Country: Egypt

After having been at the forefront of the Arab uprising, Egypt has witnessed an unprecedented human rights crisis in recent years. Since the 2013 military takeover, abductions, enforced disappearances, torture and arbitrary detention have become systematic. The government led by Field Marshal Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi has instituted a widespread repression of all critical voices, including members of civil society, the media and opposition parties.

Violations to the right to life have also become a major concern. In 2013, the use of live bullets to disperse crowds of protesters led to more than a thousand deaths of civilians, while the lives of individuals in detention continue to be endangered by torture, mistreatment and a lack of medical care. The number of death sentences handed out has also increased, particularly following mass trials to prosecute opponents and demonstrators in the wake of the military takeover.

Fundamental freedoms have been virtually emptied of their substance through the enactment of laws criminalising peaceful dissent and independent media work, forbidding demonstrations and putting the work of NGOs under the strict control of the executive. At the same time, the use of counter-terrorism legislation to prosecute individuals for peaceful criticism is a growing trend.

74 ONG appellent les autorités égyptiennes à libérer le chercheur Ahmed Samir Santawy

74 organisations appellent les autorités égyptiennes à libérer immédiatement et sans condition Ahmed Samir Santawy, étudiant et chercheur à Vienne, qui est détenu arbitrairement en Égypte depuis le 1er février 2021 pour son travail universitaire sur les droits des femmes, notamment sur l’histoire des droits reproductifs en Égypte.

Joint letter to UN Special Procedures mandate holders calls for the immediate release of Egyptian lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim

Detained lawyer and human rights defender Hoda Abdel Moneim’s health has severely deteriorated in prison. MENA Rights Group and six other organisations have called on the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights to urge the Egyptian authorities to immediately release her, in order to […]

States break silence to condemn Egypt’s abuses at UN rights body

NGOs from around the world, including MENA Rights Group, expressed their strong support today for a joint declaration by UN member states condemning the human rights situation in Egypt which was delivered at the UN Human Rights Council. In the declaration governments expressed “deep concern” for widespread human rights violations committed with impunity by the […]

Coalition of NGOs calls on Egypt to end hostage-like arrests of families of activists, critics and human rights defenders

MENA Rights Group joined a coalition of 22 international and Egyptian NGOs in a joint-letter calling on the Egyptian authorities to end the hostage-like arrest of family members of Egyptian dissidents and activists.

Coalition of civil society organisations calls on governments to take urgent action on Egypt’s human rights abuses

MENA Rights Group joins over 100 civil society organisations in urging governments to take action on Egypt’s human rights crisis by establishing and supporting a monitoring and reporting mechanism at the upcoming 46th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Coalition of NGOs urges US and EU ambassadors to call on the Egyptian authorities to remove prisoners of conscience, Ramy Shaath and Ziad el Eleimy, from Egypt’s terrorist entities list

On February 9, 2021, MENA Rights Group and a coalition of human rights organisations and lawyers submitted a letter to the embassies of the United States, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and the United Kingdom, condemnings Egypt’s application of the “terrorist entities list” designation as a means to stifle freedom of speech. The letter is issued […]

Egypt: Detainee Abeer Najed must be released immediately

We, the undersigned organizations, express our most profound concern over the severe deterioration of the health of Abeer Najed, a 47-year-old woman who has been detained since September 2018. During a visit by her family on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, in Al-Qanater women’s prison, her relatives noted that her face seemed to show swelling and that […]

Egyptian radiologist released 18 days after being abducted from his workplace

On January 21, 2021, Abdul Al Maqsood was at work in the Fayoum Radiology Centre when officers of the National Security Agency stormed in and arrested him. Later that same day, the security members raided his house, severely damaging the furniture, while refusing to provide his family with any information as to where he was […]

After one-year of unwarranted arrest and solitary confinement, Ramy Kamel must be freed

As November 23, 2020 marked one year of solitary confinement for Ramy Kamel, a Coptic Egyptian human rights defender, 15 organizations urge American and European leaders to pressure Egyptian authorities to immediately release Ramy, lift all charges against him, and conduct effective investigations on allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or […]

Action for Egyptian human rights defenders

The undersigned organisations strongly condemn the persecution of employees of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and Egyptian civil society by the Egyptian government. We urge the global community and their respective governments to do the same and join us in calling for the release of detained human rights defenders and a stop to […]