Provisional release of Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah and Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman

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 theprovisional release and ongoing judicial harassment faced by Mr. Alaa AbdelFatah, civil and political rights activist, blogger and member of the“No to Military Trials for Civilians” movement[1],and Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman[2].

According to the information received, on March 23, 2014, the 16thterrorism circuit of South Cairo Criminal Court[3]ordered the provisional release of Messrs. Alaa Abdel Fatah and Ahmed AbdelRahman on a bail of LE 10,000 each (approximately EUR 1,042).

The hearing of the case was adjourned to April 6, 2014, when theProsecution is going to present testimonies and evidence against Messrs. AlaaAbdel Fatah and Ahmed Abdel Rahman as well as 23 other individuals accused of“blocking roads”, “assembling illegally”, “protesting without a permit”,“acquiring weapons during a protest”, and “attacking and injuring a publicservant” and “stealing his personal wireless device”, in relation to a caseconnected to a dispersed Shura Council protest of November 26, 2013 (Seebackground information). They face up to five years in prison.

The Observatory welcomes the provisional release of Messrs. Alaa AbdelFatah and Ahmed Abdel Rahman and thanks all the persons, institutions andorganisations who intervened in their favour. However, the Observatory regretsthat the two were arbitrarily detained for nearly four months, and remainsdeeply concerned about their ongoing judicial harassment. The Observatoryconsiders this trial to amount to judicial harassment for their activities ashuman rights defenders, and calls upon the Egyptian judicial authorities tounconditionally drop all charges.

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 reportedlyremained peaceful. The protesters refused to leave and security forces openedwater canons 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.

On December 9, 2013, Mr. Abdel Fatah and 24 other individuals werereferred to the Cairo Criminal Court with charges of “blocking roads”,“assembling illegally”, “protesting without a permit”, “acquiring weaponsduring a protest”, and “attacking and injuring a public servant” and “stealinghis personal wireless device”. 23 were released on bail on December 4, 2013.Mr. Abdel Fatah and another individual arrested in the vicinity of thedemonstration, Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, were detained in Tora Prison. The courtdid not set 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 subsequentsentences. The three human rights defenders filed an appeal against theirsentence.

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.

On March 19, 2014, the prison authorities moved Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah fromhis cell to an unknown location. The authorities then failed to explain therationale of this unusual measure and failed to account for his whereabouts.His lawyer then found out after he met him on March 22 that he was moved by theprison police to a “disciplinary” cell and returned to his normal cell on March21.

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 Abdel Rahman, Ms. Mona Seif and Mr. AhmedAbdallah and all human rights defenders in Egypt;

ii. 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 anindependent tribunal, and apply them the sanctions provided by the law;

iii. 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;

iv. Comply with all the provisions of theUnited Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with:

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

- its Article 5 (a): “For the purpose ofpromoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone hasthe right, individually and in association with others, at the national andinternational levels (a) To meet or assemble peacefully”;

v. Ensure in all circumstances respect forhuman rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international humanrights standards and international 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. Ibrahim Mehleb, Magles El Shaab Street, Kasr El AiniStreet, 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. Neir Othman, Ministry of Justice, Magles ElSaeb 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

· Mr. Mohamed Fayeq, President of the National Council For Human Rights,Fax: + 202 25747497 / 25747670. Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg

· H.E. Ms. Wafaa Bassim,Ambassador, PermanentMission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, 49 avenue Blanc, 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, March24, 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]This movement was set up in 2011 and denounced human rights abuses committed inparticular by security forces and the army during the rule of the SupremeCouncil of the Armed Forces (SCAF) after the fall of former President Mubarak.

[2] 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.

[3]After June 30, 2014, the judiciary created separate circuits for terrorismoffences to ensure a quick handling of such cases. Initially aimed ataddressing terrorism offences, such courts have be used in politicallysensitive cases. Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah and the other 24 were referred to aterrorism circuit by an administrative decision. However, so far, defencelawyers have not been able to check this decision. Judges sitting in theterrorism circuits are reputed as being very conservative.