extremist ideas, inciting riots and contempt for religion. They were tried by the Summary State Security Court (Emergency Court), which is supervised by President Hosni Mubarak. It is reported that two of the defendants - Amin Yousef Ali Hassaan, Ali Mandouh El Sesi - were sentenced on March 5th, 2002 to three years in prison with hard labour. The other six defendants were reportedly sentenced to a one year suspended sentence at this time.
According to the information received, President Hosni Mubarak ratified the two three-year sentences, but ordered the retrial of the other six defendants. The six other defendants, including Zakareya Amin Ahmed Ali, Mohsen Yousef Ali Hassan, Seam Ali Mandouh Abd El Mawla El Sesi, Ashraf Mahmoud Hanafi El Sesi, Gad Ahmed Gad El Rab Abd El Rahman, and Amal Mahmoud El Sayed Ahmed were all reportedly retried in early February, 2003, and given a new sentence of six months imprisonment. These sentences were reportedly validated under Article 89 of the Penal Code, which allows for prison sentences between six months to five years for anyone who is charged with exploiting religion and disseminating extremist thoughts in order to incite riots, or with threatening to disrupt the national unity or social peace.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT is gravely concerned by the arrest and subsequent trial in the Summary State Security Court of the aforementioned persons. OMCT believes that these sentences result from an unfair trial, as trying civilian defendants before state security courts (as permitted by Military Order No 1 of 1981) removes the right to appeal and provides the Egyptian President with increased powers of interference, including the power to ratify the sentences or call for a retrial, as was the case of the aforementioned six men, in violation of the internationally accepted standards concerning fair trials. Defendants are reportedly tried under ambiguous provisions with potentially wide-ranging penalties. Indeed, the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court has warned against the dangers of vaguely drafted criminal penalties and the need for such provisions to be specific in order to avoid the risk of wide interpretation. OMCT calls upon the authorities to bring about the immediate cessation of the emergency law and the abolition of ambiguous and broad criminal provisions, which violate the freedoms guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution and international human rights laws and standards. Furthermore, OMCT calls on the authorities to ensure that the Emergency Law is not extended for a further three years when it expires in May 2003.
Further information
Concerning the Emergency Law, it is worth noting that EOHR has launched a campaign aimed at ending the enforcement of the Emergency Law in Egypt. Under the Emergency Law No 162 of 1958 (‘the Emergency Law’), the executive authority has wide powers to suspend many civil and political freedoms and rights granted by the Constitution and legislative safeguards in the Criminal Procedures Code. The Emergency Law is due to expire in May 2003. At that time, a state of emergency will have been in force in Egypt for 22 consecutive years. It is predicted that the emergency status could be extended for another three-year period.
The Emergency Law has been used to restrict various freedoms such as the freedom of assembly, movement, residence and opinion over the last two decades. Moreover, wide powers of arrest, detention, and search and seizure have resulted in widespread violations of civil and political rights. Power has also been given to the military ruler to issue decrees that have the force of law, thus avoiding parliamentary supervision. Such decrees have been used against human rights defenders (for example, Military Order No.4 of 1992).
According to our sources, the most dangerous consequence of the Emergency Law is its usurpation of the role of the Egyptian judicial system. Parallel exceptional courts have been created to hear criminal cases concerning threats to State security and alleged violations of military decrees. Certain civil and political trial protections do not apply in exceptional jurisdictions. Additionally, there can be no appeal for verdicts handed down by such courts. However, the President has wide powers with respect to ratification of verdicts and is even capable of ordering a retrial.
The continuous enforcement of Emergency Law is no longer justifiable in Egypt. The political or religious violence which was the pretext of the extension of the state of emergency during the 1980s and 1990s reportedly no longer exists.
Action Requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt asking them to:
i. immediately end the use of emergency law and ensure that it is not extended when it expires in May 2003;
ii. call for the immediate release of the defendants in the “El Qora’anyeen” case 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. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights laws and standards.
Addresses
· H.E. President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: 202 390 199 98, Email: Webmaster@presidency.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
· Her Excellency Mrs Naéla Gabr, Ambassador of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 49, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, fax: + 41 22 738 44 15, e-mail: mission.Egypt@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.
Geneva, February 19th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary detention / Unfair trial / Disproportionate prison sentences
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Egypt.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary detention and subsequent unfair trial of eight men in the so-called “El Qora’anyeen” case in Cairo, Egypt.
According to the information received, Amin Yousef Ali Hassaan, Ali Mandouh El Sesi, Zakareya Amin Ahmed Ali, Mohsen Yousef Ali Hassan, Seam Ali Mandouh Abd El Mawla El Sesi, Ashraf Mahmoud Hanafi El Sesi, Gad Ahmed Gad El Rab Abd El Rahman, and Amal Mahmoud El Sayed Ahmed were all arrested in September of 2001 for allegedly exploiting religion for extremist ideas, inciting riots and contempt for religion. They were tried by the Summary State Security Court (Emergency Court), which is supervised by President Hosni Mubarak. It is reported that two of the defendants - Amin Yousef Ali Hassaan, Ali Mandouh El Sesi - were sentenced on March 5th, 2002 to three years in prison with hard labour. The other six defendants were reportedly sentenced to a one year suspended sentence at this time.
According to the information received, President Hosni Mubarak ratified the two three-year sentences, but ordered the retrial of the other six defendants. The six other defendants, including Zakareya Amin Ahmed Ali, Mohsen Yousef Ali Hassan, Seam Ali Mandouh Abd El Mawla El Sesi, Ashraf Mahmoud Hanafi El Sesi, Gad Ahmed Gad El Rab Abd El Rahman, and Amal Mahmoud El Sayed Ahmed were all reportedly retried in early February, 2003, and given a new sentence of six months imprisonment. These sentences were reportedly validated under Article 89 of the Penal Code, which allows for prison sentences between six months to five years for anyone who is charged with exploiting religion and disseminating extremist thoughts in order to incite riots, or with threatening to disrupt the national unity or social peace.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT is gravely concerned by the arrest and subsequent trial in the Summary State Security Court of the aforementioned persons. OMCT believes that these sentences result from an unfair trial, as trying civilian defendants before state security courts (as permitted by Military Order No 1 of 1981) removes the right to appeal and provides the Egyptian President with increased powers of interference, including the power to ratify the sentences or call for a retrial, as was the case of the aforementioned six men, in violation of the internationally accepted standards concerning fair trials. Defendants are reportedly tried under ambiguous provisions with potentially wide-ranging penalties. Indeed, the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court has warned against the dangers of vaguely drafted criminal penalties and the need for such provisions to be specific in order to avoid the risk of wide interpretation. OMCT calls upon the authorities to bring about the immediate cessation of the emergency law and the abolition of ambiguous and broad criminal provisions, which violate the freedoms guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution and international human rights laws and standards. Furthermore, OMCT calls on the authorities to ensure that the Emergency Law is not extended for a further three years when it expires in May 2003.
Further information
Concerning the Emergency Law, it is worth noting that EOHR has launched a campaign aimed at ending the enforcement of the Emergency Law in Egypt. Under the Emergency Law No 162 of 1958 (‘the Emergency Law’), the executive authority has wide powers to suspend many civil and political freedoms and rights granted by the Constitution and legislative safeguards in the Criminal Procedures Code. The Emergency Law is due to expire in May 2003. At that time, a state of emergency will have been in force in Egypt for 22 consecutive years. It is predicted that the emergency status could be extended for another three-year period.
The Emergency Law has been used to restrict various freedoms such as the freedom of assembly, movement, residence and opinion over the last two decades. Moreover, wide powers of arrest, detention, and search and seizure have resulted in widespread violations of civil and political rights. Power has also been given to the military ruler to issue decrees that have the force of law, thus avoiding parliamentary supervision. Such decrees have been used against human rights defenders (for example, Military Order No.4 of 1992).
According to our sources, the most dangerous consequence of the Emergency Law is its usurpation of the role of the Egyptian judicial system. Parallel exceptional courts have been created to hear criminal cases concerning threats to State security and alleged violations of military decrees. Certain civil and political trial protections do not apply in exceptional jurisdictions. Additionally, there can be no appeal for verdicts handed down by such courts. However, the President has wide powers with respect to ratification of verdicts and is even capable of ordering a retrial.
The continuous enforcement of Emergency Law is no longer justifiable in Egypt. The political or religious violence which was the pretext of the extension of the state of emergency during the 1980s and 1990s reportedly no longer exists.
Action Requested
Please write to the authorities in Egypt asking them to:
i. immediately end the use of emergency law and ensure that it is not extended when it expires in May 2003;
ii. call for the immediate release of the defendants in the “El Qora’anyeen” case 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. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights laws and standards.
Addresses
· H.E. President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: 202 390 199 98, Email: Webmaster@presidency.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
· Her Excellency Mrs Naéla Gabr, Ambassador of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 49, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, fax: + 41 22 738 44 15, e-mail: mission.Egypt@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Egypt in your respective country.
Geneva, February 19th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.