Egypt: Intimidation and judicial harassment of Ms. Aida Seif al Dawla

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the judicial harassment and acts of intimidation against Dr. Aida Seif al Dawla, Director and one of the co-founders of El Nadeem Center against Violence and Torture [1].

According to the information received, on October 8, 2019, El Nadeem received an official summon order for Dr. Aida Seif al Dawla, dated October 7, 2019, asking her to appear before al-Azbakeya prosecution office on the same day. The next day, on October 9, 2019, Dr. Aida Seif al Dawla’s lawyer went to inquire about the reason for the summon order and was told that a private individual (not a State official) had submitted a complaint (No. 1876/2019) accusing her, as a member of El Nadeem Center, of “damaging the reputation of the country by publishing false statement, news and rumours”.

During the last week of September 2019, Dr. Aida Seif al Dawla had already received two unofficial summonses to appear before the prosecution by someone who claimed to be a delegate from al-Azbakeya prosecution office. The delegate left a message with the guard of the office building with a phone number, insisting that it was important for Dr. Aida Seif al Dawla to go. She also received several phone calls saying that a lawyer had filed a complaint against her. Up to October 8, no one from El Nadeem Center had received any official summon document.

Moreover, on October 1, 2019, two unidentified men tried to enter El Nadeem Center’s office without introducing themselves and, when asked, said that they were “looking for a lawyer whom the informants said was good”. On that same day, one of El Nadeem Center’s visitors said that while going to the office the person was stopped by the owner of a kiosk (underneath the office) and asked where s/he was going, explaining that he had been instructed to monitor and question anyone entering the office building.

The Observatory recalls that Dr. Aida Seif al Dawla was put under travel ban in November 2016 [2], and that El Nadeem Center was closed by the police in February 2017 (its legal department had already been closed by the authorities since February 2015) under the pretext of administrative breaches [3]. In March 2017, the State Council issued a non-binding report declaring the administrative closure of El Nadeem Center as illegal [4].

The Observatory expresses its utmost concern over the judicial harassment and acts of intimidation against Ms. Aida Seif al Dawla and other members of the El Nadeem Center, which seem to be only aimed at punishing them for their legitimate human rights activities. The Observatory calls on the Egyptian authorities to put an end to any acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Ms. Aida Seif al Dawla and all human rights defenders in Egypt.