The Observatory has been informed by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) [1] about the arbitrary detentions of Mr. Karim Ennarah, the Director of the criminal justice unit and of Mr. Gasser Abdel Razeq, the Executive Director of EIPR.
According to the information received, on November 18, 2020, at 2pm, Mr. Karim Ennarah was arrested by four plain-clothed National Security Agency officers in a restaurant in Dahab (South Sinai) were he was on vacation, after security forces had visited on November 17, 2020, Mr. Ennarah’s home in Cairo in order to arrest him, but without finding him then. The officers questioned him during a few minutes, requested him to give them his phone and took him to the local police station. After Mr. Ennarah’s arrest, police officers raided his hotel room, where they seized his ID, laptop and other belongings.
Mr. Ennarah then appeared in front of the Supreme State Security Prosecutor (SSSP) in Cairo and after an interrogation that lasted for four hours and where EIPR lawyers were present, the SSSP ordered Karim Ennarah’s pretrial detention for 15 days per case n°855/2020 pending investigations over charges of “joining a terrorist group”, “using a social media account to spread false news” and “spreading false news”. The prosecutor based the charges on security investigations showing that Karim Ennarah “agreed with a group inside prisons to spread false rumours that could undermine public peace and public safety.”
On November 19, 2020, security forces arrested Mr. Gasser Abdel-Razeq from his home in Cairo and took him to an unknown location. He later appeared and was interrogated at the SSSP, who ordered his pretrial detention for 15 days in case n°855/2020 pending investigations into similar charges of “joining a terrorist group”, “disseminating false statements to undermine public security”, and “using the internet to publish false news”.
Mr Ennarah and Mr. Abdel-Razeq are currently being detained at Tora Prison Complex.
The Observatory underlines that these new arbitrary detentions come in a context of widespread crackdown against the EIPR and is taking place only a few days after the arbitrary arrest and subsequent detention of the organisation’s Administrative Manager, Mr. Mohamed Basheer (see background information). In addition, media outlets affiliated with the General Intelligence Service have been leading a smear campaign against the EIPR, aimed at discrediting their work [2].
The Observatory deplores this series of attacks against this renowned and respected human rights organisation and calls on the Egyptian authorities to put an end to the systematic targeting of the EIPR and its members.
The Observatory condemns the arbitrary detention of Mr. Karim Ennarah and of Mr. Gasser Abdel Razeq, as it seems to be only aimed at punishing them for their legitimate human rights activities, and urges the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them and to drop all charges against them.
Background information:
After midnight on November 15, 2020, security forces arrested Mr. Mohamed Basheer at his house, in Cairo. He was then brought to an unidentified State Security Sector facility where he was detained for 12 hours and questioned about the visit of several ambassadors and diplomats to EIPR premises on November 3, 2020, during which the human rights situation in Egypt and in the world was discussed. After this interrogation, he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) of the Fifth Settlement district, where he was questioned about EIPR’s work, its latest publications and its legal aid work.
Subsequently, the SSSP charged Mr. Basheer with “joining a terrorist organisation with knowledge of its purposes”, “using a personal account on the internet to spread false information that undermines public security”, “committing one of the crimes of funding terrorism”, “broadcasting false news and statements that undermines public security” and “harming national interest”, and decided to remand him in custody for 15 days and to resume the questioning at a later date. The prosecution added Mr. Mohamed Basheer to case n°855/2020 alongside with several other activists and human rights professionals, including lawyers Mohammed El Baqer [3] and Mahinour El Masry [4]. Mr. Basheer is currently detained at Tora Investigation Prison.
How You Can Help
Please write to the authorities of Egypt asking them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical integrity and psychological well-being of Messrs. Karim Ennarah, Gasser Abdel-Razeq and Mohamed Basheer as well as of all other human rights defenders in Egypt;
ii. Immediately and unconditionally release Messrs. Karim Ennarah, Gasser Abdel-Razeq and Mohamed Basheer as well as all other human rights defenders prosecuted under the same case;
iii. Put an end to any form of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Messrs. Karim Ennarah, Gasser Abdel-Razeq and Mohamed Basheer, as well as all other human rights defenders in Egypt;
iv. Conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular with Articles 1, and 12.2;
v. Ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in all circumstances, in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments to which Egypt is a State party.
