The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights

عربي

About EOHR

Statements

Reports

Annual Report

Women Legal Aid

Campaigne

Refugees

Forums

Links

eohr@eohr.org
info@eohr.org

The Muslim Brotherhood…Guilty without charges
EOHR's report on Muslim Brotherhood arrests during the May 2005 demonstrations

16/5/ 2005

Membership of an illegally formed group whose aims are calling for the suspension of the Constitution and other legislation, preventing state bodies from carrying out their functions and attacking personal rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution
Possession of publications which promote the aims of this group, attacks against individuals and property, influencing public authorities, use of violence and threats, providing the media and press with biased information and spreading provocative propaganda of a nature to disturb public security and damage the public interest.

During its monitoring and documentation of the Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations EOHR witnessed the following violations:
Security forces surrounded demonstrations and prevented protestors from expressing their opinions
The police used excessive force against protestors, hitting them with sticks, using fire power against them (including rubber bullets and tear gas according to witness testimony provided to the EOHR fact-finding mission). This led to the death of one man and the injury of another.
Wide-ranging arbitrary arrest and detention campaigns Security bodies' obstruction of the Muslim Brotherhood's peaceful demonstrations and the detention campaign launched against Brotherhood members can only have dangerous repercussions for the rights to peaceful demonstration, freedom of opinion and expression and personal security guaranteed by the Constitution and international human rights instruments.

EOHR therefore urges President Hosni Mubarak to exercise his Constitutional powers in order to realise the following:

a. The right to peaceful assembly and demonstration
1. The Egyptian government should take serious and effective steps towards drawing up a draft law to replace Law 10 [1914] and Law 14 [1923] with other legislation on the right to demonstration in line with international and constitutional standards. The Egyptian legislative structure must be amended in order that it accords with the Constitution and international human rights instruments.

2. Any group, organisation or party wishing to demonstrate must be afforded this right according to the following acknowledged rules:
The group wishing to stage a demonstration must notify the security authorities of its planned course, where it will begin and end and its timing in order that security bodies can take the necessary measures to protect the demonstrators.
Demonstrators must be allowed to hold up placards and slogans and meet journalists and news agencies.

3. All steps necessary to allow individuals to exercise their right to peaceful assembly must be taken, including protecting them from attack and arbitrary arrest by members of the security forces when they exercise this right which is guaranteed by the Constitution and international instruments..

4. The police and security forces must receive appropriate training in order to further their sense of responsibility. This training should introduce them to international standards contained in United Nations instruments concerning the conduct of law enforcement officials and the United Nations principles on the use of force and weapons.

5. The Interior Ministry must issue clear and strict directives to security forces instructing them not to use force in order to break up demonstrations and restricting the use of truncheons, electric stun guns and both rubber and live ammunition.

6 An immediate inquiry must be launched into security forces excesses and those found responsible sent to trial.

7. All those arrested for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of opinion and expression during peaceful demonstrations must be immediately released.

EOHR calls on the Interior Minister to:
1. Expedite the issuing of the forensic report concerning the death of Tareq Ghanem and send those whose guilt is proven to criminal trial.

2. Launch an inquiry into security force assaults against protestors.

b. The right to freedom of movement and personal security

The detention campaign launched against the Muslim Brotherhood, including Essam al Aryan and others is a violation of the rights to freedom of movement and personal security under the Constitution and other human rights instruments. EOHR therefore calls for:

1. The immediate release of the Brotherhood detainees, of all those accused in case no. 604 [2005] (State Security division) - which must be shelved - and the release of all political detainees.

2. Annulment of the state of emergency which is incompatible with calls for reform, and a return to constitutional legitimacy and ordinary law. The state of emergency has become a legal tool for the obliteration of the right to personal security and other rights guaranteed by the Constitution and international human rights instruments. In 2003 EOHR launched its campaign "Together against the state of emergency."

In issuing this report EOHR calls on the government to honour its pledges to political and constitutional reform, to respect its obligations under international human rights instruments and to integrate Egypt's various political forces into the fabric of Egyptian society and allow them to participate in the political process. It must also grant the freedom to form political parties to all political currents regardless of their ideological tendencies and permit their existence on the political scene. These political groups' rights, guaranteed by the Constitution and international human rights instruments, must be protected.