The Committee for Justice has released its quarterly bulletin as part of its Justice for Human Rights Defenders project, monitoring violations against human rights defenders in Egypt for the second quarter of 2024 (from April to June). The bulletin documented severe violations against human rights defenders in the region, specifically in Egypt, amidst political and security unrest.
UN Communications and Violations:
The bulletin highlighted that this period saw numerous UN communications concerning the situation of human rights defenders in the region. In May 2024, relevant UN special rapporteurs on human rights defenders, independence of judges and lawyers, freedom of expression, the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and counter-terrorism and human rights, published a letter addressed to the Egyptian government in March 2024, which remains unanswered. The letter addressed the continuous targeting of lawyers involved in human rights cases, including two lawyers from the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, Mohamed Issa Rajeh and Mahmoud Abdelmajeed Adel
Security and Judicial Violations:
The bulletin reviewed violations carried out by security and judicial authorities in Egypt against human rights defenders, such as violent arbitrary arrests, extended pre-trial detention beyond the legally prescribed period, and ongoing arbitrary detention on multiple cases.
Assaults on Female Activists:
The bulletin also highlighted a report submitted by a group of female activists and human rights defenders in Egypt, detailing illegal assaults and violations they faced—during and after their arrest—from in front of the UN Women’s Regional Office in Cairo. This occurred while they were organizing a protest in support of women in Gaza and Sudan on April 23, 2024.
Continued Arbitrary Detention:
The bulletin reported the ongoing arbitrary detention of several human rights defenders, such as human rights lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim, student Moaz El-Sharkawy, and lawyer and human rights defender Osama Bayoumi.
Prolonged Pre-Trial Detention:
The bulletin also recorded prolonged pre-trial detention exceeding two years for many Egyptian human rights defenders, including lawyer Ibrahim Metwally, journalist and researcher Ahmed Hamdy Abu Zeid El-Tanouby, translator and rights activist Marwa Arafa, and Dr. Ahmed Amasha.
The Human Rights Defenders news bulletin is a regular publication issued by the Committee for Justice, aimed at documenting violations against organizations and individuals working in the field of human rights in Egypt and reporting on the latest developments in human rights cases. It is part of CFJ’s Justice for Human Rights Defenders project.
