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Protecting human rights in the fight against terrorism in Egypt
1. The background to violence in Egypt
Egypt for many years suffered from the spread of terrorism and armed violence which dates back to 1981 when President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by the Jihad group. Even before this incident, the Islamic Liberation Party had in 1974 attempted to stage a coup against the Sadat regime by taking over the Technical Military Academy. The police foiled the attempt and leaders of the Liberation Party were executed. The rise of violence between Islamic militants and security groups reached its peak in the 1990s culminating in 1997 in the Dair el Bahary massacre in Luxur, which resulted in the death of a total of 69 victims including 58 tourists, 3 Egyptians, 2 policemen and 6 of those who committed the massacre.
The 1990s also witnessed numerous assassination attempts against different politicians including the former Media Minister Safwat el Sherif and the former Prime Minister Atef Sedqui. A terrorist group succeeded in assassinating Refaat el Mahgoob who was President of the Peoples Assembly. Intellectuals and writers have not been spared attempts on their lives. Nobel prize winning Egyptian novelist Nagiub Mahfouz was subject to an attempted murder while the writer Farag Fouda was murdered in 1992. In February 1992 an attack on the Margirgis Church in Abu Korkas resulted in the death of 8 Copts while 14 people were injured in an attack on Bahgora village in March 1997. The attack on the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in September 1997 led to 9 tourist casualties.
In July 1997 the leadership of the Islamic Group launched a peace initiative appealing for their colleagues living abroad to stop armed attacks both in Egypt and abroad. This initiative created sharp divisions within the Islamic circles until the Shura Council issued a decision in March 1999 to stop armed attacks. In spite of the doubt and uncertainty surrounding the initiative, Islamic Group leaders inside prisons issued a series of books called Al Moragaat "The Reviews", which were concerned with the Group's ideological order and its reformist pathway. The Jihad Group ceased its armed attacks on the 5th of February 2000.
Civil society had contributed to the fight against these terrorist groups by rejecting their ideology and condemning attacks on civilians and foreigners. Despite the fact that terrorist attacks have ended the Egyptian Government continues to impose the State of Emergency which constitutes the main source of human rights violations in Egypt.
2. Counter-terrorism as a pretext for suppression of rights
This overwhelming wave of violence which flooded Egypt has exhausted its natural and human resources. Thousands of innocent citizens paid with their life for this blind violence the net result of which was social and economic damage and the weakening of democracy and human rights in the name of fighting terrorism and armed violence. Many death penalty sentences were issued against Islamist armed groups by military courts and emergency state security courts after trials which grossly violated fundamental human rights, particularly the right to life and the right to a fair trial. These trials failed to put an end to acts of violence in Egypt but rather fuelled the spread of violence as Islamist groups responded to these military decisions with acts of violence - resulting in an endless cycle of violence and counter-violence. At the same time political and criminal detention under the state of emergency (which came into force in 1958) continued unabated.
What is astonishing in this regard is the Egyptian Government's enactment of counter-terrorism legislation which completely contravenes the Egyptian Constitution and the standards enshrined in the ICCPR. Law 97 [1992] known as the "Counter-terrorism Law" gives greater powers to security bodies, limits citizens' rights and restricts freedom of opinion and expression. It also narrows the margins of legality within which political life in Egypt operates. This Law added to the armoury of oppressive laws already in existence which contravene Articles 6 and 15 of the ICCPR. The Law's definition of terrorism for example is so vague as to include a wide range of crimes. The Human Rights Commission has asked the Egyptian Government to urgently review the definition and to rephrase it with more accuracy. The definition as it stands increases the crimes which are punishable by the death penalty, in contravention of Article 6 of the ICCPR.
Terrorist and violent acts have long been used to confer legality on the state of emergency and to justify police practices which violate Constitutional principles and citizens' freedoms. Despite the fact that state security organs groups have succeeded in eliminating terrorist activity the Government continues to curb rights and freedoms. Heavy restrictions have been imposed on freedom of opinion and expression, on civil society institutions in general and human rights organisations in particular. Crimes committed by the police, including torture and criminal and political detention are widespread. According to EOHR statistics compiled since 1985, 16,000 political detainees are currently in custody while the number of criminal detainees is some 12,000. A total of 20,017 appeals against detention decisions were received in 2003 alone.
3. Violation of the right to a fair trial in terrorism cases
While rejecting terrorism and armed violence in Egypt we condemn the means used by security forces under the Emergency Law to fight terrorism which violate human rights, in particular the right to a fair trial.
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Copyright © 2002 EOHR. All rights reserved. 