A Tragic Human Tug-of-Rope

In one of those incidents that seem so absurd that mark so many human rights violation, a Sudanese refugee was the rope in a "tug-of-war" between an Egyptian and Israeli soldier on Aug. 2. The refugee was attempting to cross the border fence into Israel, an example of just how desperate the situation has gotten for Sudanese in Egypt. Unfortunately, the Egyptian soldier won the contest, and the refugee is believed to be one of four Sudanese who were killed by Egyptian soldiers on that day.

Here's Amnesty's statement on the case:

The lives of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, who daily try to cross the border from Egypt into Israel, may be in danger, following the use of excessive force by law enforcement officials in the area. This follows the reported death of two men believed to be of Sudanese origin, who were allegedly shot dead by Egyptian security forces as they attempted to cross the border during the night of 1 August 2007.

Egyptian official sources have denied that the shootings took place, although they have confirmed that two men were arrested by the Egyptian border police on 2 August, one of whom is said to be seriously injured. Amnesty International is concerned that Egypt and Israel may be sending law enforcement officials to the area who do not have the necessary training for dealing with crowd-control situations, thus putting the lives of more migrants, refugees and asylum seekers at risk.

Excessive use of force by the Egyptian security forces has increased over the last few weeks. Prior to this incident, a Sudanese woman died on 22 July 2007, after allegedly being shot by Egyptian security forces while she was attempting to cross the border with Israel. Other Sudanese, including an 11-year old girl, and a woman from the Ivory Coast were also injured at the scene. Twenty-two others from Sudan, Ivory Coast and Eritrea were also arrested by the Egyptian authorities.

Thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, who mostly come from Sudan and Eritrea as well as other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, try to cross from Egypt to Israel each year. Their numbers have been increasing in recent months and according to the Israeli Minister of Interior Roni Bar-On some 300 try to cross into Israel every week. Hundreds more are believed to be preparing to try to cross the same border.

Amnesty is calling for people to contact the Egyptian Embassy and President Mubarak. We want them to assure us that they will meet their international obligations to protect the lives of migrants and not use unneccessary force. We also want them to conduct an impartial and independent investigation of these alleged killings.

Here's Mubarak's address -- his e-mail account most recently isn't working again --

His Excellency Mohammad Hosni Mubarak
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
'Abedine Palace
Cairo
Egypt
Fax: +20223901998

The Egyptian embassy can be reached at 202.895.5400

Message to President Mubarak: MB Trials Must be Open

Amnesty International announced today that it has written to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, urging him to ensure that independent observers are permitted access to the trial of 40 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, scheduled to resume before the Supreme Military Court in Cairo on Sunday.

The organization made this call following two earlier trial hearings when legal observers sent by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations were barred from entering the court.

"We look to President Mubarak, as Egypt's highest authority, to open the doors to this important trial," said Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan. "He should clear the way for it to receive the scrutiny it deserves."

Amnesty International's trial observer, Jordanian lawyer Samieh Khreis, was previously among a number of international and Egyptian legal observers who were turned away by security officials when they attempted to enter the Supreme Military Court during its last session on 15 July. Observers were also turned away when they attempted to attend a previous session of the trial on 3 June 2007.

Egyptian authorities have given no explanation to date for their refusal to allow independent observers to attend the trial, adding to concerns about its fairness.

The 40 defendants facing trial on 5 August 2007 include leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who face charges of terrorism and money-laundering that could incur the death penalty.

All are being tried before a military court on the express instructions of President Mubarak -- using powers under a 1966 law -- although none hold any position within Egypt's armed forces.

Seventeen of the 40 were previously tried but acquitted on the same charges by a Cairo criminal court.

"We unreservedly oppose the Egyptian government's use of military courts to try civilians," said Irene Khan.

"In Egypt's military courts judges are serving members of the armed forces and military courts cannot be seen as independent and impartial tribunals for civilians. Their use for highly-charged political cases -- such as the current trial of leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood -- suggests that the defendants may be denied a fair trial."

"The fact that the government has so far denied international observers access to the court only exacerbates our grave concerns." Ms Khan said

Death Sentences after Unfair Trials

Three Egyptian men are facing a death sentences after being convicted of involvement in the 2004 Taba bombings in which at least 34 people were killed and many more injured. Amnesty International doesn't know if Muhammed Gayiz Sabbah, Usama ‘Abd al-Ghani
al-Nakhlawi and Yunis Muhammed Abu Gareer were involved in the bombings. It does, however, know that they face execution after an unfair trial before a special court and that their convictions are based on “confessions” extracted under torture. If the Egyptian state does execute these men, it will have arbitrarily deprived them of their right to life and violated international law.

Why does Amnesty International get involved in these cases? Because these men were condemned after unfair proceedings; tortured; denied justice by State of Emergency provisions; and because the death penalty is the ultimate in the denial of the right to life and cruel and unusual punishment. These are the core human rights violations in Egypt -- they affect not just people accused of crimes against the nation's security, but against all Egyptian citizens. We can not attack human rights violations and be blind to those abuses that occur, according to the state, in the name of national security.

Please write to the Egyptian authorities calling on them
to:
 Halt the executions of Muhammed Gayiz Sabbah, Usama ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nakhlawi and Yunis
Muhammed Abu Gareer, who were sentenced to death after a grossly unfair trial.
 Ensure that all those convicted in this case are retried before an ordinary criminal court in proceedings that meet international fair trial standards, including the right to appeal.
 Order a thorough and impartial investigation into all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, bring to justice those responsible for any abuses, and give full
reparation to the victims.
 Commute all death sentences and announce a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolition.

Egyptian Blogger Disappears?

Unfortunately there is a new turn in the case of Abdel Moneim Mahmoud. According to friends, he was scheduled to be released on May 30. Instead he was taken, allegedly, to the Alexandria Transfers Department in Alexandria, Egypt, where prisoners are taken for processing. According to Moneim's attorney, Islam Lofty, Moneim was able to send several messages to him during the process.

Then nothing. The third and last message the attorney received indicated that Moneim arrived at the department in the early hours of June 1. But when Lofty attempted to reach Moneim there, authorities denied he was there.

"It is illegal to keep Monem for more than 24 hours after his release. I am worried Monem is being subject to re-interrogation by State Security, or even torture and re-detention," Lotfy stated.

Amnesty International has documented that prisoners are at greatest risk for torture when their whereabouts are kept secret or are denied. Urgent action is requested. Please call the Egyptian embassy and tell Ambassador Nabil Fahmy that we are concerned about the status of this prisoner of conscience. The embassy can be reached at 202.895.5400. Click here to find out addresses of consulate offices in other parts of the country.

Human Rights and the Muslim Brothers

Karim Amer has attracted some attention in the American media and from some American politicians, as well as he should. The heavy-handed and politically motivated arrest and conviction of the Egyptian blogger for his peaceful exercise of freedom of speech is just another example of how this government seeks to muzzle civil society and is determined to shut down the Internet as a force for civil society and democratic change.
But fewer Americans know about Abdel Moneim Mahmoud, and they should. Like Karim, Abdel is an Egyptian blogger who has brought attention to human rights abuses in Egypt. Like Karim, Abdel now is in detention and faces criminal charges for his activity. Like Karim, Abdel has been declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International
Abdel in particular has done much to publicize abuses about torture in Egypt, which as I've mentioned I believe to be one of the core human rights concerns in the country. He's met with Amnesty International officials previously on the topic, and the organization is concerned that meetings with AI and other international groups may be one of the reason for his arrest.
But Abdel is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and that may be one obstacle to Americans speaking out on his case. It shouldn't.
I don't agree with basic MB positions on a lot of issues, and the organization has a past history that is connected to violence. But since the mid-1990s, the organization has renounced violence, and pledged to seek political change through non-violent means, specifically the ballot box. And they've been somewhat successful, and for that success it has faced significant oppression from the government, Abdel's arrest just being the latest in a long line of detentions.
And frankly its success has some American policymakers scared. It's hard for Americans to take on support for political Islamists.
But Egyptian human rights activists have no such reluctance, as seen by this statement from a consortium of Egyptian HR groups, and they're watching us to see if we're following.
This is a clear example of why it's important to have a single standard in applying human rights. Doing human rights work requires setting priorities to be effective, but if those priorities are skewed by non-human rights concerns, such as fear of political Islamists, it's not going to be credible. Credibility is essential to the effectiveness of this work. That doesn't mean we have to work on every possible case -- we can't. But over the long term, that work must reflect the general pattern of HR concerns in a region.
For more about the Abdel's case, click here.
Please write a letter to the Egyptian ambassador declaring Abdel Moneim Mahmoud to be a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and unconditional release. Also ask that Egyptian officials stop the continued harassment of Egyptian bloggers, reminding them of their responsibilities under international agreements and the Egyptian constitution to protect citizens' peaceful expression of their freedom of speech.
Address
Ambassador Nabil Fahmy
3521 International Ct. NW
Washington DC 20008

Karim Amer sentenced to Four Years

Blogger Karim Amer today was sentenced to four years in jail for "disparaging remarks about Egyptian President Mubarak," according to Egyptian activists. This very troubling result will bring about a further chilling climate for free speech and democratic activism, both online and in other public venues. Amnesty International has declared Karim to be a prisoner of conscience. In today's statement, Amnesty condemns the conviction.

"This sentence is yet another slap in the face of freedom of expression in Egypt," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa Deputy Programme Director. "The Egyptian authorities must protect the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression, even if the views expressed might be perceived by some as offensive. Amnesty International considers Karim Amer to be a prisoner of conscience who is being prosecuted on account of the peaceful expression of his views."

"It is a gloomy day for all the advocators of freedom of expression not only in Egypt but also in the whole world," Gamal Eid, HRinfo Executive director said. "When a young man is punished for having secular views in a country claiming respect to citizens' right to freedom of expression, it is a catastrophe. The democratic countries all over the world have already expelled such charges from their laws".

For a fuller update on the case, click here.

All activists are urged to take action. Once again the key places to protest are with the Egyptian ambassador.

Ambassador Nabil Fahmy
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Court N.W., Washington, D.C., 20008
202-895-5400

The embassy e-mail is embassy@egyptembdc.org

Habib Ibrahim El Adly
Minister of the Interior
25 Al-Sheikh Rihan Street
Bab al-Louk
Cairo
EGYPT
e-mail: moi@idsc.gov.eg

Counsellor Mamdouh Mohyiddin Marie
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Midan Lazoghly
Cairo
EGYPT
e-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg

You can also support Karim by adding comments to his website, or by adding comments to the Free Kareem website here.

Crackdown on MB Deepens

Arrests of Muslim Brothers is a recurring story in Egypt, but the number and intensity of the current crackdown seems to indicate something different about this one. The organization announced Friday that 81 members were detained this week.

Among the detainees is Doctor Gamal Abdul Salam (Secretary-General of relief committee in Arab Doctors' Union and an ex-Muslim Brotherhood candidate in 2005 People's Assembly elections for Qasr Al-Neel constituency). The detainees were ordered held for 15 days pending investigation on charges of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood group and inciting the public opinion against the regime, according to the MB's website.

The arrests brings the total of MB arrests in recent months to 300.

As with all crackdown on the banned organization, the question always is why now? On some past occasions, the arrests have been a straightforward effort to prevent MB members from running for office. And that could be the case now. In April, Egyptians go to the polls to elect members to the shura council. The process will also effect proposed constitutional changes that are important to the Mubarak government.

One last thing: I want the underscore the charge of "inciting public opinion against the government." A lot of people don't like the Muslim Brothers. Their politics scare a lot of American policymakers. But when when people get arrested for things like "inciting public opinion against the government," that's when you need to put away political considerations and do the needed human rights and democracy activism.

For more on the story from the Muslim Brothers website, click here.

Here's the BBC's report on the arrests.