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1/6/2002
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A Drawback from Reform
Back to Detaining and Suppressing Demonstrators in Egypt
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A Drawback from Reform
Back to Detaining and Suppressing Demonstrators in Egypt
Citizens shall have the right to peaceable 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.
The Egyptian Constitution, Article 54
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Introduction
The decision of the Supreme Judicial Council's President, the Minister of Justice Mahmoud Abu Al Leil, issued on April 16th 2006, raised an outburst of anger and a public cry from many political, partisan and public forces. The decision transferred Judge Hesham Al Bastawesy and Mahmoud Mekki to the Validity Council .
The public spheres and the civil society organizations asked President Mubarak to effectuate the constitutional amendments and interfere to abolish the decision of the Minister of Justice, in accordance with the support granted for the independency and post of the judiciary.
It considered the decision a breach to the international instruments concerned with the independence of the judiciary according to the Milano Principles taken by the General Assembly of the UN in 1985, granting the judiciary the right to freedom of expressions and societies formation for representing their interests and achieving the independence of judiciary.
It also finds the decision negatively affecting and deteriorating the stance of the judiciary, where when it was affected in other states, it was done as a mean to get to its national and territorial integrity.
And while others considered the transfer decision as a start of a new "massacre" to the judiciary, close to the one witnessed in Egypt in the year 1969, when the Egyptian President at the time, Gamal Abdel Nasser fired 127 judges from the judicial corps, after their refusal to join the Social Union, in what was called at the time "Judiciary Massacre".
Angry feedbacks continue streaming in against the transfer, which came as a response to the reveal of Bastawesy and Mekki that faking and forgery in the latest parliamentary elections were committed, and for their demands concerning the judicial reform, when about a hundred Egyptian judges made a strike in the Judges Club, and delegations of activists and representatives of civil society organizations streamed into the Judges Club to declare their consolidation with the striking judges.
The Egyptian Movement for Change (Kefaya) organized a demonstration in front of the Judges Club that was attended by representatives from the political parties and civil society organizations, in consolidation with the judges asking for abolishing the decision condemning Bastawesy and Mekki and their referral to the Validity Committee, and calling upon issuing a law guaranteeing the total independence of the judiciary.
The movement declared the start of the strike in front of the Club on the evening of April 23rd 2006 and until the 27th of the same month, which is the day determined for the trial of the two judges Mekki and Bastawesi. Since then, things went really haywire, and matters starting taking an accelerated deterioration. Right at 2 a.m. on the morning of Monday April 24th 2006 a force from the State Security and the Cairo Security Department broke into the strike of the activists in front of the Judges Club, and they were subjected to beating.
At the time Judge Mahmoud Abdullatif Hamza, the President of North Cairo Courthouse recorded the event on his camera, and one of the officers saw him and asked his companions to beat the judge, pull him on the floor and take his clothes off, then they arrested him and his brother, to put them both in a security forces car, until they were released, beside the arrest of 12 other strikers.
They were referred to the Public Prosecution Office of Kasr Al Nile District accused of demonstrating and blocking the road. The prosecution ordered their arrest for 15 days which they spent for the sake of investigations. On the same day, and at exactly 8 p.m. three successive explosions occurred in Dahab in South Sinai, which led to the death of 18, and on the morning of Wednesday April 26th 2006 two attacks occurred in North Sinai near Al Gorah Airport which is used by the multinational corps, but it didn't cause any harms, while the two bombers died. Meanwhile, rumors has it that shooting by fire arms occurred in Belbes, Sharkeya, in the piece of news released by Al Jazeera Channel and some other News Agencies, but was denied by the Ministry of Interior on the next day.
On Wednesday April 26th 2006, three persons arrested Mr. Hussien Abdulghany, the head of the Al Jazeera office in Cairo, in what was close to abduction while he was in one of the Dahab hotels covering the explosions.
Abdulghany was referred to the State Security Prosecution Office in Cairo and investigations proceeded with him since the early morning hours of Thursday accusing him of releasing rumors deteriorating the countries economic interests and raising public problems.
He was detained and, meanwhile, the security forces faced the strikers in front of the Judges Club with violence, and arrested 16 of them, then they were referred to State Security Prosecution Office (SSPO) accusing them of spreading rumors around, about the President of the Republic, demonstrating, in a direct violation to law no. 10/1914.
On the other hand, Cairo Criminal Court, district 12, at South Cairo Courthouse, looked into the challenge to the decision provided by Judges Hesham Al Bastawesy and Mahmoud Mekki. The session for looking into the challenge witnessed many violations, first of which was banning a large number of lawyers from attending the sessions in consolidation with the two judges, which led to a violent verbal confrontation between security forces and lawyers (around 50 lawyers), and the court decided to postpone the decision to the session of May 7th 2006.
On the morning of Thursday April 27th 2006, the first day of sessions of the Validity Council in relation to the two Judges Mekki and Bastawesy, a large number of political and law activists along with consolidating lawyers with judges, were in front of the courthouse that was cordoned by the security forces from all directions and streets leading to the courthouse, which led to a strong verbal confrontation between the security forces and the judges, it was on the brink of development to a beating.
Many arrests were made to some demonstrators and some of the citizens around the site and in some side streets. 12 were referred to the SSPO for being accused of insulting the President, demonstrating, and blocking the transportation and roads.
On April 27th 2006, the SSPO ordered the release of Mr. Hussien Abdulghany, the head of Al Jazeera office with a bail amounting to ten thousand L.E.
Before these events, violent actions based on religious background occurred in Alexandria, a terrorist group planning to attack tourism facilities, assassinating Muslim and Christian figures and bombing the gas tunnels around Cairo, were arrested, which raise questions about this season of violence in Egypt, a season that comes coinciding with of renewing the notorious Emergency Law, that already took place on the last week of April 2006 ended by a resolution from the Assembly House for renewing the law for two more years.
On Thursday morning, May 11th 2006 (the day of the second session of the trial of Mekki and Bastawesy), the downtown Cairo became like a military barracks, with nobody allowed to walk Ramsis street under the sun light, and banning citizens from reaching Ramsis street. The stores were closed, the Lawyers and Journalists Syndicates were cordoned, their employees were banned from reaching their work, and the employees of the Real Estate Office were granted a day off, the Courthouse was closed, lawyers, citizens, some judges and syndicate members were banned from reaching the courthouse.
On the arrival of Mekki and Bastawesy to the courthouse, and after witnessing the extensive security forces outside, they decided not to attend the trial unless the security forces back away and allow the consolidators to enter the court. In front of the barriers on the side streets leading to Ramsis street, consolidators with the judges were subjected to beating, and 225 citizens were arrested and referred to the SSPO that ordered their detention for 15 days for the purposes of investigations, so as the total number of detainees consolidating with the judges reached 303 citizens.
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) kept a close eye on all those events, as the lawyers of the fieldwork unit attended all investigations of the SSPO at the Kasr Al Nile Prosecution Office, they also recorded the demonstrations and strikes that occurred during the period, as a historical record for a real deterioration and drawback from reform, one of its most important outputs was the comprehensive consolidations between the opposition movements with the judges. But on the other hand, the Egyptian government used the events of the week (terrorist attacks and political demonstrations) to cover its extension of the Emergency Law for two more years.
Report Methodology
The report is relying on the fact finding missions of the Organization for witnessing and recording the strikes, demonstrations and attending the investigations of Abdeen Prosecution Office and SSPO.
Conclusions and Recommendations
EOHR dispatched many fact-finding missions for monitoring and documenting the violations suffered by the citizens consolidating with the judges. The fact-finding missions reached many conclusions, such as follows:
1. The Egyptian government carries on imposing the emergency law in order to add more legislative constrains on the right of citizens to have full freedom of expression and opinion, and the right to peaceful assembly, contrary to the government's affirmations that the emergency law shall not be used but in the terrorism cases.
2. Deterioration of the freedom of expression and free opinion, as the security forces interfered with the peaceful demonstrations by excessive force.
3. The culminating violence of the security forces against the strikers and demonstrators consolidating with the judges led to the deterioration of the situation to a grave stage, as the aggression reached the judges themselves!
4. The Public Prosecution and the SSPO in using their powers in detention against the defendants accused of demonstrating didn't draw its basis from any legal or legislative foundation.
Based on the results reached by the fact finding missions, EOHR is thus providing the following recommendations and demands:
1. EOHR ask the Egyptian government to declare its commitment and respect to the principles of the UN, especially principle no. 40/32 and 40/146 of December 1985, which Article 1, 8, 9 in it requested the following:
1) The state shall provide the Judiciary with independence, the Constitution of the state and its laws shall conform to such a demand. All governmental agencies and other institutions shall respect the independence of the judiciary.
8) According to the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, the members of the judiciary are allowed, as any other citizen, to have the freedom of expression, believes, society formation and demonstrating. Nevertheless, the judges shall always seek, while practicing such rights, a pose that conserves the character of their posts, and reflects the honesty and independence of the judiciary.
9) The judges have the right to form societies for judges or any other society that represent their interests, promote their professional skills, and protect the independence of the judiciary.
2. Putting an end to the state of emergency that is considered one of the main tools for violating the rights to freedom of expression. By means of the emergency law the executive authority can take whatever procedures it might see fit, regardless of how severe it might be.
May be this is the worst thing that came in Article 48 of the Constitution which allowed that once the state of emergency is declared, censorship is imposed on newspapers and printed material, and also gave the executive authority the right to confiscate prints, newspapers and shutting them down.
This ability is proportioned to the conditions and circumstances in which the public security state is at. But the current emergency law expanded in its third article and allowed the executive branch to confiscate, ban, shut down newspapers, and released this power from its constitutional strain. This is contrary to what the emergency law allows in regard to the arrests, detentions and jailing.
3. Immediate release of all the detainees at the Public Prosecution expense, in the events of strikes and demonstrating, effectuating the right of citizens to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The rights which are safeguarded by the Egyptian Constitution and international instruments, among which is the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) ratified by Egypt in 1981, and which became an internal law according to Article 151 of the Egyptian constitution.
4. Immediate and direct investigations into the violations of the police forces against the demonstrators, especially the beating of Judge Mahmoud Hamza, the Head of North Cairo Court, effectuating the articles of the International Convention against Torture, ratified by the Egyptian government, saying that, "The state shall guarantee a rapid and immediate investigation, on the event of the occurrence of reasons for suspecting an act of torture in any of the territories under its sovereignty and jurisdiction", and also trying the suspects in the violations events, and the Ministry of the Interiors shall express its condolences to the judges and the Egyptian people for what occurred on Thursday April 27th 2006, and the tragic events triggered by the security forces.
5. Abolish the demonstrations law no.
10/1914, replacing it by another law organizing the right to demonstrate according to constitutional and international standards, and the practice of such right shall be by notifying the Ministry of Interior about all information related to the demonstration, regarding trend, timing, duration, site and route, in order not to obstacle the traffic.
6. Taking necessary procedures towards guaranteeing that such events like banning citizens from practicing their right to peaceful assembly will not happen again in Egypt, and to protect them from arrest and detention by the security forces, only for seeking the practice of their right guaranteed and safeguarded by the Egyptian constitution and the international charters and conventions.
7. Removing all barriers imposed on practicing the right to societies, political parties and syndicates and unions formation, as organizational forms participating in organizing the right to peaceful assembly and demonstrating by groups that wish to practice such a right.
8. Amending the Criminal Procedures Law regarding the detention for reasons related to the proceeding of investigations, so as to limit the period of detention of defendants first, then limit the absolute powers of the General Prosecution Office in issuing decisions of detention of defendants in the second place.
That can be done by empowering the defendants to challenge the decision of the General Prosecution of detention. Also to work on the return of the Investigations Judge, in order to limit the powers of the General Prosecution as the authority taking over the right to accuse and investigate simultaneously, and to make the SSPO an exception from such proceedings.
EOHR's report "A Drawback from Reform" into the following points:
First: Is Egypt witnessing a new judges massacre?
Articles 65, 165 and 166 of the Constitution stipulated the independence of the judiciary from both of the legislative and executive authorities, as by guarding its independence it will thus provide safeguards to the protection of rights and freedoms, and that the judiciary is independent and handled by various courts with various degrees and jurisdictions, which produce decisions consistent with the law, and judges are independent with no power over them but for the law, and interference in the cases or justice is prohibited.
That was confirmed by law of the independence of the judiciary number 66/1943 and showed that the Egyptian Constitution pointed out that the independence is needed for a comprehensive and durable pursue for the independence and its conditions, which is called upon by various international instruments. That we wanted to point out at the start of recording what the Egyptian judiciary is being subjected to, and the crises it is facing lately… As in last February the government decided to cancel the judicial immunity of four judges to investigate with them at the SSPO with accusations related to reports about fraud in the Egyptian parliamentary elections held last year, and they are "Hesham Mekki, Hesham Bastawesy, Ahmed Mekki" and they are all members in the Court of Cassation, the highest judiciary authority in Egypt, beside "Mahmoud Reda Al Khoudery", the Head of the Judges Club in Alexandria, and the Deputy of the Court of Appeal.
The problem reached its peak when a judge conducted a report to the Minister of Justice accusing judges Hesham Bastawesy and Mahmoud Mekki of providing press with information about fraud in one of the electoral districts at which the reporter was attending. According to the report Mahmoud Abu Al Leil, the Minister of Justice decided to refer each of the two judges Mekki and Bastawesy to the Validity Committee, a decision which was produced while the judges were increasing their objection to the government ignorance of their demands, and not providing the law of the independence of judiciary, which raises many question marks as to whether the law contains any articles that might not achieve the total independence of judiciary, and after determining the date of the first session of the Validity Committee, a group of judges decided to start an open strike in front of the Judges Club until the Minister of Justice abolish his decision.
Each of Bastawesy and Mekki appealed to the decision of the Minister of Justice for referring them to the Validity Committee, the appeal was handled in district 12 criminal, at South Cairo Court, and the appeal drew its foundation on that "in the eyes of the law and the decisions of the court of appeal, the Validity Committee is not valid", also the appeal handled what is related to the legality of the referral decision, which is the first of a kind, against the two judges of the court of appeal, beside forming a Validity Committee contrary to the most simple and fundamental principles of a fair and legal trial.
The appeal session held on Wednesday April 26th 2006 witnessed many defects, starting by the security forces banning the entry of many lawyers consolidating with the judges Bastawesy and Mekki, and they didn't attend the session of appeal, which led to the development of a verbal violence that was on the brink of reaching violent events between the lawyers and the security forces that sealed the court in which the appeal is held. Also the President of the District related to the appeal banned any of the media means or the public from entering the court, as he produced a decision that the session shall be held in secret, and the defence team attending with Bastawesy and Mekki (50 lawyers) asked to be attending and wanted to see the decision of referral to the Validity Committee and the reasons for it, beside the report presented to the Minister of Justice, and the head of the court decided to give the defence an hour to see it all, which is not time enough to start an integrated trial, and when the court asked the defence to start proceedings, the defence refused to start without fully understanding the documents, so the court decided to postpone the session of appeal to May 7th 2006.
On the morning of Thursday April 27th 2006 the Validity Committee held its first session for investigating with Bastawesy and Mekki, while the security forces contained the courthouse from all its sides and entries, and put a security barrier all around the surrounding streets and roads leading to the court, then banned many lawyers and journalists from reaching the courthouse or entering it.
The security forces sealed the doors of the court, and they even banned some judges from entering, and one of the officers was about to beat Mahmoud Mekki after pushing the judge with his hands backwards, but the situation was dealt with by the judges who interfered.
During the Validity Committee's session regarding the referral decision of Bastawesy and Mekki, none of the lawyers and judges were allowed to enter, as no more than five judges were able to attend. Each of Bastawesy and Mekki held fast to postponing the decision in the case until handling the appeal at the Cairo Criminal Court postponed to the session of May 7th 2006.
The Validity Committee accepted after many talks, and the session was decided to be postponed until May 11th 2006.
While the judges were exiting the courthouse towards the Judges Club which is only some meters away, they were subjected to harassments, as they were not allowed to walk in any direction and the security forces asked them to walk in a security path that was built of iron barriers and surrounded by soldiers, so as the judges can not walk with their consolidators whom were before the doors of the court house.
At exactly 2 p.m. the Judges Club held an extraordinary public session for looking into the new events, the participants in the public session directed their concern and appreciation to judge Mahmoud Hamza who was beaten by the security forces for photographing the assault of the security on the strikers in front of the Judges Club at Monday May 24th 2006.
Criticism was directed during the session to the assault against Hamza, and the Judges Club promised to get at the officers who assaulted him and ask for a judicial investigation in the matter.
On its part, the General Assembly of the Club demanded:
1- Prosecution Office shall initiate investigations in the assault against Judge Mahmoud Hamza, and chase after each of the aggressors, and also who assaulted the judges during the parliamentary elections.
2- The Prosecution Office shall declare its results in such investigations.
3- Asking the Minister of Justice to withdraw his decision regarding the disciplinary case against Hesham Bastawesy and Mahmoud Mekki, or ask for postponing the case to undetermined terms and not to wad into the proceedings of the case.
The General Assembly of the Club decided to continue in the open strike inside the Club with symbolic number of participants until the withdrawal of the Minister concerning the decision of referral in question, which led to the negotiation of Judge Adly Hussein with the judges and he withdrew the referral decision for the judges to end their strike and negotiate about their demands, that also resulted in a decision to a one hour strike at the Judges Club, then holding an open session with the members of the club at 10 a.m. May 11th 2006.
On Thursday May 11th 2006, on the second session for the trial of the two judges Mekki and Bastawesy, the security forces made a strict security barrier around the courthouse and the two judges were intimidated and decided not to attend the session as an objection on the barriers, and the court decided to postpone the appeal to the session of May 18th 2006.
Second: Breaches against demonstrators
As soon as the judges declared their open strike at the Judges Club, a group of political activists from Kefaya Movement and Al Ghad Party, started strike in front of the Judges Club, as they installed a tent for sleep over, and the strike was intending in the first place to be a consolidation with the judges in their demands. Dozens of the "Writers and Artists for Change Movement" and 9th of March Movement for the Independence of Universities made a strike at the Journalists Syndicate expressing their consolidation with the judges in their demands and strike at their club.
In the early morning of Monday April 24th 2006, at exactly 2:30 a.m. the strikers witnessed the arrival of municipality cars with cleaning services men in them, the group of men entered the strike and had beaten the strikers in the street.
Meanwhile, Judge Mahmoud Hamza the Head of the North Cairo Court came to join the strikers inside the club, to find the aggression, so he used his mobile phone to record the scene outside the doors of the club, in a minute an officer with some men in civil clothes assaulted him and he was beaten by hands and legs and pulled on the ground face down, although he told them that he is a judge and head of a court. The aggressors tried to take his pants off, then they put him away in one of the cars. In this regard a mission from the organization met Mr. Ahmed Salah Al Din during considering his detention, and he was an eye witness to the event of aggression, and his word was as follows:
"I was arrested on Monday April 24th 2006. I was on my way to my home in Shubra, when I saw a crowd, and I knew it was a strike outside the Judges Club, as I knew this being a journalist. Therefore, I went and tried to reach the strike, but I found some people arresting me, they took off my shirt and underwear, put a scarf to my eyes, strangled my hands from behind and threw me inside a half truck after making me walk blind eyed, until I reached the police car and there they put away the eye piece to find a car in which there were three other persons blind folded, and one person was on the ground, and a group of men beating him in a cruel manner.
They pulled down his pants while he was crying out asking for mercy because he went through a medical operation in his heart, he told them that he is a judge, and there was a person beside him asked them to leave him alone, and I knew that this one was his brother.
I didn't try to look at them much while they were beating him because I was afraid if I did they will beat me afterwards. After I left the car two people asked for help from the officers, as the judge was in a very bad state, I asked him who he is and whether he is really a judge, he said that he is Judge Mahmoud Hamza, and his brother said that he is the Head of North Cairo Court" That security force arrested whomever it found before the Judges Club at the time, when a group of judges came from inside to object to the events taking part, and the security forces arrested 12 persons at the spot, whom were referred to the Prosecution Office of Kasr Al Nile, then investigated on the afternoon of Monday April 24th 2006, being accused of blocking the road, unauthorized demonstrations according to law 10/1914.
During the proceedings of Kasr Al Nile Prosecution Office in investigations, a group of political activists demonstrated in front of Abdeen Court for the aggressions and banning them from entering the courthouse of Abdeen to meet the detainees.
After the investigations the demonstrators hit for the Judges Club, where they decided to carry on striking in front of the club. On Wednesday afternoon, a group of the State Security Forces broke into the strike in front of the judges club for the second time, as they arrested about 16 persons whom were referred to the SSPO, accused of blocking the road, insulting the President, demonstrating and breaking down the traffic. EOHR listened to many eye witnesses for the events.
Their collective witness was that the security forces broke into the strike; they were officers from the State Security and Cairo Security Department in civil clothes. They did beat the strikers and some of the escaped before being arrested, which led to the security forces' arrest of some people present at the spot by coincidence. That happened twice, on the two events of breaking into the strike by the security forces.
Thursday April 27th 2006 was the day for the Validity Committee to look into the matter of Hesham Bastawesy and Mahmoud Mekki. Security forces got ready for that extraordinary day, and clustered in a sort of intense presence around the courthouse from all directions, also in front of the Bar Association and the Journalists Syndicate, the Judges Club, side streets leading to the judges club, in front of the space leading to the courthouse. Also the half truck and trucks carried barriers to block the roads, and more than 48 Central Security vehicles were around the building from 26th of July street, to Abdulkhaliq Tharwat that was also blocked, and the back street of the courthouse was also blocked.
At 9:45 a.m. in front of the courthouse where hundreds of the security cars were standing blocking the roads, the judges appeared surrounded by hundreds of consolidators, journalists, news people and photographers. The security forces sealed the door of the court while the demonstration carried on progressing towards the door of the court through the security barriers.
At the door only the judges were allowed to enter from a small door, one after another. Even employees and lawyers were not allowed to enter in order to proceed in their work. After the judges entered the consolidating group clustered at the small yard behind the court, condemning what happened, and how consolidators were banned from entering.
One of the judges tried to enter the consolidators which led to a verbal violence with the security forces that could have been deteriorated to aggressions, but one of the officers saved the day and the judges started to enter the room prepared for the session, while the lawyers and journalists were banned from entering, and after a while they were allowed.
While in front of the courthouse, many consolidators with the judges stood in front of the building shouting words of consolidation. The security forces assaulted the demonstrators and they beaten with wooden sticks, in order to get scattered in the Galaa and 26th of July streets. Aggressions by the security forces against the demonstrators occurred, and any of the present people at the spot whether demonstrators or waiting for the bus at the bus station, were detained at one of the buildings in the area, while others were arrested and investigated with on Friday April 28th at the State Security Prosecution Office.
Thursday after the judges' trial
Wednesday… on 8 p.m. the Central Security Forces handled the courthouse with a security siege.
At 8 a.m., on Thursday May 11th 2006 the Security Forces and the State Security Service surrounded the downtown area, and Cairo suffered a temporary traffic block.
Barriers of the security takes the shape of successive squares starting from the siege of the court house, Judges Club, Journalists Syndicate and the Bar Association.
Barriers continue until Talaat Hars Square and on the other side, to Al Fath Mosque in Ramsis Square. The barriers are all over the side streets leading to 26th of July street and Abdulkhaliq Tharwat street, also Talaat Harb and other street were closed.
The stores were asked to close their doors. Also doors of the subway leading out of "Gamal Abdel Nasser" station were closed. The employees at the Real State Authority were granted the day off. Employees of the Journalists Syndicate and the Bar Association were not able to reach their offices, with many of the employees in other companies and offices in the region. Lawyers were banned from entering the courthouse, and when they were asked about their cases, the only answer was: "no cases today!".
It wasn't only limited on lawyers, but also the researcher of EOHR noticed that one of the heads of the Prosecution Office was standing before a barrier not able to reach the courthouse, and he was banned by soldiers, so he shouted asking one of the officers to come talk to him, an officer came and after seeing his ID, he took him with him to another officer, and the researcher was not able to see how the situation ended, as he was taken away to the middle of Ramsis street.
And in front of the courthouse the researcher of the organization recorded how the security forces banned one of the judges from entering the courthouse saying there are no cases to be looked into for the day.
At about 10 a.m. demonstrators came to stand in front of Ramsis Central Phone services in Ramsis street, shouting and condemning banning them from reaching the court.
They were attacked by the security forces, which hit them with sticks and chased them down Ramsis street and in side streets, where some of them were arrested, and after 15 minutes another group of demonstrators stood in Galaa Street, at the fence of Galaa Hospital.
The security forces attacked them again and arrested some of them. Meanwhile, demonstrators came into 26th of July street, where the organization recorded how the security forces dealt with them brutally as they were hit by sticks and hands, and pulled on the floor face down. People in civil clothes twice chased after demonstrators hitting them with hands and legs.
The situation didn't stop at this, but after that last event a group of persons dressed in civil clothes abducted some citizens passing in front of the security barriers.
Also the correspondent of Al Jazeera News Channel was attacked with her crew, while they were covering the demonstration in front of the court, as the crew members found seven people approaching in civil clothes, then they attacked the Cameraman Yasser Soliman, and took his camera after hitting him in the face, then he was detained along with the rest of the crew, Mohamed Al Dab'e (Producer), Nassr Youssif (Sound), Lina Al Ghadban (Correspondent) for 15 minutes, and the camera and tape were confiscated. Also the AP reporter was assaulted while covering the events in front of the subway station, when the security forces attacked him and he fell to the floor, and was stamped on by feet.
Meanwhile, Amr Abdullah of Al Masry Al Youm newspaper photographer was subjected to harsh swearing by the security forces during photographing the police assault on demonstrators, while civil dressed police personnel chased him, beat him and took his two cameras, then broke the first (digital camera) and took the film from the second. Amr said that during his work as a photographer he found an officer swearing at him, then he was entered into a circle of bullies and soldiers in civil clothes, to be beaten like never before.
In front of Al Fath Mosque at Ramsis square, the demonstrators regrouped and the security forces made a siege around them, then started arresting many of them, so as the total detainees counted 225 persons.
They were distributed among many police stations, then taken to the security camp in Tora, where they were blindfolded and left in a yard under the sun for six hours.
Afterwards they were taken to the SSPO, where they were detained for 15 days for investigations.
Third: Public Prosecution Investigations with Demonstrators
Case 5476/2006 Kasr Al Nile Office
Early on Monday April 24th 2006 the security forces arrested 12 citizens striking at the Judges Club, they were referred to the Prosecution Office, where they were accused of raising rumors against the interest of the public security, demonstrating in direct breach to law 10/1914. The Prosecution also accused them of blocking the road, assaulting civil servants during their work, based on the report issued from Kasr Al Nile department no. 4/2006, that the tent they installed to stay in the night blocked the road.
Noteworthy, the lawyers of EOHR who attended the investigations at the Prosecution Office asked to see the decision of removal of the tent, but the prosecution refused to let them see it,
and the investigation papers were registered by no. 5476/2006 Kasr Al Nile, then the Prosecution decided to detain the accused for 15 days for investigations.
The lawyers of EOHR asked for releasing the detainees for the lack of reasons for detention, because of the absence of actions enough for detention, and each of the accused lives in a known residence and their escape is unlikely, beside their influence on the case is not crucial.
EOHR also argued that the strike is one of the manifestations of the right to freedom of expression and right to peaceful assembly, which are rights granted by the Constitution and human rights international instruments, namely the ICCPR.
The Prosecution Office issued its decision to detain 15 persons for investigations
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