Sentencing of Mr. Alaa Abdel-Fattah together with 24 other individuals, including Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman

Sentencing / Arbitrary Detention

Egypt

March 4,2015

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgentintervention in the following situation in Egypt.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the sentencing of Mr. Alaa Abdel-Fattah,civil and political rights activist, blogger and member of the “No to MilitaryTrials for Civilians” movement[1]together with 24 other individuals, including Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman[2].

According to the information received, onFebruary 23, 2015, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Mr. Alaa Abdel Fattah andMr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman to five years imprisonment, five years of policesurveillance, and a fine of 100,000 EGP (approx. 10,000 EUR). Mr. Alaa AbdelFattah was sentenced on charges of “organizing a protest without a permit”,“organizing an illegal assembly that endangers public security”, “blockingroads”, “assembling illegally”, “attacking and injuring a public servant”. Mr.Ahmed Abdel Rahman was sentenced on charges of “acquiring weapons during aprotest”, “blocking roads”, “assembling illegally”, and “attacking and injuringa public servant”. The Court sentenced 19 other individuals to three yearsimprisonment, three years police surveillance and a fine of 100,000 EGP (approx.10,000 EUR) for “blocking roads”, “assembling illegally”, and “attacking and injuring a public servant”.The remaining persons who failed to attend the retrial had the first-instancesentence of 15 year imprisonments upheld. The Court acquitted all of thedefendants on charges of “theft (see background information). Defense lawyersannounced that they will appeal the sentence before the Court of Cassation.

The Observatory strongly condemns theharsh sentence against Mr. Alaa Abdel Fattah, Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman and theother above-mentioned protesters. The Observatory considers that the sentenceaims only at preventing them from carrying out their peaceful human rightsactivities, and calls upon the Egyptian judicial authorities to immediately andunconditionally release them.

The Observatory recalls that the case ofMr. Alaa Abdel Fattah is illustrative of a wider repression campaigntargeting human rights defenders opposing the current regime in the countrysince the “Protest Law”[3] waspassed in November 2013. This controversial law bans gathering of 10 or morepeople without a permit issued by the authorities. Based on this law, dozens ofhuman rights defenders have been arbitrarily detained and prosecuted.

Background information:

On November 26, 2013 at least ninemembers of the “No to Military Trials for Civilians” group, including Ms. Mona Seif, co-founderof the “No to Military Trials for Civilians” movement, nine journalists andseven lawyers were arrested by police forces in Cairo, as they weredemonstrating. In an effort to pressure the members of the ConstitutionalCommittee to vote against Article 198 of the draft constitution – an articlethat allowed for civilian trials before military courts, the “No to MilitaryTrials for Civilians” group had called for protests to be held on November 26,ahead of the vote, in front of the Shura Council (where the committee holds itsmeetings). Tens of protesters joined the call at 4pm on Kasr Al Aini street,however thirty minutes later, security forces issued a warning to theprotesters 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 (the Shura Council protestcase).

On November 28, 2013, security operativesraided Mr. Abdel Fatah’s residence. Although they produced no searchwarrant, they searched the premises and carted away computers and telephones.When challenged for not being authorised to conduct a search, they beatMr. Abdel Fatah and his wife up while their two year-old son slept in thenext room. Egyptian authorities issued a warrant for Mr. Abdel Fatah’sarrest after they accused him of incitement and involvement in calls to protest(Shura Council protest case). Mr. Abdel Fatah was then placed underpre-trial detention.

On December 9, 2013, Mr. Abdel Fatahand 24 other individuals were referred to the Cairo Criminal Court with chargesof “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 the ShuraCouncil protest case. 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. Thecourt did not set a trial date until mid-March 2014.

On January 5, 2014, North Giza CriminalCourt sentenced Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah, Ms. Mona Seif and Mr. Ahmed Abdallah, memberof the 6 April Youth Movement and co-founder of the Egyptian Commission forRights and Freedoms, a group which documents and denounces human rightsviolations to a suspended sentence of one year in prison on charges of “arson”,“theft”, “damage to property”, “violence” and “danger to public safety”. Thecharges were based on allegations that Mr. Fatah, Ms. Seif andMr. Abdallah participated in the attack on the campaign headquarters offormer presidential candidate, Mr. Ahmed Shafiq, on May 28, 2012 (AhmedShafiq case). The jail term was suspended for three years and therefore shouldany of the defendants be found guilty of additional charges within this time,this one-year term would be added onto any subsequent sentences. The convictionwas based solely on the evidence of so-called eyewitnesses who were eitheragents of the government or persons with criminal records or with criminalinvestigations pending against them. Furthermore, only one of the saideyewitnesses was available for cross-examination and he testified that he didnot see Mr. Fatah in possession of any weapons or committing violence. Healso admitted that he could not recognise the other defendants. The three humanrights defenders filed an appeal against their sentence.

On March 19, 2014, the prison authoritiesmoved Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah from his cell to an unknown location. Theauthorities then failed to explain the rationale of this unusual measure andfailed to account for his whereabouts. His lawyer then found out after he methim on March 22 that he was moved by the prison police to a “disciplinary” celland returned to his normal cell on March 21.

On March 23, 2014, the 16th terrorismcircuit of South Cairo Criminal Court [3] ordered the provisional release ofMessrs. Alaa Abdel Fatah and Ahmed Abdel Rahman on a bail of LE 10,000 each(approximately EUR 1,042).

An hearing took place on April 6, 2014during which the Prosecution presented testimonies and evidence against Messrs.Alaa Abdel Fatah and Ahmed Abdel Rahman as well as the 23 other individuals.The defendants lawyers also filed a petition to disqualify Judge MohammedEl-Fikki, the judge presiding the trial. Indeed as Mr. Abdel Fattah hadfiled against this judge a complaint for alleged election fraud in 2005, thejudge lacked impartiality. The case was then adjourned until the court decideson the request for recusal.

On May 17, 2014, the Cairo Appeals Courtruled that Judge Mohammed El-Fikki could continue presiding over Alaa AbdelFattah´s trial, despite the animosity between the two men. Mr. AlaaAbdel-Fattah was also fined EGP 5,000 (approximately 500 Euros). The nexthearing was scheduled to take place on May 25, 2014.

On May 25, 2014, the judge failed to cometo the hearing and the case was postponed to June 11, 2014. On June 11, 2014,the 16th terrorism circuit of South Cairo Criminal Court sentenced in absentiaMessrs. Alaa Abdel Fatah and Ahmed Abdel Rahman, as well as 23 otherindividuals, to 15 years of prison, a fine of LE 100,000 (approximately EUR10,420) and five-years of police surveillance following their release oncharges of “blocking roads”, “assembling illegally”, “protesting without apermit”, “acquiring weapons during a protest”, “attacking and injuring a publicservant” and “stealing his personal wireless device”, in relation to the ShuraCouncil protest case. Messrs. Alaa Abdel Fatah, Ahmed Abdel Rahman togetherwith a third person were detained immediately after the verdict. The threedefendants were sentenced in absentia despite the fact that they were presentat the Police Academy where the trial took place, though they were not allowedto enter the court room in time for the hearing.

On September 15, 2014, Messrs. Alaa AbdelFatah and Ahmed Abdel Rahman, who are facing retrial on a 15-year prisonsentence for violating a protest law were released on a 5,000 EGP (540 EUR)bail along with another defendant. They were released on the same day.

During this same court hearing, the judgepresiding over the retrial stepped down at the request of defence lawyers. Theretrial will begin once a new presiding judge has been assigned to the case.The recusal was caused by an incident which occurred during the previous courtsession. Indeed, on September 10, Egyptian prosecutors presented a personalhome video of Mr. Abdel-Fatah’s wife dancing as evidence against him. Thevideo was allowed to be shown at the hearing but, following his lawyer’sobjection, it was considered by the judge as irrelevant to the case and as aviolation of the constitutional right to privacy. The judge referred the videoto the Prosecution to investigate those responsible for including it within theevidence. The rest of the evidence presented consisted of video clips showingvarious protests without scenes or footage of displaying Mr. Abdel-Fatahor any other defendant in the case.

On October 27, 2014, during the firsthearing of the retrial, the judge ordered the detention of all those presentand postponed the trial to November 11. While all present defendants weretransferred to Tora prison, Mr. Alaa Abdel-Fattah’s whereabouts remainedunknown. His family later found out that he had been transferred to Toraprison, but separated from the other defendants.

On November 11, 2014, the second hearing of the retrial of Messrs. AlaaAbdel Fatah and Ahmed Abdel Rahman, who are facing retrial on a 15-year prisonsentence for violating a protest law, was held at Police Academy in Torah.

The court viewed several video evidencepresented by the prosecution as well as one video presented by one of thedefendants. Among other requests, the defense lawyers requested the followingmeasures to the court: to add to the case the reports filed by the organizersof the protest[4] ;to add reports from mobile companies about the whereabouts of Mr. AlaaAbdel Fattah and the police officer Emad Tahoun[5] onNovember 26, 2013, between 4 and 7 pm; to file civil compensation claim of100,000 EGP against police officer Emad Tahoun. The Court accepted theabove-mentioned requests, but it denied the request filed to release alldefendants on bail. The Court adjourned the trial to November 23, 2014 tocontinue the viewing of the videos. While the family of the defendants and someNGO representatives were allowed to attend the court room, several friends ofthe defendants were denied entry, though the same judge had granted everyoneentry during the last hearing on October 27, 2014.

Several other hearings were held untilFebruary 23, 2015.

Actionsrequested:

Please write to the authorities of Egyptasking them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances thephysical and psychological integrity of Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah,Mr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, Ms. Mona Seif and Mr. Ahmed Abdallah and all humanrights defenders in Egypt;

ii. Release Mr. Alaa Abdel Fatah andMr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman and all human rights defenders currently indetention immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary asit seems to only aim at curtailing their human rights activities;

iii. Order an immediate, thorough,transparent investigation into the above-mentioned allegations ofill-treatments against Mr. Abdel Fatah and his wife in order to identifyall those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and applythem the sanctions provided by the law;

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

v. 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, 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 protecting human rightsand fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and inassociation with others, at the national and international levels (a) To meetor assemble peacefully”;
◦ its Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessarymeasures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone,individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats,retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any otherarbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of therights referred to in the present Declaration” ;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respectfor human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with internationalhuman rights standards and international instruments ratified by Egypt.

Addresses:

· President of the Arab Republicof Egypt, H.E. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +20223901998;

· Prime Minister,Mr. Ibrahim Mehleb, Magles El Shaab Street, Kasr El Aini Street, Cairo,Egypt. Fax: + 202 2735 6449 / 27958016. Email: primemin@idsc.gov.eg;

· Minister of the Interior,General Mohamed Ibrahim Moustafa, Ministry of the Interior, El-Sheikh RihanStreet, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: moi1@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 25792031 / 2794 5529;

· Minister of Justice,Mr. Nayer Abdel-Moneim Othman, Ministry of Justice, Magles El Saeb Street,Wezaret Al Adl, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2795 8103;

· Public Prosecutor, CounsellorHisham Barakat Dar al-Qadha al-Ali, Ramses Street, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 25774716;

· 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, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, 49avenue 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 diplomaticmissions or embassies of Egypt in your respective country.

[1] This movement wasset up in 2011 and denounced human rights abuses committed in particular bysecurity forces and the army during the rule of the Supreme Council of theArmed Forces (SCAF) after the fall of former President Mubarak.

[2] Mr. Ahmed AbdelRahman is a passer by who was arrested by the police after he intervened toprotect female protesters.

[3] Law No. 107 of 2013on the Right to Public Meetings, Processions and Peaceful Demonstrations.

[4] Members of the “Noto Military Trials for Civilians” group had filed a report at the PublicProsecution claiming responsibility for the organization ofthe protest.

[5] Emad Tahoun is thepolice officer who accused Mr. Alaa Abdel Fattah of assaulting him andstealing his wireless device.