* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International *
News Service 204/99
AI INDEX: MDE 12/40/99
29 October 1999
Egypt
Concern over arrest and detention of possible prisoners of conscience
Amnesty International has written to the Egyptian government to express its concern over the arrest and detention,
earlier this month, of 20 Egyptian professionals for their alleged affiliation with the banned Muslim Brothers
organization.
The 20 men, the majority of whom hold leading positions in professional bodies, have reportedly been detained on the
charge of joining an illegal organization.
"If, as we believe, the detainees are being held solely on the grounds of their alleged affiliation with the Muslim
Brothers -- an organization that neither advocates nor condones violence -- we regard them as prisoners of conscience
and call for their immediate and unconditional release," Amnesty International said.
Mukhtar Nouh, a lawyer and former member of the Egyptian parliament, is among those detained. He, along with several
other detainees, is also a member of the Egyptian Bar Association. The body is scheduled to hold its board elections
soon, after the recent lifting of a three-year government ban on its activities.
The men were arrested on 14 and 15 October this year and ordered by the State Security Prosecution to remain in
detention for 15 days. On 26 October, during a hearing attended by an Amnesty International delegate, the 20 detainees
were ordered by the State Security Prosecution to remain in so-called "preventive detention" for a further 15 days.
According to some reports, their cases were referred to a military court on 27 October, but there have been conflicting
accounts regarding this development and no official confirmation has been forthcoming. However, if these civilians are
tried by a military court, such a trial would violate fundamental requirements of international law, in particular the
right to be tried before independent and competent judges.
Some of the detainees have been tried in the past by military tribunals. One of them, Muhammad Sa'd 'Alawiyya al-Sayyid
Taha, was among 60 people sentenced and imprisoned by the Supreme Military Court for their alleged affiliation with the
Muslim Brothers, after unfair trials in 1995 and 1996. Others were detained for several months on similar charges and
later released without trial.
Amnesty International is also concerned that dozens of other alleged members of Muslim Brothers continue to be held in
so-called "preventive detention". People can be held in "preventive detention" for up to six months under the Egyptian
Criminal Procedure Code.
ENDS.../
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
****************************************************************
You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is not altered in any way and both the header
crediting Amnesty International and this footer remain intact.
****************************************************************