Egypt: Release Human Rights Defenders
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International
AI Index: MDE 12/041/2002 (Public)
News Service No: 221
2 December 2002
Egypt: Release human rights defenders
On 3 December 2002 the Court of Cassation is due to pronounce its decision regarding the final appeal in the case of
Saad Eddin Ibrahim and other human rights defenders.
"The charges on which Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Nadia 'Abd al-Nur were convicted and imprisoned in a retrial in July 2002
are a pretext to punish them for criticizing government policies. They should be immediately and unconditionally
released," Amnesty International said.
The Egyptian government has been criticized by national and international human rights organizations and UN bodies for
its restrictive policy on non-governmental organizations.
In November 2002 the UN Human Rights Committee, charged with overseeing the implementation of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, expressed concern "at restrictions placed by Egyptian legislation and practice on the
foundation of non-governmental organizations and the activities of such organizations such as efforts to secure foreign
funding."
"The Egyptian government must end muzzling civil society activists. By targeting Saad Eddin Ibrahim and his colleagues
the authorities intend to threaten the Egyptian human rights movement into silence," Amnesty International added.
Background
In May 2001 the Supreme State Security Court sentenced Saad Eddin Ibrahim to seven years' imprisonment on the basis of
several charges, including receiving unauthorized funding and dissemination of false information abroad. Three staff
members of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies were sentenced to two years' imprisonment for collaborating
with Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
Saad Eddin Ibrahim and the other prisoners were temporarily released after the Court of Cassation ordered a retrial in
February 2002. In July 2002 the retrial was opened before another circuit of the Supreme State Security Court in which
Saad Eddin Ibrahim and Nadia 'Abd al-Nur were sentenced to seven and two years' imprisonment respectively (see Egypt:
Imprisonment of human rights defenders - AI Index: MDE 12/016/2001 http://click.topica.com/maaaGiAaaUGwJbb0hPub/)
Human rights defenders are among dozens of men and women in Egypt detained or imprisoned solely for the non-violent
expression of their political views or religious beliefs. Among them are political activists, including members of the
banned Muslim Brothers, and members of non-political religious groups accused of "contempt of religion".
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