Human rights defenders Yara Sallam and Sanaa Seif are free!
Paris-Geneva, September 24, 2015 –Yesterday Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi issued a presidential pardonin favour of 100 imprisoned youths, including human rights defenders YaraSallam and Sanaa Seif. Both were released from prison on the same day.
Ms.Yara Sallam, transitional Justice Officer at the Egyptian Initiative forPersonal Rights (EIPR), and Ms. Sanaa Seif, a member of the “No toMilitary Trials for Civilians” movement, were among demonstrators arrested inan anti-Protest Law assembly outside Ittihadiya Palace in June 2014. Both hadbeen sentenced in appeal in December 2014 along with 21 other protesters to twoyears of imprisonment and two years of police surveillance.
Theyhad been accused of “breaching the protest law” under the “Anti-Protest Law”,“sabotaging public properties”, “possession of inflammable materials” and“taking part in showing off force with the objective of terrorising thepublic”.
Overthe past years, the Observatory had constantly called for their release throughurgent interventions, communications to relevant inter-governmental bodies, andadvocacy actions.
“The release of Yara and Sanaa is a huge relieffor the whole human rights movement. Nonetheless, their judicial harassment isa reminder of the ongoing repression of human rights defenders in Egypt. The authorities must now amend the 2013 anti-protest lawand make it compliant with the country’s international law obligations”,FIDH President Karim Lahidji said today.
“Whilewelcoming the release of Yara and Sanaa, we deplore that other human rightsdefenders such as Mahienour El-Massry or Alaa Abdel-Fattah remain behind barsfor their legitimate human rights activities. We call for the immediate andunconditional release of all human rights defenders detained throughout thecountry and for an immediate end of the authorities’ crackdown on dissidentvoices”, OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock added.
TheObservatory recalls that the restrictive protest law has been used by theauthorities as a tool to imprison human rights defenders. This controversiallaw bans gatherings of 10 or more people without a permit issued by theauthorities.
The Observatoryfor the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OBS) was created in 1997 by FIDHand the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of thisprogramme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression againsthuman rights defenders.