Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram
Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram

AFTE’s Newsletter: March 2023

Date : Tuesday, 4 April, 2023
Facebook
Twitter

AFTE’s Newsletter: March 2023

 

In March, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) monitored Egypt’s state and problems of freedom of thought and expression. Through its various units’ activities, AFTE issued a report on the book fair and a press statement in solidarity with Mawaddah al-Adham,  signed several joint statements with other human rights organizations, and launched campaigns and videos. These activities aimed to take a deeper look at some of the issues of freedom of thought and expression currently raised and provided legal aid in cases related to freedom of thoughts and expression.
 

 

1. Publications
In its report Banned from the Cairo International Book Fair AFTE monitored a number of violations at the 54th Cairo International Book Fair related to freedom of expression and the right to creativity, between preventing publishing houses from participating, ordering books to be removed from shelves, or preventing giving a registration number.

2. Statements

 
AFTE condemned the Court of Appeal’s decision to reject Mawaddah al-Adham’s appeal against her six-year prison sentence and 200,000-pound fine in the case known in local media as “the TikTok girls”. The court’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.

3. Joint Statements

 
AFTE and 31 other Civil Society Organizations condemned the Public Prosecution’s decision to refer three female journalists from the independent Egyptian media outlet Mada Masr to the Economic Court on charges of insulting members of parliament (MPs) of the pro-government Mostaqbal Watan Party and misusing social media.
38 Rights Groups undersigned a joint statement regarding egregious and collective violations of human rights taking place at Egypt’s Badr Rehabilitation and Correctional Center after recent reports of numerous suicide attempts and hunger strikes among detainees due to the nature and scale of abuses taking place.

4. Letters

 
AFTE sent a letter, signed by other human rights organizations, to the Attorney General requesting urgent action to release Galal El Behairy after he has gone on a hunger strike and is refraining from taking his heart and depression medications and called for his immediate transfer to the prison hospital to receive appropriate treatment.

5. Legal Aid

 

– Ziad Abo El-Fadl and Khaled Abdel Mohsen released under the guarantee of their place of residence
– Amr Hussien and Mahmoud Abdel Ati released under guarantee of their place of residence
– AFTE demands to reopen the investigation into Ayman Hadhoud’s death incident after the Public Prosecution decided to close the investigations
– The pretrial detention of Ahmed Oraby was renewed for 15 days
– The pretrial detention of four defendants renewed for 15 days after posting calls for demonstrations in protest against poor living conditions
– AFTE submits a report to the attorney general regarding poet Jalal Al-Behairi’s hunger strike and demands his release
– Court of Cassation to adjudicate Moka Hegazy’s appeal against her two-year prison sentence on March 25
– After being physically assaulted by authorities, the pretrial detention of Mohamed Abou Mandour renewed for 15 days for posting about poor living conditions
– Criminal Court renews translator Marwa Arafa’s detention for 45 days as her third year in pretrial detention approaches
– Criminal Court renews student Mohamed Ahmed Saad’s detention for 45 days despite exceeding 3 years in pretrial detention
– Supreme State Security Prosecution renews Mohamed Raafat Nasr’s detention for 15 days
– Borg El-Arab Prosecution in Alexandria renews the detention of master’s student Moaaz Rizk for 15 days
– Supreme State Security Prosecution renews Mohamed Abdel Aal Abou El-Dahab’s detention for 15 days
– Journalist Ahmed Abdel Majid released
– AFTE files appeal against Helwan University’s president and dean of the university’s Faculty of Art Education for refusing to hire Sarah El-Taher for lack of security approval
– AFTE files appeal against Syndicate Of Artists for refusing Ayman Elsayed’s enrollment to the Syndicate
– Ahmed Nabil Ebrahim released under the guarantee of his place of residence
– Despite going on hunger and medicine strike since March 5, The detention of poet Jalal Al-Behairi was renewed for 45 days
– Supreme State Security Prosecution renews doctor Hamed Sedeek’s detention for 15 days
– Supreme State Security Prosecution renews Mohamed Abou Mandour’s detention for 15 days for calling for demonstrations on Facebook
– Supreme State Security Prosecution renews Mohamed Abdel Aal Abou El-Dahab’s detention for 15 days
– Administrative Judicial Court to examine AFTE’s appeal against Syndicate Of Artists for refusing Ayman Elsayed’s enrollment to the Syndicate on April 9
– Supreme State Security Prosecution renews 4 defendants’ detention for sharing their opinions on poor living conditions
– Criminal Court renews Nour Ibrahim’s detention for 45 days on charges of contempt for religions
– Criminal Court renews the detention of Aljazeera Mubasher’s journalist, Rabea Elsheikh, for 45 days
– Criminal Court renews Mohamed Raafat Nasr’s detention for 45 days
– Criminal Court renews Momtaz Lotfy’s detention for 45 days for posting a video about the Gamasa Prison fire
– Criminal Court renews journalist Medhat Ramadan’s detention for 45 days despite exceeding maximum period of pretrial detention
– Criminal Court renews the detention of retired employee Salah Elqadi for 45 days
– Criminal Court renews Agricultural engineer Ashraf Elgamal’s detention for 45 days
– Criminal Court renews Gaber Mahmoud Badawy’s detention for 45 days for calling for November 11 demonstrations
– Criminal Court renews Mohamed Amer Abdel Aziz’s detention for 45 days
– Criminal Court renews Socialist Popular Alliance Party member Wessam Salah’s detention for 45 days
– Criminal Court renews lawyer Ahmed Nazeer El-Helw’s detention for 45 days
– Despite exceeding maximum period of pretrial detention; Criminal Court renews Ahmed Al-Tohamy’s detention for 45 days
– Criminal Court renews Ahmed Moussa’s detention for 45 days despite exceeding maximum period of pretrial detention
– Because of Facebook posts; Supreme State Security Prosecution renews Ahmed Oraby’s detention for 15 days
– Criminal Court renews Sherif El-Rouby’s detention for 45 days despite suffering from severe inflammation of the seventh nerve and his inability to speak

6. Campaigns 
AFTE launched a campaign on the one-year anniversary of the death of the Egyptian economic researcher, Ayman Hadhoud, after he was forcibly arrested in broad daylight without committing a crime. After more than two months, a decomposed corpse appeared in the mental health hospital in Abbasiya. You can reach the campaign through hashtag #TruthForAymanHudhoud
On International Women’s Day, we call attention to the dire conditions and human rights violations women endure in Egyptian prisons. Especially the forgotten women in prisons, to ensure that their voices will remain heard and that their stories will not be forgotten. You can access the campaign through hashtag #FreedomForEgyptianWomen
Jalal AlBehairi begins a hunger strike five years after being imprisoned for writing “Balha” song. He discontinued taking heart and depression meds, and  AFTE launched a campaign to free Jalal Al-Behairi. You can access the campaign through hashtag #FreeJalalAlBahiri

 

 

 

7. Videos
With suicide attempt reports, wholesale violations against Badr Prison3 detainees, a visit ban, and authorities blacking out the prison, we re-publish this video and call for human rights organizations to be allowed to visit the prison.  #TheirRightToHumanDignity

Follow Us:

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Latest Update

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram
licensed under a Creative Commons license Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

To subscribe to AFTE’s monthly newsletter

leave your email address below