Re-arrest and continuing judicial harassment of Mr. Haytham Mohamadein

Arbitraryarrest /
Judicial harassment

Egypt
June 18, 2019

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a jointpartnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), hasreceived new information and requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Egypt.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the re-arrest,incommunicado detention, and continuing judicial harassment of Mr. HaythamMohamadein, labour rights lawyer at the Egyptian Commissionfor Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) and amember of El-Nadim Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence andTorture, an Egyptian NGO dedicated to combating torture and providing medicaland legal aid in support of victims of human rights’ abuses.

According to the information received, on May12, 2019, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was summoned to El-Saff police station in Gizain relation to the probationary measures issued against him in case No. 718 of 2018 for which he was charged with "aiding aterrorist organisation to achieve its goals" and "calling for illegalprotests" on May 19, 2018 (see background information). After presentinghimself at the police station, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein went missing. Afterinitially denying it, on May 13, 2019, El-Saff police officers finallyrecognised his detention at the police station but denied his lawyer and familytheir rights to visit and contact him until May 16.

On May 14, 2019, El-Saff police officerssubmitted a report to the prosecution on Mr. Haytham Mohamadein’s alleged lackof compliance with his probationary measures. Neither Mr. Mohamadein nor hislawyer were given the opportunity to read or answer the report. The office ofthe Prosecutor did not take any decision on the case and returned the report tothe police station, and police officers submitted it again on May 15, 2019.

On May 16, 2019, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein wasbrought before the State Security Prosecution, in relation to case No. 741 of2019, on allegations of "aiding a terrorist organisation to achieve itsgoals" and “misuse of social media”. On the same day, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein wastransferred to Giza central prison, a Central Security Forces Camp on theCairo-Alexandria desert road, where he remains detained. Members of firstdegree of his family can visit him once a week.

On May 28 and June 13, 2019 the State SecurityProsecution renewed Mr. Haytham Mohamadein’s pre-trial detention in case No.741.

The Observatory recalls that Mr. HaythamMohamadein was arrested on May 18, 2018 and released on probation pending trialon October 29, 2018 (see background information). Since his release, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein had to present himself twice a weekto El-Saff police station, for two hours at night.

The Observatory strongly condemns the ongoing judicial harassment and arbitrary arrest ofMr. Haytham Mohamadein, which seems to be only aimed at punishing him for hislegitimate human rights activities.

TheObservatory further recalls that shortly after Mr. Haytham Mohamadein’s arrest, Mr. Ibrahim Ezz El-Din, another ECRFmember, was arrested[1].

The Observatory denounces a wider trend of harassment and arbitrarydetentions against human rights defenders in Egypt and urges theEgyptian authorities to put an end to all forms of harassment, including at thejudicial level, against Mr. Haytham Mohamadein and to ensure that humanrights defenders in Egypt are able to carry out their legitimate and peacefulhuman rights work without fear of hindrance or reprisals.

Background information:

On May 18, 2018,members of the police and National Security Agency arrested Mr. HaythamMohamadein in his home in El-Saff in Giza Governorate. No warrant was presentedto him. Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was then detained in an unknown locationuntil he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in New Cairo’sTagammu El-Khamis District on May 19, 2018. On this day, the prosecutor ordereda 15-day detention period pending an investigation on charges of "aiding aterrorist organisation to achieve its goals" and "calling for illegalprotests". These charges stem from the Prosecution’s allegations ofMr. Haytham Mohamadein’s participation in protests over the rise in metrofares on May 12, 2018, although Mr. Haytham Mohamadein has always deniedtaking part in the protests.

On May 19, 2018,Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was transferred to the Central Security Forces Camp"Kilo 10.5", which is located on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road.

Beginning of June 2018,Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was transferred to Qanater prison, after the firstextension of his pre-trial detention by the prosecution.

On October 8, 2018, Giza CriminalCourt, circuit 14, decided to release Mr. Haytham Mohamadein on probationpending trial. This decision was appealed on the same day by the Supreme StateSecurity Prosecution. On October 10, 2018, the Court rejected the prosecution’sappeal and confirmed the order to release Mr. Haytham Mohamadein on probation.Between October 10 and October 29, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was transferredbetween different detention places and his family and lawyers were sometimesunable to reach him, until he was finally released in El-Saff police station,near his home in the suburbs of Giza, on October 29, 2018.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Egypt asking them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological well-beingof Mr. Haytham Mohamadein and of all human rights defenders in Egypt;

ii.Release immediatelyand unconditionally Mr. Haytham Mohamadein and allhuman rights defenders arbitrarily detained in Egypt as their detention isarbitrary since it only seems to aim at punishing them for their human rightsactivities;

iii.Guaranteethe unhindered access of Mr. HaythamMohamadein toa lawyer of his choice and his family members;

iv. Put an end to all forms ofharassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Haytham Mohamadein andall human rights defenders in the country, and ensure in all circumstances thatthey are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance orfear of reprisals;

v. Conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, inparticular with Articles 1, and 12.2;

vi. Ensure in allcircumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordancewith international human rights standards and international instruments towhich Egypt is a state party.

Addresses:

· President of the Arab Republic of Egypt,H.E. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Fax: +202 2391 1441. Email: p.spokesman@op.gov.eg, Twitter: @AlsisiOfficial

· Prime Minister, Mr. Mustafa Kemal MadboulyMohamed. Email: pm@cabinet.gov.eg

· Minister of the Interior, Mr. Mahmoud Tawfik,Email: center@iscmi.gov.eg

· Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohamed HossamAbdel-Rahim, Fax: +202 2795 8103

· Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Nabeel Sadek, Fax: +2022577 4716

· Head of the Egyptian parliament’s Human RightsCommittee, Mr. Alaa Abed, Email: humanrightscomplaints@parliament.gov.eg

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

· H.E. Mr. Alaa Youssef, Ambassador, PermanentMission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Email: mission.egypt@bluewin.ch

· Embassy of Egypt in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 675.58.88;Email: embassy.egypt@skynet.be

Pleasealso write to the diplomatic representations of Egypt in your respectivecountries.

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Paris-Geneva, June 18, 2019

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quotingthe code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 byFIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of thisprogramme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

[1] See ObservatoryUrgent Appeal EGY 002 /0619 / OBS 050, published on June 14, 2019.