Free Human Rights Activists in Egypt!

January 25^th Revolution anniversary

 

January 25^th marks the fifth anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, which overthrew former President Mubarak to instore democracy and social justice.

However, despite hope and aspirations for democracy, Egyptian Human Rights activists are being increasingly targeted, threatened, prosecuted in political trials and sentenced to long prison terms due to their prominent contribution in initiating change.

EuroMed Rights, along with other organisations, is initiating a petition calling upon the European Foreign Affairs Ministers to pressure the Egypt’s President for an immediate release of all Human Rights activists.

This petition is part of a wider campaign, Human Rights Behind Bars in Egypt, which focuses on specific cases of activists wrongly imprisoned.

1. Arrested at 18 years old for wearing a t-shirt against torture, Mahmoud Hussein has been in pre-trial detention for more than 700 days without any credible evidence presented so far to link him with violent actions or terrorist activities.

2. Aya Hegazy founded the organisation Belady with the objective of helping street children, but was arrested and charged with human trafficking and holding children for sexual exploitation.

3. Arrested not only under Mubarak, but also under all the different presidents that have ruled Egypt since the 2011 revolution, Alaa Abdel Fattah is currently serving a five-year sentence after a trial deemed unfair by international observers.

4. Ahmed Said is a surgeon and poet who was arrested, blindfolded and interrogated without the presence of a lawyer. On 13 December 2015, he and four others were sentenced to two years of imprisonment for participating in a protest without a permit.

5. Ismail Al- Iskandarani is a renowned researcher and reporter on the Sinai region. In return from Germany, he was detained at Cairo airport for over 10 hours, interrogated and threatened while his computer was searched.

6. Taher Mokhtar is a prominent health activist. Arrested on Jan. 14, 2016 following a raid on his apartment, he was then interrogated for nine hours without a lawyer, questioned by the Prosecution and being accused of possession of publications that call for the overthrow of the regime. His detention was renewed on Jan. 17, 2016 for 15 days pending investigation.

In Egyptian President Sisi’s own words “(…) there are many innocent people inside prisons, soon many of them will be released according to the available permissions”, yet many Human Rights activists are still in jail without due process.

Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union on 14 March 2016, EuroMed Rights and its partner organisations is calling upon the public to sign the petition, asking their Foreign Affairs Minister to raise this systematic crackdown on dissent with Egypt’s President.

Every voice counts! Help us in getting as many as possible and spreading the word to #DetainNoMore Human Rights Activists in Egypt!

Find out more about activists currently held in prison and the Human Rights Behind Bars in Egypt.