This verdict puts an end to a case that started on 30 June 2000, when Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim was arrested along with 27 employees of the Center. Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim was charged under the Military Decree No.4 of 1992, adopted within the framework of the State of Emergency Law (1981) that prohibits the reception of foreign funds without previous authorisation by the State, for having received funds from the European Union without previous State authorization. He was also charged with forgery of electoral cards, misappropriation of funds, and disseminating false information abroad contrary to the interests of Egypt.
He received a seven-year prison sentence by a State Security Court on 21 May 2001 along with his 27 co-defendants. He was then released on 7 February 2002 after the Court of Cassation broke the State Security Court’s decision and transferred the case to another Court. However this new Court confirmed the sentence and he was again put in prison on 22 July 2002, along with 3 co-defendants. He was finally released upon a second decision of the Court of Cassation on 3rd December 2002, waiting for the final and definitive verdict pronounced today.
The Observatory sent observers to the different steps of the proceedings. It considered that the charges brought against Dr. Ibrahim were arbitrary, since they only aimed at sanctioning his activity in favour of the defence of Human Rights and of democracy in Egypt. This situation also raised grave concerns amongst national and international human rights organisations, and was denounced by all the actors of the international community, including the European Union.
While welcoming this decision, the Observatory remains however concerned about the legal provisions of the Egyptian legislation, as regards freedom of association. The new law on associations adopted in June 2002 is indeed very restrictive and includes the prohibition to receive foreign funding without prior authorisation. These restrictions are strengthened by the renewal of the State of Emergency in February 2003 (and therefore of Military Decree No.4 of 1992) for a period of three years.
The Observatory therefore calls the Egyptian authorities to amend its legislation so as to conform with international human rights instruments ratified by Egypt as well as with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1998.