A report by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights on the detention of Muslim Brotherhood members during the May 2005 demonstrations

16/5/2005

I. Introduction

Political reform demonstrations have recently erupted on Egyptian streets, drawing all sections of Egyptian society to take part in them. This forces the question about the reasons for the increasing frequency of these protests, where they will lead and the factors which account for the circle of those participating in them widening.

These demonstrations, whose numbers ranged from hundreds to thousands, proved that the Egyptian people and political currents are able to stage organised protests without acts of destruction occurring. Rather, these protests were on a par with demonstrations held in the streets of Rome , Berlin or New York - as was the vision of the protest organisers.

The relationship between protestors and security forces has always been always been changeable. In previous times during some demonstrations, protestors were allowed to demonstrate while surrounded on all sides by members of the security forces, but without anyone being allowed to join the demonstration. However, in recent times security forces have banned demonstrations organised by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Movement for Change (Kifaya, "enough") and the Labour Party - whose activities are currently frozen - in front of the People's Assembly in Cairo as well as in Alexandria and Mansoura on the pretext that these demonstrations are illegal, disrupt the flow of traffic and are contrary to the public interest. Large numbers of political activists were detained immediately prior to, and during the demonstrations. Some of these individuals were subsequently released.

In May 2005 the Muslim Brotherhood organised a large number of peaceful demonstrations throughout Egypt , escalating tension between the Brotherhood and security forces. This escalation took one of three forms:

1. On the 6 th March 2005 protestor Tareq Ghanem died and another protestor was injured while they and 27 others were being arrested in Tulkha, Daqhilayya during protests in support of the Palestinian cause.

2. On the morning of the 6 th May 2005 Essam al Aryan, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Secretary General of the Doctors' Syndicate, Amru Dirag, deputy head of Cairo University's Teaching Staff Club, Hamdy Shaheen, assistant professor in Cairo University's Dar el Aloum and Yasser Abdu, Secretary General of the Tradesmen's Union were all arrested while in al Aryan's house without any legal basis. The search of al Aryan's house violated article 44 of the Criminal Procedures Code - which states that "the home is sacred and may not be entered or searched" and article 45 which provides that "citizens' private life is sacred and protected by the law."

3. On Wednesday the 4 th May 2005 security forces assaulted Muslim Brotherhood protestors with sticks and used tear gas canisters and water cannon. This led to the serious injury of hundreds of protestors. More than 1,500 people were arrested as a result of the peaceful protests organised by the Brotherhood.

This report examines the scale of the violations which the Muslim Brotherhood have been subjected to, including detention, arbitrary arrest, denial of their right to peaceful assembly and protest through the use of water cannon, truncheons and tear gas, and describes the death and injuries which this led to.

EOHR has obtained the names of 497 Muslim Brotherhood detainees who were arrested during peaceful protests in Cairo , Sharqiyya, Ismailia , Suez , Minya, Fayyoum, Menoufiyya, Assiut and Gharbiyya. (1)

II. Summary

Action: Peaceful assembly and protest.

Organiser: The Muslim Brotherhood.

Place: In various governorates throughout Egypt .

Demands: Political and constitutional reform, annulment of the state of emergency, freedom to form political parties,

Result: Widespread detention, random arrest, death of one protestor.

Violation: Infringement of international human rights instruments and the Egyptian Constitution.

a. Freedom of expression

Article 48 of the Constitution provides :

Freedom of opinion is guaranteed within the limits of the law. Self and constructive criticism guarantees the wellbeing of the national structure.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states :

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression: this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states :

•  Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.

•  Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

•  The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:

•  For respect of the rights or reputations of others;

•  For the protection o national security of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.

b. Freedom of assembly

Article 54 of the Constitution :

Citizens shall have the right peaceful and unarmed private assembly, without the need for prior notice. Security men should not attend these private meetings.

Public meetings, processions and gatherings are allowed within the limits of the law.

Article 21 of the ICCPR :

The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals of the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

c. The right to liberty and personal security

Article 9 of the ICCPR :

1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established by law.

Scene one

Name: Tareq Taha Mehdy Ghanem

Age: 38

Occupation: English teacher

Marital status: Married, with three children: Haneen, 3 months old, Omar, 2 and Youssef, 5 years old.

Cause of death: Suffocation caused by a tear gas canister.

Events

On the 6 th May 2005 immediately upon leaving the Ghanem Mosque in Tulkha, Daqhilayya, after finishing Friday prayers worshippers assembled in front of the mosque in order to lead a peaceful demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause.

However, the demonstrators were confronted with a heavy security presence which encircled the mosque. When they tried to protect each other from security forces attempts to seize them they were assaulted by the security forces with sticks who used tear gas canisters against them. Protestors fled the security force attack.

Security forces did not respect the sanctity of the mosque and, according to one eyewitness whom the EOHR fact-finding mission met, pursued worshippers both inside and outside the mosque. This provoked the protestors to repel security forces by throwing tear gas canisters back at them. They also threw stones at them upon learning of the death of Tareq Ghanem. More than one protestor confirmed that in throwing stones the demonstrators were seeking to widen the security cordon encircling them after they started suffocating as a result of the tear gas canisters used against them which led to the death of Tareq Ghanem.

Testimony of Mohamed Ghanem - brother of the deceased

"Suddenly security forces started beating us and used a fire engine against us. They sprayed us with water. It was strange because it was if the fire engine wasn't seeing us, like it was blinded temporarily."

Gharib - private sector employee

"After the Friday prayers Tareq was standing beside me when security forces started seizing people and beating them. The lieutenant who was there starting hitting first - he was wearing civilian clothes. He ordered the soldiers to use tear gas canisters, poison gas and rubber bullets.

I saw one canister thrown in our direction, I didn't notice exactly where but I saw that it landed in front of Tareq. When he started suffocating from the smoke he ran towards the mosque and soldiers chased him and beat him inside the mosque. Tareq was really ill for three hours before he died. Even when the ambulance came for the injured soldiers it left because they had attached a gas pump to the fire engine.

There were about 300 - 400 people praying in the mosque. The majority of them were injured after being asphyxiated by the tear gas canisters and the water they were spraying from the fire engine which blinded them temporarily."

Bilal Ahmed Abdel Aziz - chemist

"We were staging a peaceful protest because of the Al Aqsa Mosque. They encircled the demonstration and tried to seize some of the protestors. When people stopped them they started hitting us with smoke canisters and fire engines. After that I found out that someone had died inside the mosque but I didn't see how the death happened."

T.M

"We've been holding demonstrations every Friday in support of our Palestinian brothers for about four weeks now, but this Friday lots of members of the security forces encircled Ghanem mosque which we pray in and tried to seize a group of worshippers. When they failed they started hitting us with truncheons and throwing smoke canisters at us and used fire engines against us. They sprayed water on us which had a strange smell and colour, and I heard from other people that the water had gas in it because these people were hit in the face with the water and they lost their sight temporarily.

When Tareq Ghanem died I was with him. A smoke canister hit him and he suffocated. He ran to the mosque - we were at this time standing by the stairs - and a soldier hit him on the right side of his head below his ear."

The cause of death

The EOHR fact-finding mission sent to Tulkha on the 7 th May 2005 was able to obtain a photocopy of the medical report concerning Tareq Ghanem's death. The report states:

"Examination and autopsy of the Tareq Taha Mehdy Ghanem's body reveals the presence of a small bleeding abrasion in front of the right ear and another superficial abrasion behind the same ear. Otherwise, examination and autopsy revealed no recent signs with vital reactions pointing towards a criminal cause that could have resulted in death. Accordingly, death is attributed to acute asphyxia. Samples have been taken for analysis and the case is under investigation"

Burial procedures

Eyewitnesses agreed that huge numbers of members of the security forces surrounded the hospital where Tareq Ghanem was taken. The funeral was held on the same day.

EOHR also found out that one protestor, Ayman al Ghazaly, was injured by a bullet in the soldier and a broken collarbone. The EOHR fact-finding mission was however unable to meet him or other eyewitnesses in order to find out details of his injury.

Scene two

On the morning of Friday the 6 th May 2005 security forces stormed the house of Essam al Aryan, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and Secretary General of the Doctors' Syndicate. Yasser Abdu, Secretary General of the Tradesmen's Union, Amru Dirag, a Cairo University professor and Hamdy Shaheen, assistant professor in Cairo University 's Dar el Aloum were in al Aryan's house at the time. Security forces broke down the door of the building as well as the doors of al Aryan's neighbours and terrorised them. Al Aryan and those with him were arrested and brought before the state security prosecution office and charged with the following offences:

•  Membership of an illegally founded group whose aims are blocking the Constitution and other laws, preventing state institutions from carrying out their activities and attacking personal rights and freedoms protected 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.

The state security prosecution office detained them in custody for 15 days during the course of inquiries.

Scene three

On the 4 th May 2005 the Muslim Brotherhood organised peaceful demonstrations in Cairo , Alexandria , Fayyoum, Sharqiyya, Gharbiyya, Port Said , Bahrayya, Daqhilayya, Minya, Kafr Sheikh, Damietta and Menoufiyya.

1. Cairo

Nearly 4,000 protestors gathered in front of al Fath mosque in Ramsis Square despite the fact that roads leading to the Fath mosque had been closed and security blockades put in place. Security forces encircled the demonstrators in front of the mosque.

2. Alexandria

The corniche (road bordering the sea) was closed off to thousands of protestors. Roads leading to the corniche in Gleem and Saba Basha in front of the Doctors', Lawyers', Engineers' and Judges' clubs were blocked. People were forced to disperse and many people's ID cards taken away from them. More than 300 people were arrested.

•  Fayyoum

More than 4,000 protestors were confronted by security forces who used tear gas against them and hit them with sticks. The demonstration lasted for roughly and hour, and more than 200 people were arrested.

4. Sharqiyya

More than 4,000 protestors gathered at 1 p.m. in Tahrir and Omar Effendi Squares, al Sagha district and in front of the bridge. Security forces had however tightly controlled the gatherings from the morning. They dispersed the demonstration which had been planned in Ahmed Orabi Square , not far from Tahrir Square .

Protestors were prevented from gathering by the security forces who fired live bullets into the air and used tear gas against the thousands of protestors. They also used water cannon to disperse the demonstrators, leading to tens of cases of people losing consciousness and other injuries. Eight hundred people were arrested.

5. Gharbiyya

More than 2,000 members of the Muslim Brotherhood demonstrated for half and hour before being confronted by security forces who put an end to the demonstration.

6. Baheira

In Baheira, Damanhour, more than 5,000 people gathered after afternoon prayers in the Seedi Qamar mosque in the midst of a heavy security presence - nearly 3,000 soldiers who transformed Damanhour into a military barracks. Security forces clashed with protestors and stopped them from joining the demonstrations by encircling the area early on in the morning. The demonstration lasted for only 20 minutes and 83 people were arrested.

7. Minya

Nearly 6,000 protestors assembled. There was a heavy security presence to prevent protestors from reaching the location of demonstrations. Nearly 200 people were arrested.

8. Damietta

Some 4,000 people gathered in Souq al Hisba and Surour Squares. There was a heavy security presence in order to prevent protestors from joining demonstrations. Nearly 200 people were arrested.

9. Menoufiyya

A demonstration had been planeed immediately after the afternoon prayer in front of the Seedi Khamiss in Shebeen Koum. Security forces however transformed the town into a military barracks by closing roads leading to the centre of Shebeen Koum. Armoured tanks filled with heavily armed soldiers and fire engines spread out. The protestors did not wish to clash with the security forces who were determined to disperse the protestors using force.

10. Daqhiliyya

Some 10,000 demonstrations gathered in three main areas in Mansoura, Daqhiliyya but they were forced to go to a fourth location after security forces surrounded them and arrested 220 people, 30 of whom were presented to the public prosecution office while the rest remained in detention without being presented with charges.

11. Port Said

Roughly a thousand people congregated despite the security cordon imposed. The demonstration was held, people left and two people were arrested.

12. Kafr Sheikh

More than 3,000 people gathered despite a heavy security presence. Eight people were arrested.

* * *

A number of questions must be posed at this point: do the demonstrations organised by the Muslim Brotherhood violate the constituation? Is the detention of members of the Brotherhood legal? And is the killing of innocent protestors such as Musaad Qutb (43 years old) who died after being tortured in a police station a year ago, Akram al Zuheiry (41 years old) who died in a police van and Tareq Mehdy Ghanem (38 years old) who died in the Tulkha demonstration legal under the Egyptian Constitution and associated laws?!

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 Attorney General and Interior Minister to:

1. Expedite the issuing of the forensic report (2) 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.