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1 Egypt – Researched and Compiled by the Refugee Documentation Egypt – Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on 21 November 2016 Information on those opposed to the military being imprisoned/tortured. The Summary of a briefing paper published by the UK House of Commons Library states: “In 2013 an army-backed coup removed the unpopular government of Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The new authorities changed the constitution, held a presidential election that massively confirmed Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in power. After a postponement parliamentary elections took place in November and December 2015. The new parliament is unlikely to wield decisive influence. Though he has come in for sharp criticism from outside, Sisi remains very popular among Egyptians. The new government embarked from the start on a vigorous crackdown on opposition forces, including Islamists, liberals and human rights campaigners and the press. The government of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi banned the Muslim Brotherhood and arrested thousands of its supporters, sentencing hundreds to death in mass trials. Morsi himself was handed a death sentence in May 2015. Some death sentences have been quashed, however, in what may be something of a change of course.” (UK House of Commons Library (26 February 2016) Egypt under Sisi, p.3) A report published by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in a section headed “Imprisonment and Torture”, states: “Within four months only (August and November 2015) there were at least 340 unresolved cases of enforced disappearance of citizens, with an average of three cases a day. The quasi-governmental National Council for Human Rights NCHR has confirmed that it is working on cases of enforced disappearance. At least 41,000 people were detained, charged, or sentenced between July 2013 and May 2014, however unconfirmed reports suggest that the numberfigure has now reached over 100,000 detainees. The Interior Ministry claims that 11,877 people have been arrested on alleged terrorism-related charges since the beginning of 2015. In February 2015, President Abdelfatah al-Sisi acknowledged in a speech that there are innocent youth in prisons. At least 470 death sentences were handed down by Egyptian courts for alleged violence and terrorism related charges in 2015 alone and many more were sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged political violence or activism. The sentences came through mass trials that lacked due process in what was described earlier by a group of UN experts as a ‘mockery of justice’. During President Sisi’s first year in office, at least 289 cases of torture and 16 cases of sexual assaults, were reported. According to Nasser Amin, 1 Chairman of the Complaints Committee of the NCHR, the actual number of torture cases that occur far exceeds those documented or reported in the media, describing torture as a systematic pattern.” (International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) (22 January 2016) Five years after the revolution : Egypt's Poorest Human Rights Record in its Modern History) The Introduction to a briefing paper from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights states: “Since June 2013, Egyptian authorities have increasingly used pretrial detention as a punitive measure to silence activists, journalists, and peaceful political dissidents. The number of pretrial detainees in Egypt has exponentially increased and the periods of pretrial detention have exceeded international legal standards and even domestic maximums.” (Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (10 February 2016) The Problem of Punitive Pretrial Detention in Egypt) In a section headed “Pretrial Detention in Practice” this paper states: “Since 2013, the number of pretrial detainees in Egypt has exponentially increased. As per the most recent official Egyptian Prison Authority count announced in December 2014, out of 12,800 persons detained since June 2013, 7,389 were still being held in pretrial detention; the United States Department of State reports that this number alone reflects a 360% increase over the prior year’s estimate of pretrial detainees. With Egyptian organizations estimating that the total number of political prisoners is closer to 40,000, the number of pretrial detainees is likely to be even higher today than the 2014 numbers. Despite the two-year maximum set out in domestic law for cases of first review that carry possible death or life imprisonment, at least 700 pretrial detainees have been held in pretrial detention beyond the two year mark as of August 2015. In violation of Egypt’s international human rights obligations and its own domestic regulations, pretrial detainees are being held in the same detention facilities as convicted prisoners, including individuals with radical ideologies. Prison cells are often dirty, filled with cockroaches and ants, largely- overcrowded, and subject to extreme temperatures due to poor ventilation. Detainees endure beatings, insults, sexual assault, and torture. At times, they are arbitrarily prevented from meeting with family members and face the confiscation of various personal belongings. Medical neglect is increasingly common and many detainees do not receive the treatment they require, and when detainees are finally taken to the prison hospital, care is limited and resources are constrained. Pretrial detainees arrested on bogus grounds, subjected to torture and cruel and inhuman conditions, and held in the same prison cells as convicted prisoners are at serious risk of radicalization.” (ibid, pp.2-3) The 2015 US Department of State country report on Egypt, in a section titled “Political Prisoners and Detainees”, states: “There were reports of political prisoners and detainees, although verifiable estimates were not available. The government claimed there were no political 2 prisoners and all persons in detention had been or were in the process of being, charged with a crime. Human rights groups and international observers maintained the government detained or imprisoned as many as several thousand persons solely or chiefly because of their political beliefs or opposition to the government. A local rights group considered any persons arrested under the 2013 demonstrations law to be political prisoners. In their view these persons were political prisoners or detainees because authorities held them based on laws that restricted the exercise of a human right, because charges were false or inflated motivated by the individual’s political opinion or membership in a particular group, or because some individuals faced unduly harsh and disproportionate treatment due to their political opinions or membership in particular groups.” (US Department of State (13 April 2016) 2015 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – Egypt, pp.15- 16) A report from Human Rights Watch states: “Arbitrary and politically motivated arrests have soared since al-Sisi, then defense minister, seized power in July 2013 from Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed al-Morsy. An Interior Ministry official in July 2014 acknowledged that authorities had arrested 22,000 people over the previous year. The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, which independently monitors political arrests, said that the number was more like 41,000 arrested or facing criminal charges as of last May. There is little doubt that Muslim Brotherhood members and alleged supporters of Morsy constituted the greatest number – Brotherhood leaders said 29,000 of their number were in custody. But the arrest campaign includes numerous secularist and leftist activists as well. And of course once in custody they are subject to the same abuse and intense overcrowding. According to an investigation published in Al Watan, an independent daily that generally supports the government, drawing on statistics from the Justice Ministry’s Forensic Medical Authority, at least 90 detainees died in police custody in Cairo and Giza governorates in the first 11 months of 2014, from inhumane conditions, lack of adequate health care, and in some cases torture.” (Human Rights Watch (6 March 2015) Egypt’s Political Prisoners) A report published by Amnesty International, in a section titled “Background”, states: “In November 2013, the new authorities moved to outlaw any further protests against their rule. The interim President signed Law No. 107 of 2013 Regulating Public Gatherings, Processions and Peaceful Protests, handing security forces sweeping powers to use lethal force to disperse protests not authorized by the authorities and providing for heavy sentences reaching up to five years. In December 2013, the interim government declared the MB a 'terrorist' organization following a bomb attack on the al-Dakahliya Security Directorate in the city of Mansoura that the authorities attributed to the MB, although without providing concrete evidence. Membership of the MB can incur the death penalty under the revised Penal Code and the Counter-Terrorism Law. 3 Having resigned from the armed forces in March 2014, Abd el-Fattah al-Sisi became President in June 2014 after he defeated his sole opponent in presidential elections held the previous month. Since then, his government has maintained a relentless crackdown against the MB and Morsi supporters, detaining thousands and referring them to unfair mass trials in which hundreds have been sentenced to death. Furthermore, hundreds of perceived liberal activists, including prominent activists, human rights defenders and lawyers were also arrested for criticizing the government or the president. In August 2015, President al-Sisi signed a draconian new
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