Human rights

Egypt: Assault against Ms. Magda Adly

2008-05-12, Issue 371

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/48020

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The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention regarding the following situation in Egypt.

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
EGY 001 / 0508 / OBS 074
Assault / Intimidation Egypt
May 7, 2008

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention regarding the following situation in Egypt.


Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) about the assault against Ms. Magda Adly, a medical doctor and a member of the El Nadim Centre for Psychological Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence.

According to the information received, on April 30, 2008, Drs. Magda Adly and Mona Hamed were assaulted inside the courthouse of the town of Kafr El Dawwar in Northern Egypt. Indeed, upon entering the courthouse, Dr. Adly was attacked by a man who appeared to attempt to steal her handbag and pushed her on the floor, causing her a cut wound to her left eyebrow as well as a possible dislocation of her shoulder. Moreover, she experienced a period of unconsciousness and confusion. After the assault, the man would have confessed that he had acted upon orders of Chief intelligence officer Ahmed Maklad of the Kafr El Dawwar police. While hospitalised, Ms. Adly was interrogated for two hours, starting at 1 pm on the morning of May 1, 2008.

In addition, the car of Dr. Mona Hamed, another member of the El Nadim Centre, was destroyed in the course of the events under circumstances that are yet unclear.

These events happened immediately before the two doctors were to appear in Court and testify in a case concerning several members of a local family who had been subjected to torture by local police. Indeed, on the morning of April 30, 2008, El Nadim Centre had released a statement calling for an investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of members of the Sobhi Mohamed Sobhi Hussein family by the local police in Kafr El Dawwar[1].

The Observatory expresses its deep concern about these acts of intimidation against Ms. Magda Adly and Ms. Mona Hamed, and fears that they might be aimed at sanctioning her activities in favour of human rights.

Action requested:

Please write to the Egyptian authorities to urge them to :
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Drs. Magda Adly and Mona Hamed;
ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;
iii. Put an end to all forms of harassment against all human rights defenders in Egypt;
iv. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its Articles 1 (“everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”) and 12.2 (“The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the [...] Declaration”);
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Egypt.

Addresses:
· President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg, Fax: +202 390 1998
· Prime Minister Mr. Ahmed Mahmoud Mohamed Nazif, Magles El Shaab Street, Kasr El Aini Street, Cairo, Egypt. Fax: + 202 735 6449 / 7958016. Email: primemin@idsc.gov.eg
· Minister of the Interior, General Habib Ibrahim Habib El Adly, Ministry of the Interior, El-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: moi1@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 579 2031 / 794 5529
· Minister of Justice, Mr. Mamdoh Mohie E-din Marie, Ministry of Justice, Magles El Saeb Street, Wezaret Al Adl, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 795 8103
· Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Maher ‘Abd al-Wahid, Dar al-Qadha al-’Ali, Ramses Street, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 577 4716
· National Council For Human Rights, Fax: + 202 5747497 / 5747670
· Ambassador Sameh Shoukry, 49 avenue Blanc, 1202 Genève, Switzerland, Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15
· Embassy of Egypt in Brussels, 19 avenue de l’Uruguay, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 675.58.88; Email: embassy.egypt@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic representatives of Egypt in your respective countries

Geneva-Paris, May 7, 2008

Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply. The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT: (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

[1] Upon an appeal from the family, a team comprising medical experts from El Nadim Center went to Kafr el Dawwar to take testimony from Mr. Hussein and several family members who had been subjected to torture by officers of the local police.

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