The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) strongly condemns yesterday’s decision by the Special Chamber of the Criminal Court in Tora, Cairo, to once again deny bail to Egyptian human rights defender Alaa Abdel Fattah.
The prominent activist and blogger has been jailed since the 11 June ruling by the criminal court sitting in Tora Prison when he was sentenced – together with 24 others – in abstentia to 15 years in prison for allegedly violating Egypt’s controversial protest Law.
Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has been on hunger strike since 19 August to protest the grounds and conditions of his imprisonment, was arrested on 28 November 2013. After spending 115 days in custody without access to a court in which to submit an application for bail, he was finally released on 23 March, only to be arrested again on 11 June following the in absentia judgment handed down while he was waiting for admission outside the court.
Since then, Alaa Abdel Fattah has unsuccessfully requested bail during each of his subsequent hearings. Egyptan law allows for the refusal of bail on two limited grounds: when there is a risk of abscondment and/or a risk of tampering with evidence, neither of which is applicable to the case in question. The defendant’s demonstrated behaviour leaves no doubt about his intention to appear in court. Between the time Alaa Abdel Fattah was released on bail in March and the time of his re-arrest in June, the defendant attended each of his hearings on 6 April, 17 May and 25 May respectively.
The continued denial of Abdel Fattah’s bail requests violates both Egyptian and international law. Out of the total 25 defendants, 22 remain outside custody. Only Alaa Abdel Fattah, Mohamed Noubi and Wael Metwally remain in jail. EMHRN is concerned that Abdel Fattah, as prominent opposition figure is being treated differently from other defendants, both as a result of his human rights activism and as a result of the animosity between him and the presiding judge in his case, Mohamed El-Fikki.
In accordance with the guarantee under international law to be tried without undue delay or to be released, also known as the maxim of “justice delayed is justice denied,” EMHRN calls on the Egyptian authorities to put an immediate end to the illegal detention of Alaa Abdel Fattah. “Egypt’s judiciary, which is increasingly used as a tool of state repression, systematically violates Egyptian’s right to a fair trial, in violation of both national and international law” says Michel Tubiana, EMHRN President. “This practice not only undermines the independence of the judiciary, but also hurdles democratic transition in Egypt.”
(Alaa Abdel Fattah’s next hearing is scheduled for 15 September. EMHRN will continue monitoring his trial and will publish a comprehensive trial observation report on this case in the coming weeks.)