HRW Statement on Mahalla detainees

Human Rights Watch issued a statement on the 18th of July, in which it urged the authorities to release six men held for more than 90 days, without charge. All arrested during April 6-7th in Mahalla. HRW is also asking the authorities not to go ahead with the case of The 49 that was reffered to the Supreme State Security Court, due to that specific instance´s shortcomings in fulfilling the requirements of a fair trial.

The Supreme State Security Court (Mahkamat Amn al-Dawla al-'Ulya) was established under Egypt’s Emergency Law in 1980 and follows procedures that violate internationally recognized fair trial norms. In violation of guarantees of the independence of the judiciary, two military judges may sit alongside the Security Court’s regular bench of three civilian judges.

It also asks the authorities to look in to allegations of torture toward Karim al Beheiri and Muhammed Marei.

" Not only has the government blatantly violated the right of workers to strike, it has refused to provide those arrested with basic due process rights...Nothing justifies torturing and indefinitely detaining protesters without charge. "
Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch.

In the staement the Human Rights Watch provides a full list of the names of the six men detained for more than 90 days and the 49 referred to the Supreme State Security Court, the full statement can be found here.

Beheiri , Fayoumy and Amin released from Burg al Arab

Karim al Beheiri , Kamal al Fayoumy and Tareq Tareq Amin, the Ghazl al Mahalla workers that were detained in connection with the April 6th strike was released from the Burg al Arab prison on June 1st.

"We were subjected to electric shocks, to beatings and there was no food and or drink for the first few days," blogger Karim el-Beheiri told AFP a day after his release. "We went through weeks of torture and humiliation."

Beheiri, Tarek Amin and Kamal al-Fayoumy, three worker activists, were arrested on April 6 at the Misr Spinning and Weaving company in the Nile Delta industrial city of Mahalla after riots which left three people dead and hundreds detained.

An interior ministry official confirmed the three had been released but denied they had been mistreated.

"These are false accusations," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Everything took place within a framework of human rights."

I´ve been living in my own bubble for the last ten days , working on a presentation that i had yesterday, so i didn´t hear about it until this instant, more on this as i catch up with this happy piece of news.

Mabrouk Karim, Kamal and Tareq!

Fouad al Farhan is released

The Saudi blogger Fouad al Farhan has been released, and is now at his home, according to a message that was sent to members of the Free Fouad facebook group:

Fouad Al-Farhan is free now after released from jail and he is at home with his family. Here is his friend and prominent Saudi blogger, Saudi jeans reaction to the news.

تم اليوم إطلاق سراح فؤاد الفرحان وهو الآن في بيته مع أهله

Fouad was arrested on December 10th and his been in custody for 138 days. Hecalled his time in custody ¨a unique experience and stated that he would return to blogging soon in a telephone interview with the Washington Post following his release.

Overall it´s been quite a good week for bloggers in the Arab World this week, in Egypt, Muhammed al Sharqawi was released from al Marg prison, although before he was released he was questioned in another case regarding his publishisng house Malameh , and the publication of the graphic novel, Metro, written by Magdi al Shafi.
Nadia Mabrouk and Esra Abd al Fattah was also released from al Qanater´s women´s prison. In Esra´s case after she had been ordered released, something totaly ignored by the interior ministry , whom stopped the release and issued orders for her to remain in jail according to the Emergency laws. Only after her mother pleaded to President Hosni Mubarak, the First Lady and Minister of Interior Habib al Adly in the press ,she was released.

In a related matter, Cairo University student Bilal Diab was held by the university security for some hours, after he asked Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to release Esra and the other¨internet-activists¨ of April 6th, while Nazif was holding a speech at the University. You can watch an interview with Bilal made by Mona al Shazly on 10 mazaán here. The interview with Bilal begins about 8 minutes into the show. Before that Minister of commerce Rashid Muhammed Rashid speaks to Mona on a common Arab Market.And Mona looks really interested about the topic...

While i´m happy truly happy by the above mentioned releases, let´s not forget those who are still not freed , like Kareem al Beheiri and Ahmed Badawi for instance, as well as others.

This post will cross-posted at Diwan of democracy.

631 detainees in Mahalla, 18 ordered released

631 detainees in Mahalla

According to a security source 631 detainees is being held in Mahalla. Out of the 631, 331 is being investigated and the remaining 300 is still in detention.

18 were ordered released in yesterday´s court hearing about the events of 6-7 by the Public Prosecutor.

Could somebody please explain what the additional 300 that are facing any charges are doing in custody still?

Nine photojournalists released and the ¨Caravan of Solidarity

Nasser Nouri, a photographer from Reuters is released together with Ahmed Hamed, a photographer with the independent Egyptian newspaper al Fajr , and camera men from Dream TV and Orbit. All of them Egyptian. They were detained while covering the ¨Caravan of Solidarity¨ made up of 25 professors, doctors and activists going to Mahalla last Friday, with food and medicine , trying to meet with the families of the detainee´s. The caravan was stopped by police 30 Km´s outside of Mahalla, not allowed to enter the town and later escorted back to Cairo, in a reverse ¨Caravan of Police¨.

Dr Aida Seif al Dawla one of the members of the ¨Caravan of solidarity¨ on trying to go there again:

¨Activists, like Aida Seif Al-Dawla, are vowing that they will eventually get to Mahalla despite the government's efforts to limit access to the area. "Oh yes, we'll go back. We'll go back and we'll get those testimonies, and we'll visit those hospitals. We are going back. This is definite¨

And Dr Seif al Dawla´s comment on the situation:

"We are ruled by a government which thinks it is degrading that they respond to the demands and rights of their people - the people that should be governing. And eventually this can only end in things like Mahalla… so it tells me that the situation is very tense, that we have a terrified government, that we have pathetic political parties and that people are taking initiative in their hands,"

James Buck is released and has boarded a plane, en route to the States. His Egyptian translator/friend, Mohammed Salah Ahmed Marei is seemingly still in police custody. Read James statement on his friend here

George Ishaq relased on bail

As stated on this blog earlier George Ishaq was released on a 10 000 E.P bail, pending trial that could render up to a 10 year sentence. One other faces the usual 15 days of detention ( probably Sami Farnasis and the third awaits the medical comittee´s opinion on weather he´s capable of facing detention(probably Fathi Hafnawi).

Human Rights Watch raised severe critique toward the way the police has handled the situation in Mahalla. Amnesty International does the same, and both shows concern about the arrests of the Kefaya leaders.

Reporters without Borders calls for release of bloggers

Reporters without Borders calls for the release of bloggers Muhammed al Sharqawi, Esraá abd al Fattah and Karim al Beheiri. Esraa was of course the one who started the 6th of April group on Facebook, which managed to attract 65 000 members in the two weeks prior to the manifestation.