The case of the judges became a focus for public protests during April and May. The authorities confronted peaceful protesters with a massive, intimidating deployment of thousands of riot police.

Hundreds of protesters were taken into detention, many were beaten by police and plain clothes security officers on the street and some suffered torture and ill-treatment while in detention. More than 300 protesters are believed to remain in detention.

On June 4, Alaa’s detention was extended for a further 15 days using the powers of administrative detention available under Egypt’s emergency law. He faces a variety of charges and accusations, including “insulting the President,” but no date has been set for his trial.

Please call for Alaa’s immediate release from detention and for the release of all those held in detention for exercising their right to freedom of assembly and expression.

Tell me more:

Alaa Seif al-Islam runs a website with his wife Manal Hassan (http://www.manalaa.net/). Over the course of the past year the site has become increasingly concerned with human rights and political issues in Egypt, reflecting an upsurge in popular activism that attended the presidential and parliamentary elections, and the emergence of a popular protest movement, known by the Arabic term Kifaya, meaning “Enough” in 2005.

Opposition activists have focused their efforts on a call for political change in Egypt, which has been ruled for the past 25 years by President Hosni Mubarak, who was reelected for another six year term in 2005 after a rigged, but contested election. Activists are also calling for an end to Egypt’s permanent state of emergency, which provides the presidency with enormous unchecked powers, and for the independence of the judiciary as a check on these excesses.

Public protests died down after the parliamentary elections in November 2005, but sprang up again in April 2006 when two senior judges, Hisham al-Bastawisi and Mahmud Mekki were made to appear before a disciplinary tribunal for exposing irregularities that took place during the elections, and for asserting the role of judges in ensuring a fair electoral process.

Protests in support of the judges took place in central Cairo until May 18, when the tribunal ruled that the two judges would not lose their positions as a result of their stand. A further mass protest took place on May 25 calling for the release of protesters, like Alaa Seif al-Islam, who were detained at previous demonstrations.. This demonstration, like the earlier ones, was brutally broken up by riot police and scores more demonstrators were taken into detention.

At least six bloggers were among those detained, and their supporters allege that they have been particularly targeted by the police because of their activities as “citizen journalists,” reporting news that is ignored by the state dominated media in Egypt. One of them, Muhammad al-Sharqawi has posted his testimony describing torture he suffered while in detention: http://arabist.net/archives/2006/05/28/a-letter-from-sharqawi/

Alaa and other bloggers have reported on incidents of sectarian violence and have exposed and condemned the persecution of Egypt’s minority Bahai community.
In October 2005 the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders presented Alaa and Manal with an award for their web site.

Alaa is currently being held in Tora prison, just outside of Cairo. He has managed to send out a few messages from his prison cell that have been posted to his website.

Alaa Seif al-Islam and hundreds of other mostly young people are being held in detention for exercising their basic rights to freedom of expression and assembly. These are rights upheld in the Egyptian Constitution, but curtailed under the state of emergency; they are also upheld in binding international human rights treaties to which Egypt is a State Party, like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Egypt’s brutal suppression of nonviolent protesters in recent months has been widely criticized by the international community. It, too, is a violation of Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law.

Human Rights First is calling for the immediate release of Alaa Seif al-Islam and the hundreds of other protesters who are still held in detention. Human Rights First also calls on the Egyptian government to permit peaceful public protests to take place freely. The pattern of excessive use of force, beatings and torture used by the security forces in recent weeks is illegal and should be prevented by the authorities. Those responsible for ordering such methods should be investigated and held accountable for the violations that have taken place.

Sample Letter

His Excellency General Habib al-Adeli
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
Al-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk,
Cairo, Egypt
moi@idsc.gov.eg
Fax: +202 579 2031

Your Excellency,

I am writing to express my deep concern about the continued detention of Alaa Seif al-Islam, a twenty-four-year old blogger who was detained in central Cairo on May 7, 2006 while taking part in a peaceful protest in support of Judges Hisham al-Bastawisi and Mahmud Mekki. Reports indicate that Mr. Seif el-Islam was taking part in peaceful sit-in in support of the judges and calling for the release of other detained protesters. I understand that his detention was extended for 15 days on June 4, using the powers of administrative detention available under Egypt’s emergency law, and that he faces a variety of charges and accusations, including “insulting the President,” but no date has been set for his trial.

I am particularly concerned that Mr. Seif al-Islam and other young activists are being singled out for their political writings and for openly criticizing government practices.
Mr. Seif el-Islam runs a website with his wife, which, over the course of the past year, has become increasingly concerned with human rights and political issues in Egypt. They and other bloggers have reported on incidents of sectarian violence and have exposed and condemned the persecution of the minority Bahai community. In October 2005 the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders presented the couple with an award for their web site.

Mr. Seif al-Islam and hundreds of other mostly young people are being detained for exercising their basic rights to freedom of expression and assembly. These are rights upheld in the Egyptian Constitution and in international human rights treaties to which Egypt is a State Party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The brutal suppression and ill-treatment of protestors carried out by security forces during the demonstrations also represents a serious violation of those norms.

Further, I believe that he is being punished for the articles published on his website criticizing the government’s human rights practices. This is a violation of the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which guarantees individuals and groups the right to freely “publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms."

I urge that you adhere to international standards protecting the right to freedom of expression and assembly, and immediately release Alaa Seif al-Islam and all of the other protesters who are still held in detention. I also call on the Egyptian government to permit peaceful public protests to take place without interference or suppression. Furthermore, those responsible for ordering the brutal methods used against protestors should be investigated and held accountable for the widespread violations that have taken place.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

cc.

Ambassador M. Nabil Fahmy
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Court, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Fax: (202) 244-4319