Coinciding with the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the undersigned independent human rights organizations condemn the Egyptian government’s systematic practice of torture against prisoners in the country.
Programs: Civil Liberties
Urgent Action Needed to Address Serious Concerns Raised by UN Rights Bodies
The undersigned organizations renew their call for the Egyptian authorities to stop these trials, including the human trafficking case against Hossam and al-Adham, and release the defendants who continue to be held in pretrial detention been sentenced to imprisonment in connection with these cases. In addition to guaranteeing freedom of expression, including on the internet, and to stop employing the Law's vague provisions on Combating Information Technology Crimes to infringe on digital rights.
The five groups called on all civil society organizations, political parties, unions, individuals, and Egyptian communities abroad and regional and international bodies to endorse these seven steps as minimum requirements to begin restoring the dignity and rights of all Egyptians.
The motion follows a petition launched on the anniversary of Patrick’s arrest this year and signed by more than 200,000 Italian citizens calling on the Italian government to grant Patrick Italian citizenship. Since Zaki’s arrest in February 2020, more than 50 Italian cities and counties have granted him their honorary citizenship in appreciation for his work defending human rights and highlighting his unjust imprisonment, with the campaign titled “100 Cities for Patrick”.
Today, Patrick's lawyers have maintained the need for the prosecution to disclose the justifications for its request to continue Patrick's imprisonment, under ArticleNo.136 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the accused's defense to refute and refute it and for the court's balance between the prosecution's statements and the defendant's defense. In the face of the lawyers ’request, the Public Prosecutor reiterated his general phrase, which says,“ The justifications for remand are available. ”.
Today, February 7th, marks a year since Patrick Zaki - the researcher at EIPR and Master’s student at the University of Bologna- was arrested from Cairo Airport. Since then, he has been on remand detention. Last week, the Third Felonies circuit ordered the renewal of his detention for 45 additional days. In the face of this incomprehensible intransigence EIPR can’t but repeat its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of Patrick Zaki due to the absence of justifications for remand detention and demand the dropping of all charges against him.
Together with Egypt’s human rights movement we spent the 10 years prior to 2011 fact-finding and gathering evidence on almost every aspect of the blanket injustice that led Egyptians to rise on Police Day #25Jan.Starting today we’ll take you on a journey to remember how Egypt looked at the end of 30 years of authoritarian rule by #Mubarak
EIPR believes that this world-wide support presented a good example of what could be achieved despite the severely shrunken space for civil society at large and the gagging of all professional and pro-democracy voices in Egypt’s mainstream media.
