24 April 2024
The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) condemns the unlawful detention by police forces of the Chairwoman of the Association’s Board of Trustees, lawyer Ragia Omran, along with several activists, yesterday, during their participation in a solidarity event with women in Palestine and Sudan, in front of the regional office of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Cairo.
The event began yesterday afternoon with the gathering of several activists, journalists, and lawyers, holding banners condemning the crimes against women in Gaza and Sudan, which drew the attention of officials at the regional office for women.
A delegation of the participants sought to deliver a written letter to the office officials. Meanwhile, members of the security forces began to chase the participants and assault them, in addition to stealing the mobile phones of two of the participants.
Mohamed Abdel Salam, the Executive Director of AFTE, stated, “Over the past hours, we have witnessed the brutal dispersal of the solidarity event with women in Palestine and Sudan, which is a recurring behavior of security forces to suppress freedom of expression and silence Egyptians, amid the existence of thousands of political prisoners in Egypt, including dozens of supporters of Palestine.”
According to testimonies from participating activists, at least 18 persons were detained yesterday, including Lubna Darwish, Director of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Program at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, rights activist Mahienour El-Masry, and journalist Rasha Azab.
Lawyers from AFTE are awaiting official reports at the Supreme State Security Prosecution headquarters in Cairo amid unofficial reports of the possibility of presenting those detained to the prosecution today.
AFTE holds the Ministry of Interior fully responsible for the safety of Ragia Omran, the Chairwoman of the association’s Board of Trustees, and all participants in the event, and urges the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all detainees and investigate the relevant violations committed by security forces yesterday.
