Incommunicado detention and judicial harassment of Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a jointprogramme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) andthe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information andrequests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Egypt.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about theincommunicado detention and judicial harassment of Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah,civil and political rights activist, blogger and member of the “No to MilitaryTrials for Civilians” movement. This movement was set up in 2011 and denouncedhuman rights abuses committed in particular by security forces and the armyduring the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) after thefall of former President Mubarak.

According to the information received, on March 23, 2014, the 16thcircuit of South Cairo Criminal Court will hear the case against Mr. AbdelFatah and 24 other individuals including Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman[1]for charges of “blocking roads”, “assembling illegally”, “protesting without apermit”, “acquiring weapons during a protest”, and “attacking and injuring apublic servant” and “stealing his personal wireless device”, in relation to acase connected to a dispersed Shura Council protest of November 26, 2013 (Seebackground information). They face up to five years in prison.

According to the information received, the prison authorities moved Mr.Alaa Abdel Fatah from his cell to an unknown location. The authorities havefailed to explain the rationale of this unusual measure and have failed sincethen to account for his whereabouts. As a consequence, since March 19, 2014,Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah's family and lawyer have been denied access to him inprison.

The Observatory is deeply concerned by the incommunicado detention ofMr. Alaa Abdel Fatah and fears for his physical and psychological integrity.The Observatory requests the authorities to inform Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah'sfamily and lawyer about his whereabouts and to guarantee Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah'saccess to his family and lawyer.

Furthermore, the Observatory denounces the arbitrary detention andjudicial harassment of Messrs. Alaa Abdel Fatah and Ahmed Abdel Rahman, as theyseem to only aim at sanctioning their human rights activities and call fortheir immediate and unconditional release.

Background information:

On November 26, 2013 at least nine members of the “No to Military Trialsfor Civilians” group, including Ms. MonaSeif, co-founder of the “No to Military Trials for Civilians” movement,nine journalists and seven lawyers were arrested by police forces in Cairo, asthey were demonstrating near Tahrir Square. In an effort to pressure themembers of the Constitutional Committee to vote against Article 198, the “No toMilitary Trials for Civilians” group had called for protests to be held onNovember 26, ahead of the vote, in front of the Shura Council (where thecommittee holds its meetings). Tens of protesters joined the call at 4pm onKasr Al Aini street, however thirty minutes later, security forces issued awarning to the protesters to immediately end their protest, which reportedly remainedpeaceful. The protesters refused to leave and security forces opened watercanons against them. Security forces and policemen in plain clothsimultaneously arrested protesters and journalists.

On November 28, 2013, security operatives raided Mr. Abdel Fatah'sresidence. Although they produced no search warrant, they searched the premisesand carted away computers and telephones. When challenged for not beingauthorised to conduct a search, they beat Mr. Abdel Fatah and his wife up whiletheir two year-old son slept in the next room.

Egyptian authorities issued a warrant for Mr. Abdel Fatah's arrest afterthey accused him of incitement and involvement in the calls for protests by the“No to Military Trials for Civilians” movement, which was protesting Article198 of the draft constitution that allows for civilian trials before militarycourts. Mr. Abdel Fatah was then placed under pre-trial detention.

OnDecember 9, 2013, Mr. Abdel Fatah and 24 other individuals were referred to theCairo Criminal Court with charges of “blocking roads”, “assembling illegally”,“protesting without a permit”, “acquiring weapons during a protest”, and“attacking and injuring a public servant” and “stealing his personal wirelessdevice”. 23 were released on bail on December 4, 2013. Mr. Abdel Fatah and Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman arrested in thevicinity of the demonstration were detained in Tora Prison. The court did notset a trial date until mid-March 2014.

On January 5, 2014, North Giza Criminal Court sentenced Mr. Alaa AbdelFatah, Ms. Mona Seif and Mr. Ahmed Abdallah, member of the 6 April Youth Movement andco-founder of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, a group whichdocuments and denounces human rights violations to a suspended sentenceof one year in prison on charges of “arson”, “theft”, “damage to property”,“violence” and “danger to public safety”. The charges were based on allegationsthat Mr. Fatah, Ms. Seif and Mr.Abdallah participated in theattack on the campaign headquarters of former presidential candidate, Mr. AhmedShafiq, on May 28, 2012. The jail term was suspended for three years andtherefore should any of the defendants be found guilty of additional chargeswithin this time, this one-year term would be added onto any subsequent sentences.The three human rights defenders filed an appeal against their sentence.

The conviction was based solely on the evidence of so-calledeyewitnesses who were either agents of the government or persons with criminalrecords or with criminal investigations pending against them. Furthermore, onlyone of the said eyewitnesses was available for cross-examination and hetestified that he did not see Mr. Fatah in possession of any weapons orcommitting violence. He also admitted that he could not recognise the otherdefendants.

Actions requested:

Pleasewrite to the authorities of Egypt asking them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrityof Mr. Abdel Fatah, Mr. Ahmed AbdelRahman, Ms. Mona Seif and Mr. Ahmed Abdallah and all human rightsdefenders in Egypt;

ii. Release Mr. Abdel Fatah and Mr. AhmedAbdel Rahman immediately and unconditionally, aswell as all human rights defenders currently in detention, since their detentionis arbitrary as it seems to only aim at curtailing their human rightsactivities;

iii. Order an immediate, thorough, transparent investigation into theabove-mentioned allegations of ill-treatments against Mr. Abdel Fatah and his wife in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before an independenttribunal, and apply them the sanctions provided by the law;

iv. Put an end to all actsof harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Abdel Fatah, Mr.Ahmed Abdel Rahman, Ms. Mona Seif and Mr. Ahmed Abdallah and all human rightsdefenders in Egypt;

v. Comply with all the provisionsof the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particularwith:

- its Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right,individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for theprotection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at thenational and international levels”;

- its Article 5 (a): “For the purpose of promoting and protectinghuman rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually andin association with others, at the national and international levels (a) Tomeet or assemble peacefully”;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms in accordance with international human rights standards andinternational instruments ratified by Egypt.

Addresses

· President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. Adly Mansour, AbedinePalace, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 23901998

· Prime Minister Mr. Hazem El Biblawi, Magles El Shaab Street, Kasr ElAini Street, Cairo, Egypt. Fax: + 202 2735 6449 /27958016. Email: primemin@idsc.gov.eg

· Minister of the Interior, General Mohamed Ibrahim, Ministry of theInterior, El-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: moi1@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2579 2031 / 27945529

· Minister of Justice, Mr. Adel Abdel Hamid, Ministry of Justice, MaglesEl Saeb Street, Wezaret Al Adl, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2795 8103

· Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Hisham Barakat Dar al-Qadha al-Ali, RamsesStreet, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 2577 4716

· National Council For Human Rights, Fax: + 202 25747497 / 25747670

· H.E.Ms. Wafaa Bassim, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, 49 avenueBlanc, 1202 Genève, Switzerland, Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15

· Embassy of Egypt in Brussels, 19 avenue de l’Uruguay, 1000 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, March21, 2014

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

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to theprotection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support intheir time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 2518 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 4939 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman is a passer by who was arrested by the policeafter he intervened to protect female protesters. Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman isalso detained in Tora prison.