The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) condemns the recent decisions by the artistic unions to cancel and suspend the memberships of its members for political and moral reasons. AFTE considers such practices a violation of the freedom of expression and the members\u2019 rights, which contradicts the law, deviates the unions from the roles assigned to them, and makes the artistic unions an instrument of authority to punish opponents.\u00a0The actors union had revoked\u00a0the memberships of Khaled Abul Naga and Amr Waked, during a meeting of the union\u2019s board on 26 March. The union said in a statement issued on Wednesday that the two members\u2019 actions are tantamount to “high treason” of the homeland and the Egyptian people. It added that the two actors unilaterally spoke to “external powers” to back the “agendas of conspirators” aiming to \u201cundermine Egypt’s security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union\u2019s decision came after Amr Waked and Khaled Abul Naga attended a congressional briefing\u00a0which discussed the human rights situation in Egypt. The decision is also driven by the actors\u2019 positions against the constitutional amendments and the ruling regime.<\/p>\n
In a similar context, the musicians\u2019 union suspended “Sherine Abdel Wahab” from work and decided to refer her to investigation because of her statements on the freedom of expression in Egypt, which she made during a concert in Bahrain. The union\u2019s board headed by Hani Shaker considered Sherine’s statements to be detrimental to national security. Shaker also revoked the memberships of Dalia Mustafa Mohamed, known as “Lamis”, and Fatema Mohammed Gaber, known as Fifi, and decided to ban them from practicing the profession. According to the union’s decision, the reason was the violation of the two singers of the “general traditions and decent appearance, and appearing in a manner inciting debauchery\u201d.<\/p>\n
Decisions violating the law<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The decisions by the two unions contradicted act no. 35 of 1978 on the establishment of trade unions, as disciplinary decisions were taken against members without an internal investigation into the charges. This is a violation of the procedural rules that oblige all administrative bodies to take the necessary investigation procedures before signing any penalty.<\/p>\n The same law stipulates in section 6 the duties of the members and the disciplinary procedures against them. Articles 63 and 64 oblige the unions to form of a committee to carry out the investigation before any penalty is issued against the member of the union. The articles also require the formation of a disciplinary committee consisting of five members, and the artist has the right to choose one of the members of the committee.<\/p>\n The law also requires that the member be informed of the date of the investigation, and he also has the right to bring a lawyer and witnesses, while guaranteeing the right to appeal against the decisions of the committee before an appeals\u2019 board with more experienced members. Finally, the member has the right to challenge the decision before the administrative court.<\/p>\n The decisions of dismissal also contradict article 12 of law no. 35, which specified cases of revocation of the membership of individuals, which did not include any of the incidents under investigation.<\/p>\n