The following is an EOHR press release regarding the referral of EOHRâs secretary general to court for trial. EOHR views this as an attempt to silence Hafez Abu Saeda as part of a wider attack against the organisation because of its human rights activities: Cairo 15/2/2000 Press Release Abd El Aziz Mohamed, President of Board […]
The following is an EOHR press release regarding the referral of EOHRâs secretary general to court for trial. EOHR views this as an attempt to silence Hafez Abu Saeda as part of a wider attack against the organisation because of its human rights activities:
Cairo 15/2/2000
Press Release
Abd El Aziz Mohamed, President of Board of Trustees of EOHR Calls For a Just Trail For Hafez Abu Saeda
The President of the EOHR expresses his disappointment at the decision issued by the prosecutor of state security to refer Hafez Abu Saeda, Secretary General of the EOHR, to the supreme state security court (emergency), to be tried for breaching article No. 1 – item 6 of military order No. 4 /1992 which forbids collecting, receiving, declaring or even asking for donations for facing effects of disasters, accidents, risks or for any other purpose without a permission from the ministry of social affairs. It should be mentioned that the minimum penalty for this accusation is imprisonment for 7 years, according to article 2/1 of the military order.
The president of the EOHR believes that this ruling on Hafez Abu Saedaâs case confirms what the EOHR has declared before. Namely, that the amount of $25,000 which the EOHR received from the human rights committee of the British parliament has no relation to the El Kosheh report issued by the EOHR on September 28, 1998. The mentioned amount was sent for EOHRâs project of legal aid for women and the handicapped.
The EOHRâs president believes that the referral of the secretary general to this court, which excludes the possibility of an appeal to a higher court, is new evidence that the government is undermining the right to fair trail and all demands of the Egyptian civil society, parties, syndicates and intellectuals to end the institution of the emergencies law. This ruling also proves that the government is reneging on its promise that the emergency law would be applied “only to those who are involved in terrorism.”
The President of the EOHR urges Egyptian civil society to support the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights at this trying time of this referral and a recent decision to close down the EOHRâs publication. The President of the EOHR confirms with all his colleagues on the board of trustees, that he will take all necessary actions to enable the EOHR to continue its role in defending human rights in Egypt and in facing the increasing infringements of late.
