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CRACKDOWN ON PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS

In Egypt, where a state of emergency law has been in effect since President Hosni Mubarak came to power in 1981, authorities can ban demonstrations and public rallies and arrest individuals without charge. In the past two weeks, scores of peaceful protesters in Cairo have been detained, raising calls of concern from IFEX members.

Human Rights Watch reports that more than 100 individuals have been detained since 24 April 2006, following demonstrations in support of a group of judges who had demanded judicial independence and criticised fraud and intimidation in the recent parliamentary elections.

Roughly half of the detainees are members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood who were protesting the government's recent decision to extend the emergency law by two years.

The protesters face several charges, including insulting the president, participating in a gathering of more than five people, spreading propaganda and malicious rumours, and organising demonstrations. Two newspaper reporters covering the demonstrations were also detained, including Saher al Gad of "Al-Geel" and Ibrahim Sahari of "Al-Alam Al-Youm".

On 7 May, several human rights rights activists, including one of the country's most prominent bloggers, Alaa Ahmed Seif Al Islam, were arrested in Cairo while expressing solidarity with the Egyptian judges, reported the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo), the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS).

The mass arrests prompted 15 civil society groups, including HRInfo, EOHR and CIHRS to issue a joint statement condemning the Egyptian government's actions.

Egypt's most acclaimed writer and Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz also voiced his concern, saying in an interview with the newspaper "Al-Ahram" that the government should release the journalists and drop all sentences issued against those charged with press offences.

Visit these links:

- Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/05/09/egypt13337.htm
- HRInfo: http://www.hrinfo.net/en/reports/2006/pr0507-2.shtml
- CIHRS: http://www.cihrs.org/
- EOHR: http://www.eohr.org/press/2006/pr0430-1.shtml
- CPJ Endorses Naguib Mahfouz Statement: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/mideast/egypt05may06na.html
- IFEX Alerts on Egypt: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/1446/