The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Egypt.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by the Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP) about death threats against Mr. Nasser Amine, ACIJLP Director General, and Mr. Hammad Wadi Sannd, researcher at ACIJLP.
According to the information received, on October 25, 2008, a group referring itself as "the Middle East Mujahedeen in Cairo" sent an email on the official ACIJLP address, threatening to kill Mr. Nasser Amine if he did not desist "his role and the role of the Centre towards Darfur crisis in addition to the role of the International Criminal Court on this crisis". According to ACIJLP, this primarily refer to the Centre’s advocacy of strengthening criminal justice, particularly the International Criminal Court (ICC), and lobbying for its intervention in Darfur. The email also contained threats against Mr. Hammad Wadi Sannd.
The Observatory is deeply concerned by these death treats against Messrs. Nasser Amine and Hammad Wadi Sannd and fears that their motive is to hinder the role played by the ACIJLP in strengthening the international criminal justice and the role of the ICC in resolving the crisis in Darfur.
More generally, the Observatory is concerned by the rising number of incidents affecting human rights defenders working towards a strengthened role of the ICC.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Egypt, urging them to:
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Nasser Amine and Hammad Wadi Sannd;
ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned threats, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before an ordinary competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;
iii. Put an end to any act of harassment against Messrs. Amine and Wadi Sannd as well as against all human rights defenders in Egypt;
iv. Comply with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", and Article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Egypt.
Addresses:
· President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg, Fax: +202 390 1998
· Prime Minister Mr. Ahmed Mahmoud Mohamed Nazif, Magles El Shaab Street, Kasr El Aini Street, Cairo, Egypt. Fax: + 202 735 6449 / 7958016. Email: primemin@idsc.gov.eg
· Minister of the Interior, General Habib Ibrahim Habib El Adly, Ministry of the Interior, El-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: moi1@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 579 2031 / 794 5529
· Minister of Justice, Mr. Mamdoh Mohie E-din Marie, Ministry of Justice, Magles El Saeb Street, Wezaret Al Adl, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 795 8103
· Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Maher Abd al-Wahid, Dar al-Qadha al-Ali, Ramses Street, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 577 4716
· National Council For Human Rights, Fax: + 202 5747497 / 5747670
· Ambassador Sameh Shoukry, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, 49 avenue Blanc, 1202 Genève, Switzerland, Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15
· Embassy of Egypt in Brussels, 19 avenue de l’Uruguay, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 675.58.88; Email: embassy.egypt@skynet.be