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EOHR Condemns the Minister of Interiors' Decision Banning Peaceful Assembly
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18/5/2006
EOHR strongly condemns the decision of the Minister of Interiors issued on Tuesday 16th May 2006, which criminalize any kind of protesting demonstrations without an official license, and also bans media from covering the trial of judges Hisham Bastawesy and Mahmoud Mikki without an official permission from the Ministry of Interiors.
EOHR reaffirms that this decisions contradicts with the Egyptian Constitution Articles 47 and 54 which stipulate the right to peaceful assembly and expressing opinions, in addition to Article 48 which grants the freedom to media and newspapers. This decision also comes in contradiction with all international human rights documents which stressed on the right for citizens to protest and to demonstrate, also it contradicts the freedom of media and the right to information exchange, which is an obligation to the Egyptian Government by ratifying these documents, and as an enactment of Article 151 of the Constitution.
EOHR views such decision, which is legally based on the enacted state of emergency, inconsistent with the promises of the government to use the Emergency Law only in cases of terrorism. These promises were the basis on which the parliament agreed to extend the state of emergency for two more years.
EOHR believes that such decision reveals the intentions of the security forces to perpetrate more human rights violations against the supporters of the judges on Thursday 18th May 2006, and preventing them to express their opinions in a peaceful means, and criminalizing any media coverage of the disciplinary trial of the two judges.
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