Travel ban on Mozn Hassan, Founder and Executive Director of Nazra for Feminist Studies

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URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

EGY 004 / 0616 / OBS 049.5

Judicialharassment / Restrictions to freedom of association /

Restrictionsto freedom of movement

Egypt
June 28, 2016

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership ofthe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, has received newinformation and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation inEgypt.

New Information:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the ongoing judicial harassment and restrictions tofreedom of association faced by at least 37 Egyptian human rights defenders andorganisations, including the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)and the Egyptian Initiative for PersonalRights (EIPR), two member organisations of FIDH, theArab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the HishamMubarak Law Center (HMLC), Nazra for Feminist Studies, as well as the ArabCenter for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP)and the Land Center for Human Rights (LCHR), two member organisations of OMCT.

According tothe information received on June 27, 2016 Ms. Mozn Hassan, Founder and Executive Director of Nazra for FeministStudies, was informed by authorities at the Cairo International Airport that atravel ban had been imposed on her, preventing her from attending andparticipating in the Executive Committee meeting for the Women Human RightDefenders (WHRD) Regional Coalition for the Middle East and North Africa, asthe Regional Expert for the coalition, taking place during the period of June27th to July 1st, 2016. We believe that this travel banwas ordered within the framework of Case No. 173/2011, commonly known as the“NGO Foreign Funding Case”. This case was reopened a few months ago to pursueits investigations.

The Observatory recalls that on March 22, 2016, Ms. Mozn Hassan was formally accused ofreceiving foreign funds without authorisation, and throughout the month ofMarch 2016, a number of NGO staff members were summoned to appear before theInvestigating Judge.

These developments are the latest escalation in a campaign of judicialharassment launched by the authorities in 2011 targeting civil societyorganisations and human rights defenders in Egypt[1].

The Observatory strongly condemns the travelban imposed on Ms. Mozn Hassan as well as the ongoing judicial harassmentagainst her, which only aim at sanctioning her legitimate human rightsactivities. Therefore, the Observatory calls on the Egyptian authorities toimmediately lift the travel ban and cease all acts of judicial harassmentagainst Ms. Mozn Hassan.

More generally, the Observatoryurges the Egyptian authorities to immediately put an end to all acts ofharassment against human rights defenders and their relatives, as well as NGOs,and to comply with its Constitution (in particular Article 78 and Article 93,which respectively recognise freedom of association and Egypt's compliance with ratified international human rights conventions) as well as its international legalobligations (in particular Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civiland Political Rights (ICCPR)) and its international commitment to respectfreedom of association in the framework of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR)[2].

Background information:

Since 2011, the Egyptian Government has launched a judicial harassmentcampaign against civil society organisations on the pretext that they receivedunauthorised foreign funding under criminal case No. 173/2011, known as the“foreign funding case against NGOs”.

The 2011 Government Fact-Finding Committee report, which formed thebasis of the first trial in 2012, listed 37 NGOs who could be targeted underthis “foreign funding case against NGOs”. That list included ACIJLP, CIHRS,LCHR, the Egyptian Democratic Academy (EDA), HMLC, ANHRI, EIPR, El Nadim Centerfor the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture, theEgyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR), the Arab Penal ReformOrganization, the Egyptian Center for the Right to Education, El-Haq, theEgyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (ACPE), Nazra forFeminist Studies, the Appropriate Communications Technologies (ACT), amongothers.

The first set of investigations targeted international and foreign NGOs.On June 4, 2013, the North Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 43 Egyptian andforeign staff members of five foreign civil society organisations toimprisonment ranging from one (suspended) to five years of prison for “managingunlicensed branches” of their organisations, “conducting research, politicaltraining, surveys, and workshops without licenses”, “training political partiesand groups” and “illegally receiving foreign funding”. Though none of thedefendants were forced to serve their sentences either because they were abroador in the case of the junior staff had their sentences suspended, the courtordered the confiscation of their funds and the closure of Egypt-based branchesof Freedom House, the International Republican Institute, the NationalDemocratic Institute, the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), andKonrad Adenauer Foundation.

Thesecond case targets Egyptian civil society organisations that have receivedforeign or international funding. It started with the ultimatum made by theMinistry of Social Solidarity (MoSS)[3]for Egyptian human rights organisations to register by late 2014 under Law84/2002 or face closure. One month later, a new wave of harassment targetinghuman rights NGOs began.

InSeptember 2014, President Al-Sisi signed into law amendments to Article 78 ofthe Penal Code. These amendments include the provision that receiving foreignfunding for the purpose of “harming national security” is punishable by lifeimprisonment.

Inlate 2014, the Investigating Judge in charge of the case appointed a technicalcommittee from the MoSS[4]to determine whether Egyptian organisations under review operate as civicassociations without being registered as such under Law 84/2002, and to examinedocuments related to their sources of funding. The committee first examined theEDA. It is noteworthy to note that despite theEDA's registration in compliance with the ultimatum[5],they are still being investigated. In January 2015, the judge issuedtravel bans against Messrs. Hossam al-Din Ali, Chairman of the EDA, AhmedGhoneim, Deputy, as well as Ms. Israa Abdel Fattah and BassemSamir, who previously worked in the same organisation.

InJune 2015, Mr. Negad El Borai, theDirector of United Group, was interrogated by theInvestigating Judge about its sources of funding and legal status[6]. In March 2016, the United Group was summonsed for thefourth time. On May 17, 2016, he was summonsed for the fifth hearing session[7],but at the very last minute it was postponed to an undetermined date.

On June 9, 2015, the InvestigatingJudge mandated the technical committee to visit the Cairo office of the CIHRSin order to examine whether the CIHRS engages in activities of civicassociations under the provisions of Law 84/2002. The committee requested thestaff present in the office to provide documentation relating to theadministration of the NGO, such as its registration, founding contract andstatute, as well as the budgets, financial accounts, and funding contracts forthe past four years. One additional demand the staff were instructed to complywith was to provide documentation that proved that the CIHRS was not conductingNGO work.

On June 16, 2015, the CIHRS was presented with a summons letter toappear on June 17, before the Investigating Judge within the framework of thecase No. 173/2011. However, the CIHRS refused to accept the summons letter asit failed to comply with the legal requirements in force and subsequently submitted its arguments in writing to therepresentative of the Investigating Judge. Since then, CIHRS and its membershad not received any further summons, until those of March 13 and 14, 2016 (seebelow).

In July 2015, the HMLC was also subjected to the same review.

In December 2015, the ANHRI received a phone call from the technicalcommittee, which asked to conduct an inspection, but due to the absence ofANHRI’s Director, Mr. Gamal Eid, the visit was postponed and eventuallydid not take place.

In December 2015, the Egyptian Center for the Right to Education wassummoned by the Investigating Judge for questioning.

On February 4, 2016, Mr. GamalEid was informed of a travel ban as he was attempting to travel outsideEgypt. Mr. HossamBahgat, founder of EIPR, was informed of a similar ban on February 23,2016.

On March 13 and 14, two staffmembers of CIHRS and three staff members of Nazra for Feminist Studies werenotified by telephone of a summons to appear on March 16 before theInvestigating Judge in Cairo within the framework of criminal case No.173/2011. However, the two staff members of CIHRS refused to appear, as theyhad not been properly notified in person in accordance with the law in force[8].Two former staff members of the Andalus Institute for Tolerance andAnti-Violence Studies and one accountant from the United Group were alsosummoned within the same context.

On March 17, Messrs. Hossam Bahgat and Gamal Eid were informed that theInvestigative Judge had ordered the freezing of their assets and that theircase would be reviewed by the Cairo Criminal Court in Zeinhom on March 24,2016. The case was subsequently adjourned to April 20, 2016, upon request fromthe Public Prosecutor.

On April 19, Mr. Bahey eldinHassan, CIHRS Director, two staff members of CIHRS, as well as Mr. MoustafaEl Hassan, HMLC Director, were informed at 9pm through a phone call fromthe Egyptian police that they were summoned to appear before the Cairo CriminalCourt in Zeinhom on April 20, along with Messrs. Bahgat and Eid.

On April 20, the Cairo Criminal Court in Zeinhom added seven defendantsfrom three additional NGOs to the “asset freeze order” initially targeting Messrs. Hossam Bahgat and Gamal Eid.

The additional defendants are Mr. Bahey eldin Hassan, Mr. Moustafa ElHassan, Mr. Abdel Hafiz Tayel, ExecutiveDirector of the Egyptian Center for the Right to Education, two staff membersof CIHRS, as well as of Mr. Bahey eldin Hassan's wife and daughter and Mr.Gamal Eid's wife and daughter[9].

The hearing by the Cairo Criminal Court in Zeinhom regarding the assetfreeze order was postponed several times by the prosecutors to review theevidence and formally summon the new defendants. On May 23, 2016, it was againadjourned to July 17, 2016.

On May 27, Mr. Mohamed Zaree, CIHRS Egypt Director, was informed by theauthorities at Cairo International Airport that a travel ban had been imposedon him based on an order by an investigative judge. We believe this travel banwas ordered within the framework of the “foreign funding case against NGOs.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Egypt asking them to:

i. Immediately put an end to investigations and criminal cases targetingNGOs as well as human rights defenders and their relatives;

ii. Put an end to all forms of harassment against all human rightsorganisations and defenders in Egypt, including travel bans;

iii. Revise the Law on Associations to comply with international humanrights standards and the UPR commitments made by Egypt, while ensuring thatindependent civil society organisations are meaningfully consulted in thedrafting process;

iv. Comply withall the provisions of the United 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 humanrights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and inassociation with others, at the national and international levels (a) To meetor assemble peacefully”

- its Article 6(a), which foresees that “everyone has the right,individually and in association with others, to participate in peacefulactivities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms”;

- its Article 12.2, which providesthat “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection bythe competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association withothers, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or dejure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as aconsequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in thepresent Declaration”;

v. 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. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Fax:+202 23901998

Prime Minister of Egypt, Mr. Sherif Ismail, Fax: + 202 2735 6449 /27958016. Email: primemin@idsc.gov.eg

Minister of the Interior of Egypt, Mr. Magdy Abdel Ghaffar, E-mail: moi1@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2579 2031 / 27945529

Minister of Justice of Egypt, Mr. Mohamed Hossam Abdel-Rehim, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2795 8103

Public Prosecutor, Fax: +202 2577 4716

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

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

Embassy of Egyptin 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.

***

Geneva-Paris,June 28, 2016

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

The Observatory, an OMCT and FIDH venture,is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer themconcrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

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

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

[1] The investigation started in September 2011, and the raid on NGOs took place inDecember 2011. As the investigation has been ongoing for nearly five years, thescope of the case remains unknown. For more information, please see: http://www.cihrs.org/?p=720&lang=en &http://www.cihrs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/The-Complaint.pdf

[2] At the occasion of the UPR ofEgypt in November 2014, the Egyptian authorities accepted at least fiverecommendations on the protection of human rights defenders, including acommitment to reforming the current NGO law with a wide consultation of NGOs,and a commitment to guarantee the right to freedom of association in accordancewith international standards.

[3] The ultimatum was made publicin July 2014, and in September 2014, the deadline was pushed back to November10, 2014.

[4] The committee is composed ofMinistry of Social Solidarity officials but they report to the InvestigatingJudge.

[5] The EDA has been registeredunder the Associations Law No. 84/2002 sinceSeptember 2014.

[6] The United Group is a law firm established 50 years ago, and headed byMr. Negad El Borai, one of Egypt’s most influential human rights defenders andlawyers.

[7] See the Observatory’s UrgentAppeal EGY 002 / 0516 /OBS 042, issued on May 17, 2016.

[8] The three staffmembers of Nazra will be represented by a lawyer.

[9] Mr. Bahgat attended the April-20 hearing, while the other defendants wererepresented by their lawyers. No formal charges were confirmed on thatoccasion.