Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

Egyptian rights organisations, including IFEX members Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, and Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, call for the immediate and unconditional release of Ismail Alexandrani and hold the authorities responsible for his safe return to his family.

Military prosecutors ordered the detention of investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat on the morning of 9 November for four days pending interrogation on charges related solely to his writings as a journalist. The prosecutors refuse to tell lawyers where Bahgat is being detained.

To date, 37 out of 97 branches of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) across the country are facing administrative obstacles to renewing their legal registration.

The ongoing harassment of civil society in Egypt contradicts all claims that the country is democratising, a process in which these organisations are a basic building block.

Autocratic governments across the Middle East and North Africa have woken up to a perceived threat from the online sphere. Their response has been draconian.

Witnesses to the murder of Shaimaa El Sabbagh who willingly testified during the trial of a policeman accused of killing her are now facing criminal charges for allegedly participating in protests on the day of her death.

Political activist Ahmed Douma was amongst those sentenced to life in prison in connection with a protest that took place in December 2011 and was brutally dispersed by police and military forces.

The international community’s response to the current charges leveled against prominent activist Nabeel Rajab has been monumental in denouncing the Criminal Investigations Department and the Bahraini government for their actions.