Egyptian authorities arrest second human rights activist
Ennarah’s arrest follows the arrest of Mohamed Bashseer, the administrative manager at EIPR, from his home after midnight on Sunday and his detention for more than 12 hours in a state security sector facility, before he appeared in the supreme state security prosecution in the Fifth Settlement district.
Amnesty International says the arrest of the activists is ominous, while the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights has called for all charges to be dropped against the activists and for their immediate release
CAPE TOWN, November 19 (ANA) – The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a prominent Egyptian human rights group said on Wednesday that Egyptian authorities arrested a second member of its staff, just days after its office manager was also detained in the country’s capital of Cairo.
According to a report by news broadcaster Al Jazeera, Karim Ennarah, the organisation’s director of criminal justice, was arrested while on vacation in Dahab, South Sinai.
Ennarah’s arrest follows the arrest of Mohamed Bashseer, the administrative manager at EIPR from his home after midnight on Sunday and detained him for more than 12 hours in a state security sector facility, before he appeared in the supreme state security prosecution in the Fifth Settlement district.
According to the human rights group, he was questioned about EIPR’s work, its latest publications and its legal aid work.
في تصعيد غير مسبوق: نيابة أمن الدولة تأمر بحبس المدير الإداري بالمبادرة المصرية
يأتي حبس محمد بشير إذن كحلقة جديدة في سلسلة استهداف وترهيب العاملين بمجال حقوق الإنسان. #مصر #حقوق_الانسانhttps://t.co/ArRIT3118b pic.twitter.com/fM1BTfDXhB— EIPR المبادرة المصرية للحقوق الشخصية (@EIPR) November 16, 2020
The EIPR is an independent human rights group whose work covers a variety of political, civil, economic and social issues in Egypt.
Human rights group Amnesty International says the arrest of the activists sends a chilling message to the embattled human rights community in Egypt that they remain at risk.
Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa research and advocacy director said: “By arresting Mohamed Basheer, a member of staff at one of Egypt’s most prominent independent human rights organisations, the Egyptian authorities have yet again shown their intolerance of any scrutiny of their abysmal human rights record.”
These arrests, following a meeting at EIPR with western diplomats, serve a heavy blow against the legitimate work of human rights defenders. Time for the international community to call on Egypt to end reprisals against human rights organizations and release EIPR staff now.
— Amnesty MENA (@AmnestyMENA) November 18, 2020
The rights group says it strongly condemns Basheer’s arrest and detention and believes he is being targeted solely for his organisation’s legitimate human rights work, including for meeting with Western diplomats, and calls on Egypt to drop all charges against him, and end the persecution of Egyptian civil society and human rights defenders.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, Basheer was placed in pre-trial detention for 15 days and will be questioned at a later date, while EIPR called for his immediate release.
Pre-trial detention can last up to two years under Egyptian law, but the period is often extended, writes Al Jaeera.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Naomi Mackay
