JOINT STATEMENT CSOs strongly condemn the use of travel bans against human rights defenders in Egypt

JOINT STATEMENT | CSOs stronglycondemn the use of travel bans against human rights defenders in Egypt

09 Nov 2016, Brussels.

The undersigned organisationsstrongly condemn the travel ban against Malek Adly, prominent Egyptian humanrights lawyer and director of the Lawyers Networkof the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR).

On 2 November 2016, after hispassport had already been stamped at the departures of Cairo InternationalAirport, Malek Adly was informed by the Egyptian Security that a travel ban hadbeen placed upon him and that he was prevented from boarding his flight. He wasgiven no explanations about the reasons behind the travel ban, he wasquestioned by the security and had his bag searched.

Our organisations denounce thesystematic use of travel bans by the Egyptian government against human rightsdefenders and civil society in Egypt as a tool to crackdown against theindependent civil society. Malek Adly’s case is not isolated, and the list of human rights defenders prevented from travelling abroadis worryingly long.

This incident is part of a widercrackdown against human rights defenders, independent civil society, laborunion movement and journalists, perpetuated by the Egyptian government thatrisks to bring to a complete eradication of the human rights community inEgypt. While civil society, human rights defenders, journalists and independentunions are the cornerstone of a pluralist and democratic society, and essentialto the realization of national reform processes, the Egyptian government isheavily shutting down civic space and systematically violating the rule of lawon security and counter-terrorism grounds. The recent ruling of the CairoCriminal Court in favor of the asset freezing ofprominent human rights organisations and human rights defenders is oneof the most worrying developments.

In this context, ourorganisations urge the Egyptian government:

• To immediately liftthe travel ban against Malek Adly and against all other human rights defendersand journalists in Egypt in reprisal for merely engaging in peacefulactivities; 

• To put an endto all acts of harassment against human rights defenders, journalists and civilsociety and to immediately and unconditionally revoke the asset freezemeasures as part of the 173/2011 criminal case, also known as ‘foreignfunding case’. 
Moreover, inthe context of EU-Egypt bilateral cooperation, we call upon the EU institutionsand its Member States: 

• To urge theEgyptian government to lift the travel bans and stop all measures ofjudicial and administrative harassment linked to the foreign funding case; 

• Make theclosure of the foreign funding case a condition for the pursuit and conclusionof the EU-Egypt Partnership Priorities and the holding of an AssociationCouncil; 

• To free alldetained journalists and human rights activists in Egypt.