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  Egyptian Activists Detained for Defending Rights of Religious Minority and Denouncing Torture (10/18/07)  Judges Become New Focal Point for Egyptian Advocates (5/18/06)
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Repression against independent human rights activists in Egypt is increasing. Two recent victims are Mohamed el-Derini and Ahmed Mohamed Sobh, who have been detained for speaking out to defend the rights of the small Shi’ite Muslim religious minority in Egypt, and for exposing and denouncing the use of torture in Egyptian prisons. The two men are being held in solitary confinement at the Torah prison in Cairo. The State Security Prosecutor charged them with “disseminating Shi’ite extremist ideas with the intent of provoking contempt of the Islamic religion” and “spreading false rumors and sensational propaganda”. The first charge appears to be linked to the two activists’ Shi’ite Muslim faith and their activities to defend the rights of the small Shi’ite minority in Egypt. The charge of “spreading false rumors” is connected with their public denunciation of torture in Egyptian prisons. Background At dawn on October 1, 2007, Egyptian State Security agents arrested Mohamed el-Derini at his house in the Zeitun neighborhood in Cairo and reportedly confiscated his writings, files, computer disks and CDs. Mohamed el-Derini is a prominent Shi’ite activist and writer. He chairs the Supreme Council for the Care of the Prophet’s Family (Al-Majlis al A’la li Riayat Aal al-Beit), a group involved in the defense of the rights of the Shi’ite minority in Egypt. The arrest of Mr. el-Derini follows the detention on August 28, 2007 of his colleague Ahmad Mohamed Sobh who runs the Imam Ali Center for Human Rights, a human rights institute attached to the Supreme Council for the Care of the Prophet’s Family. The two activists are being detained under administrative orders issued by the Minister of Interior pursuant to Egypt’s emergency law in place since 1981. They were both interrogated by the State Security Prosecutor and have been detained in solitary confinement at the Torah prison near Cairo. According to press reports, el-Derini has been given only one meal a day and denied access to his medication. The State Prosecutor charged the two men under article 98 paragraph (f) of the Penal Code with “disseminating Shi’ite extremist ideas with the intent of provoking contempt of the Islamic religion” and under article 102 bis of the same code with “spreading false rumors and sensational propaganda likely to terrorize the population, disturb public security, contravene the law, and undermine confidence in security agencies by alleging that prisoners and detainees have been physically liquidated as a result of torture in prison.” If convicted, they could face up to five years’ imprisonment for the first charge and three years for the second. It appears that the charge of “disseminating Shi’ite extremist ideas” is linked to the two activists’ Shi’ite Muslim faith and their activities to defend the rights of the small Shi’ite religious minority. Since the 1980s, the Shi’ite community in Egypt has faced repeated waves of repression. In an important report entitled ”Freedom of Belief and the Arrests of Shi'a Muslims in Egypt” published in August 2004, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) documented serious abuses and discrimination faced by Shi’ite citizens since 1988. The second charge brought against el-Derini and Sobh is connected to their public denunciation of torture in Egyptian prisons. Hossam Bahgat, director of EIPR, which is involved in the defense and legal representation of el-Derini, told Human Rights First that their client and Mr. Sobh were questioned by the State Security Prosecutor about their writings and press interviews in which they criticize the detention and torture of political prisoners. This is not the first time that the two activists have been detained by the Egyptian authorities. Mr. Sobh was detained for 15 years without trial under the provisions of the Emergency Law, on suspicion of being a member of an armed opposition group. He was released at the beginning of 2005. Mr. el-Derini was also held in administrative detention for 15 months between 2004 and 2005 without being charged. In May 2005, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that he had been subjected to arbitrary detention in violation of Egypt’s obligations as a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 2006, Mohamed el-Derini published a book called “Capital of Hell” (Asimat Juhanam) that describes the widespread use of torture in Egypt’s prisons and recounts his own experience while in detention. The imprisonment of the two men coincides with a number of repressive measures taken in recent months by the government in what appears to be a growing clampdown on the independent Egyptian human rights community. In December 2006, the government shut down the Ahalina Center for Egyptian Family Support and Development that provides legal aid and health and social services to the deprived inhabitants of the city of Shubra Al-Khayma. In April 2007, the Egyptian authorities closed down the headquarters and two branches of the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS), an independent NGO that provides legal aid to workers and monitors the situation of labor rights in Egypt. Last month, the government issued a decree dissolving the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA), an organization involved in exposing human rights violations and providing legal assistance to victims of torture. His Excellency President Husni Mubarak I am writing to express my deep concern about the continued detention of Mohamed el-Derini and Ahmad Mohamed Sobh and urge you to immediately take action to release them so that they can resume their peaceful, legitimate activities. As you are aware, Egyptian State Security agents arrested Mohamed el-Derini on October 1, 2007, at his house in Cairo and reportedly confiscated his writings, files, computer disks and CDs. Mohamed el-Derini is a prominent Shi’ite activist and writer who chairs the Supreme Council for the Care of the Prophet’s Family (Al-Majlis al A’la li Riayat Aal al-Beit), a group involved in the defense of the rights of the Shi’ite minority in Egypt. The arrest of Mr. el-Derini follows the August 28, 2007 detention of his colleague Ahmad Mohamed Sobh, who runs the Imam Ali Center for Human Rights, a human rights institute attached to the Supreme Council for the Care of the Prophet’s Family. The two men have been detained in solitary confinement at the Torah prison in Cairo. The State Prosecutor charged them with “disseminating Shi’ite extremist ideas with the intent of provoking contempt of the Islamic religion” and “spreading false rumors and sensational propaganda.” The first charge appears to be linked to the two activists’ Shi’ite Muslim faith and their activities to defend the rights of the small Shi’ite minority in Egypt. The charge of “spreading false rumors” is connected with their public denunciation of torture in Egyptian prisons. The imprisonment of the two men coincides with a number of repressive measures taken in recent months by your government in what appears to be a clampdown on the independent human rights movement in Egypt. The ongoing detention of Mohamed el-Derini and Ahmad Mohamed Sobh prevents them from performing their peaceful human rights activities and appears designed to punish them for defending the rights of the Shi’ite minority and exposing the use of torture in Egypt’s prisons. The detention of the two activists for exercising their basic rights and freedoms constitutes a serious violation of Egypt's Constitution and its obligations under international law. The Egyptian Constitution states in Article 46 that “the State shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practicing religious rights.” It adds in its Article 47 that “freedom of opinion shall be guaranteed. Every individual shall have the right to express his opinion and to publicize it verbally, in writing, by photography or by other means of expression within the limits of the law. Self criticism and constructive criticism shall guarantee the safety of the national structure.” Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified by Egypt in 1982 states that “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.” Article 19 of the ICCPR declares that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference," and adds that "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice." In addition, the detention of el-Derini and Sobh clearly violates the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on December 9, 1998. Article 6 of the Declaration states, "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others (a) To know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms…(b) As provided for in human rights and other applicable international instruments, freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms; (c) To study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters." As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Egypt should behave as a model in its support for human rights defenders. Instead, it seems that the Egyptian government has chosen to seek to silence the human rights community and to prevent it from conducting its legitimate, non-violent activities. Your Excellency, we strongly urge you immediately and unconditionally to release these two activists. We also call on you to intervene to put an end to the escalating crackdown on the human rights community in Egypt and to take steps to ensure that human rights defenders can freely perform their peaceful activities without any fear of retaliation. Thank you for your attention to these very important matters. I will continue to monitor this case closely.
C.C.
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Egyptian Activists Detained for Defending Rights of Religious Minority and Denouncing Torture 