URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
New information
EGY 004 / 1116 / OBS 101.2
Arbitrary Arrest / Judicial Harassment
Restriction to freedom of association /
Restriction to freedom of movement
Egypt
December 15, 2016
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Egypt.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the court order confirming the freezing of the personal assets of Ms. Azza Soliman, human rights lawyer at “Lawyers for Justice and Peace” (LJP) and founder of the Centre for Egyptian Women Legal Aid (CEWLA), an NGO that provides free legal, social, and psychological services to women and marginalized groups, and advocates for improved protections of their rights, and member of the Executive Committee of the WHRD MENA Coalition, as well as the assets of LJP.
According to the information received, on December 14, 2016, the presiding judge of North Cairo Primary Court ordered the freezing of all assets related to Ms. Soliman under Criminal Case No. 173/2001 (commonly known as the “NGO foreign funding case) (see background information).
It has to be recalled that on December 7, 2016 at around 1.30 pm, police officers arrested Ms. Azza Soliman at her house, based on an arrest warrant for charges of “receiving foreign funding to harm the State’s interest”, “establishment of an entity that conducts activities similar to that of associations’ activities“ and “tax evasion”. She was released on bail the same night at 8.30 pm (see background information).
The Observatory would like to express its deep concern regarding the pattern of imposing asset freezes to repress human rights defenders [1]. Several other Egyptian human rights defenders are also being subjected to the criminal investigation under the “NGO foreign funding case”, and their assets were frozen on September 17, 2016 [2].
The Observatory is extremely concerned about this new development in the harassment targeting Ms. Azza Soliman, which only aims at sanctioning her legitimate human rights activities, and urges the Egyptian authorities to immediately drop all charges against her and lift all assets freezes.
Background Information:
On January 24, 2015, Ms. Soliman voluntary went to the Public Prosecution’s office to give her testimony regarding the violent dispersal by security forces of a protest organised on the same day by the political party “Popular Alliance”, which led to the death of political activist Ms. Shaimaa El Sabbagh. Ms. Soliman did not take part in the protest, but was coincidentally in the same area and witnessed the dispersal and the shooting of the activist.
After waiting several hours at the Public Prosecution’s office, Ms. Soliman was finally able to give her testimony, pointing to the responsibility of the police for the death of the activist. Ms. Soliman also filed a complaint accusing the Minister of Interior and security forces of having violently dispersed the peaceful protest.
Upon completion of her testimony, the prosecutor then interrogated her, and informed her that he was going to press charges against her and four other witnesses for “illegal gathering” and “participating in a protest that harmed public security”. Ms. Soliman was released along with the other four, pending investigation.
On March 23, 2015, Ms. Soliman was formally charged with “unauthorised protest”, and “breach of security and public order”. Along with Ms. Soliman, sixteen others were charged, including Ms. Nagwa Abbass, member of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party.
On March 28, 2015, the lawyers of Ms. Soliman requested from the General Prosecutor to include her as a witness and not as a defendant in the case, however on March 31, this request was denied.
On April 4, 2015, the first hearing took place before the Abdeen Misdemeanor Court. Ms. Soliman’s lawyers requested adjournment, as they had not been able to access the criminal files [3]. The request was granted and the Court adjourned the hearing to May 9, 2015. On May 9, the judge heard requests made by lawyers of other accused and adjourned the hearing to May 23, 2015.
On May 23, 2015, the Abdeen Misdemanour Court acquitted Ms. Soliman on charges of “unauthorised protest” and “breach of security and public order”.However, on May 26, 2015, the Public Prosecution appealed the decision. The first court hearing was due to be held on September 26, but was then postponed to October 24, 2015.
Meanwhile, on June 11, 2015, one police officer was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on charges of “beating leading to death” of Ms. Shaimaa Al Sabbagh.
On October 24, 2015, the Qasr Al Nil Appeal Court confirmed the acquittal of Ms. Azza Soliman along with sixteen other defendants on charges of “unauthorised protesting” and “breach of security and public order”. This decision is final and not subject to appeal.
On November 17, 2016, Ms Azza Soliman attempted to travel from Egypt to Jordan in order to participate in a training for the Mushawah movement, an organisation promoting equity within the Muslim community, when she was informed by the authorities that she was banned from travelling. This followed a judicial order instructed that same day by the investigative judge in the case No. 173/2011, commonly known as “NGOs foreign funding case”, which also ordered the freezing of her personal as well as her law firm’s assets.
Ms. Soliman was never informed of any charges against her or summoned for interrogation. She is the third human rights defender and NGO Director to be banned from travelling this month, a few days after human rights lawyers Ahmad Ragheb, Founder of the National Community for Human Rights and Law (NCHRL) and Malek Adly, Director of the Lawyers Network of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR).
On December 7, 2016 at around 1.30 pm, police officers came to the house of Ms. Azza Soliman in the early afternoon presenting her an arrest warrant issued by investigative Judge Hisham Abdel Meguid, investigating on the case No. 173/2001 (commonly known as the “NGO foreign funding case) (see background information). This is the first arrest warrant to be issued against an NGO worker in relation to this case. The charges brought against her are of “receiving foreign funding to harm the State’s interest”, “establishment of an entity that conducts activities similar to that of associations’ activities“ and “tax evasion”. She has been taken by force to the Masr Al Jdede (Heliopolis) Police Station, and afterwards brought to the New Cairo Court before the investigative judge.
After several hours of interrogation, Ms. Soliman was finally released in the evening of the same day at around 8 pm after paying a bail of 20,000 EGP (approx. 1,080 €).
This new act of harassment against Ms. Soliman comes only three weeks after she was informed of a travel ban ordered without any court hearing and preventing her from leaving Egypt and of the attempt to freeze her personal assets, along with her law firm assets. Ms. Soliman and her associate were in the process of investigating the reasons of these two consecutive harassment measures at the time of the arrest. Indeed, the same investigative judge requested a felony court to freeze her assets. The court set December 12, 2016 as the date for the hearing.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Egypt asking them to:
i. Drop all charges against Ms. Azza Soliman as well as of all human rights defenders in Egypt;
ii. Immediately and unconditionally lift the travel ban and assets freezes imposed against her;
iii. Conform 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 Articles 1 and 12.2; and
iv. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Egypt.
Addresses:
· President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Fax: +202 23901998
· Prime Minister, Mr. Sherif Ismail. Fax: + 202 2735 6449 / 27958016. Email: primemin@idsc.gov.eg
· Minister of the Interior, General Magdy Abdel Ghaffar, E-mail: moi1@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2579 2031 / 2794 5529
· Minister of Justice, Mr. Ahmed Al-Zanad, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2795 8103
· Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Nabeel Sadek, Fax: +202 2577 4716
· Mr. Mohamed Fayeq, President of the National Council For Human Rights, Fax: + 202 25747497 / 25747670. Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg
· H.E. Ms. Wafaa Bassim, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15
· Embassy of Egypt in Brussels, Fax: +32 2 675.58.88; Email: embassy.egypt@skynet.be
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Egypt in your respective country.
***
Geneva-Paris, December 15, 2016
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80