Annual Report of The National Council for Human Rights

Chapter Five - Cont.
Human Rights Practices in Egypt For 2004

Protecting the rights of Egyptian citizens abroad:

Egyptian diplomacy succeeded in protecting the rights of a number of Egyptian citizens abroad. It helped achieve the release of an Egyptian diplomat as well as six Orascom Company personnel, all of whom were kidnapped in Iraq. Further, it succeeded in releasing the six students who were detained by Israel.
However, many other cases remained unclear despite the requests of members of the People's Assembly and the appeals of non-governmental organizations to reveal their legal status and ensure their protection. This has forced a number of non-government authorities to file lawsuits in the State NCHR (Ombudsman) in this regard.

Among the most prominent compulsory detention cases were the case of the disappearance of eleven Egyptian citizens in Libya since 2002 after being exposed to a fraudulent attempt at facilitating their entry into Italy through Libyan territories.
By mid-March 2004, the Administrative Court ruled on the case filed by HRAAP against the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs and the Libyan Embassy in Cairo for obliging the Ministry of Interior to submit certificates on the movement of the Egyptian missing citizens. Further, it obliged it to submit their passports which were handed over to it by an Egyptian citizen residing in Libya, to be reviewed by the court.
In its follow-up of the case, the same court indicated in July the slackness of the Ministry of Interior in performing its role and not checking on the investigations conducted in connection with the disappearance of the 11 Egyptians. It urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take immediate action to uncover their fate. ⁽⁴⁴⁾.

Furthermore, the detention of five Egyptian citizens by the US forces in Guatenamo camp continued without accusation or trial, under circumstances indicating exposure to torture and ambiguity of legal status.

Unlike the UK and French authorities, the Egyptian authorities do not seem to have exerted any effort to have them released, or have their status clarified.

Further, the conditions of more than 600 citizens detained in Lebanon as illegitimate labor remained in question. A representative in the People's Assembly has earlier raised their case through an advice request which he submitted by mid May.

In his request, he pointed to their detention a few months earlier on charge of working without a permit. Many of them were exposed to torture and ill treatment, while three died of torture.

However, the Foreign Ministry's Undersecretary for Consular Affairs has confirmed before the Arab Affairs Committee in the NCHR that only two death cases took place. One of them committed suicide out of frustration after being given a life sentence. The other died of cancer in 2002.

It was decided that a government committee representing the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs should go to Lebanon to investigate the files of the Egyptian citizens detained in Lebanese prisons. ⁽⁴⁵⁾ Up till the date of writing this report, we have no knowledge of any legal committee visiting Lebanon for this purpose.

2- Public freedoms :

The ruling NDP adopted the call for developing laws regulating freedoms, first by the cancellation of freedom-deprivation punishments in publication crimes, and then by developing the laws regulating the practice of political rights, the National Assembly, political parties and professional associations.

Freedom of speech and the press:

Freedom of speech and the Journalists witnessed several positive developments throughout the year, whereby the Higher Journalists Council (HPC) approved to resume publishing "Al Mawqef Al Arabi Magazine", following more than 17 years of shut-down in compliance with an administrative order of the Government, and after repeated failure to implement court verdicts in its favor. Such decision was widely welcomed by the political powers and civil society in the country.

On 25 December HPC approved the resumption of Al Dostoor "weekly" independent newspaper, in implementation of a final court verdict after a halt for six years.

Furthermore, the HPC approved the publishing of "Al Ghad" (Tomorrow) newspaper as a daily newspaper representing Al Ghad Party, incorporated pursuant to the approval of the Parties Committee.

On 22 February, a Presidential decree was announced, canceling freedom deprivation penalties in Journalistscases. However, as enactment of this decree was not forthcoming, the current law remained effective and journalists were punished by imprisonment in several cases related to publication, the most prominent of which being:

- The verdict handed down by the Misdemeanors Court - Section II - Tanta, for imprisoning the journalist Ahmad Attwan, the editor in chief of "Sout Al Gharbiya" newspaper and Ismail Mohammed Ahmad, a journalist in the same newspaper for six months with labor and bail of LE 1000, and a fine of LE 5000 for each of them, on charge of publishing materials falling under the jurisdiction of the Penal Code. Human rights organizations were concerned due to the fact that the first was convicted in his capacity as the editor in chief of the newspaper on the assumption of his responsibility for everything published in his newspaper, which the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) had ruled earlier in 1997 to be unconstitutional ⁽⁴⁶⁾.

- The verdict handed down by Cairo Criminal Court for the imprisonment of Ahmad Ezz Eddin, a journalist in Al Osbou newspaper for two years with labor, on charge of defaming and slandering the Deputy Premier and Minister of Agriculture in Al Osbou Newspaper. The JournalistsSyndicate Board (PSB) expressed its solidarity with the journalist and appealed to the President of the Republic to apply his constitutional authorities to freeze of the verdict.

- Another journalist, Ahmad Ezz Eddine El Ghoul of Al Sha'ab newspaper remained in detention for almost three months on charge of a case of possessing printed matters and papers related to the Muslim Brotherhood Group. The Public Prosecutor decided to discharge him by the beginning of 2005, following intervention of the chairman of the Arab Journalists Association with the MoI and Public Prosecutor ⁽⁴⁸⁾.

Nevertheless, the most flagrant abuse of the freedom of speech and the Journalistswas the incident of assaulting the journalist Abdulhaleem Qandeel, the executive editor in chief of Al Arabi Newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Arab Nasserist Party, who was kidnapped by unknown assailants while returning to his home at night. He was severely beaten up, stripped out of his clothes and abandoned at Al Mokatam City, one of the suburbs of Cairo ⁽⁴⁹⁾. This opposition journalist, known for his sharp criticism of the government's performance, accused the Ministry of Interior of gravely declining to protect him.

As for the incident of the journalist Redda Hilal, a regretful issue which raises concern, it is still shrouded by vagueness from several aspects. The HRC is still collecting more data to enable it to take a stand or an action in this case.

It is worth noting that this assault is the third of its kind to take place during the last decade, as there had beem an earlier similar assault against journalist Gamal Badawi, the editor in chief of Al Wafd (opposition) newspaper in August 1995 ⁽⁵⁰⁾.

A similar assault ensued, involving Mr.Magdi Ahmad Hussien, the editor in chief of Al Sha'ab Newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Labor "opposition" party on 1 July 1996, a few steps away from the premises of his newspaper in El Sayeda Zeinab district, prior to its shutdown⁽⁵¹⁾.

Furthermore, the concern of human rights organizations was raised by the decree of the Minister of Justice to bestow the judicial apprehension capacity to members of the Islamic Research Center (IRC). The organizations appealed for adherence to the text of the decree, and avoidance of any crooked interpretation of the Holy Book or Prophetic traditions (Hadith).