January – March 2022
During the first quarter of 2022, the Committee for Justice documented a number of violations against 5 human rights defenders.
Human rights lawyer Osama Abdel Hakim Bayoumi was detained from his place of residence and forcibly disappeared for four days until his appearance before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in the Fifth Settlement. He was charged with joining a terrorist group that was established in violation of the provisions of the law in connection with no. 640/2018, Supreme State Security, and he is still held in pretrial detention.
Youssef Mansour, a young human rights lawyer, was detained at dawn on March 24 from his home by an armed security force that confiscated his phone and personal computer. He was forcibly disappeared for three days before appearing at the Supreme State Security Prosecution. He was charged with joining a terrorist group and spreading false news in connection with case no. 330/2022, Supreme State Security Prosecution, and is still in pretrial detention.
On March 19, the detained human rights lawyer, Ahmed Al-Fahlawi, was added to a new recycled case before the Belbeis Prosecution in Sharqi, which decided to keep him in pretrial detention for 15 days pending investigation.
During the same period, CFJ also documented the release of the labor activist and member of the Bread and Freedom Party, Ahmed Yahya, on bail after a decision by the Misdemeanor Appeal Court in East Alexandria, in its session held on February 13. The release took place after his appeal of the decision to imprison him for 15 days in Case No. 12834 / 2021, in which he faces accusations of spreading false news. He had been arrested in November 2021 during his application for a Saudi work permit as he was requested to go to the State Security headquarters, but when he went there he was detained and questioned illegally, without defense, and asked about his activity and about other people.
Human rights lawyer Huda Abdel Moneim continues to suffer deliberate denial of health care in Al-Qanater Women’s Prison, which led to her inability to walk and move, in addition to having a stroke and a heart attack more than once. The prison administration is still reluctant to transfer her to any external hospital to monitor her health condition.
Concerning human rights groups and organizations, at the beginning of the year, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information announced that it would stop its work in Egypt after 18 years due to the targeting of its workers, including the arrest of staff, theft, physical attacks, and illegal summons to attempt to recruit some staff members to act as spies on the organization. The Public Prosecution not only failed to provide protection to ANHRI, but also contributed to violations and restrictions on the organization and its team, in addition to the obstacles that the organization faced during consultations to register it in accordance with the new NGO law.
