The undersigned rights organizations condemn the response of the Egyptian government towards the plight of detainees inside the country’s prisons and other detention facilities amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 …
Open Letter to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice
To His Excellency Omar Marwan, Egyptian Minister of Justice: We, the undersigned, call for an open and transparent investigation into the jailing and death of Shady Habash, a 24-year-old filmmaker …
Egypt: Arbitrary detentions must end
Shady Habash, a 24-year-old Egyptian filmmaker detained since March 2018, died on Saturday, May 2nd in Cairo’s Tora Prison. His death highlights the alarming situation of prisoners of conscience – …
Egypt: Charges against Mada Masr’s Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah must be dropped
The undersigned organizations call for the dismissal of the charges against Lina Atallah, editor-in-chief of the Mada Masr news website, who was detained on Sunday afternoon while she was in …
Egypt: Ministry of Interior and Prosecution culpable for death of Shady Habash from medical neglect while held in pretrial detention
The undersigned human rights organizations condemn continual medical neglect in Egypt’s prisons and the refusal to provide healthcare to prisoners, putting their lives at risk. The undersigned hold the Ministry …
Egypt: Amendments to Emergency Law exploit Covid-19 to undermine judicial independence
The Egyptian government’s exploitation of the coronavirus pandemic to amend the Emergency Law (Law 162 of 1958) is condemned by the undersigned independent rights organizations. The amendments, ratified on Thursday …
CIHRS Highlights State Reprisals Against Human Rights Defenders for Cooperating with the Human Rights Mechanisms of the United Nations
On 1 May 2020 CIHRS made a submission on reprisals against individuals cooperating with the human rights mechanisms of United Nations to the office of the Secretary-General. This submission focuses …
Egypt: At the risk of public health, prisoners of conscience continue to be added to Egypt’s overcrowded prisons
Amid widespread calls to reduce the country’s prison population in order to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, the Egyptian government has instead embarked on countrywide state security raids throughout the last …
Egypt: Illegally imprisoned without trial, Shady Habash’s death underscores the urgency of releasing pretrial detainees
The undersigned rights organizations reiterate our demand for the immediate release of persons held in pretrial detention, especially prisoners of conscience. 24- year-old director and filmmaker Shady Habash died on …
Egypt: #FreeAlaa: Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah on hunger strike protesting his continued illegal detention
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, lawyers, journalists, and activists, urge the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Alaa Abdel Fattah, our courageous friend, human rights activist, and blogger. Alaa …
Egypt: Free expression regarded by government as a greater threat to public safety than murder or violence, as demonstrated by presidential pardons and conditional releases
The signatory human rights organizations denounce the exclusion of prisoners of conscience from the April 14th pardon issued by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Persons including peaceful opposition politicians, human rights …
CIHRS at the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council
Civil society achieves gains for corporate accountability in Palestine and an independent international investigation of crimes in Libya During the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council, which opened on …
Grave concerns over prominent activists Ramy Shaath and Zyad al-Elaimy being added to Egypt’s “terrorists list”
Paris-Cairo-Geneva, April 24, 2020 – Cairo’s Criminal Court has decided to put Ramy Shaath, Egyptian-Palestinian human rights defender, and Zyad al-Elaimy, former member of Parliament and human rights lawyer, on …
A job or a calling? Egypt’s human rights movement from the Mubarak era to Sisi
It was the morning of 3 July, 2013, with the military coup to be declared by Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi later that same day. Fourteen Egyptian rights organisations, under …
Egypt: Overcrowded prisons will become epicenters of coronavirus outbreak unless some detainees immediately released
The signatory human rights organizations denounce the Egyptian government’s reckless refusal to release select groups of detainees for the sake of curbing the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. As the Egyptian government …