UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF EGYPTIAN ACADEMIC AND CO-DEFENDANTS

HR/01/45
25 May 2001



The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, and the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the Commission on Human Rights, Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, have expressed their deep concern to the Government of Egypt over the trial and conviction of Saadeddin Ibrahim and 27 co-defendants by the Supreme State Security Court on 21 May 2001.

Saadeddin Ibrahim, a 61-year old professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo and Director of the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Development Studies, and the co-defendants, mostly members of Ibn Khaldoun Centre or of the Egyptian Women Voters’ Support Center, were convicted on charges ranging from accepting foreign funds without authorisation and disseminating false information harmful to Egypt’s interests to embezzlement. Mr. Ibrahim was sentenced to seven years imprisonment while the other defendants received sentences ranging from one to seven years.

In an urgent communication to the Government, dated 22 May 2001, the two Experts said they were particularly concerned about allegations that the charges were politically motivated. The Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders had previously addressed two urgent communications on the same case, one dated 15 January 2001, to which the Government has replied, and another on 18 May 2001.

In their joint communication, the two Experts also expressed their concern at the use of the State Security Court instead of courts of ordinary jurisdiction, the absence of a full right to an appeal and the limited access for defence lawyers to prosecutorial documents. Finally, the speed with which the verdict was reportedly reached was also a matter of great concern, considering that the 28 defendants were allegedly convicted and sentenced within 90 minutes. The Experts concluded that the procedures and conduct of this case would seem to violate the fair trial standards contained in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.


"We consider that the conviction for their peaceful activities violates both the letter and the spirit of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary and the United Nations Principles on the Role of Lawyers”, the Experts wrote. “We believe that the conviction of these members of civil society for their human rights activities will have a chilling effect on the activities of other human rights defenders in Egypt".

The Experts requested the Government to take steps in order to secure the release of
Mr. Ibrahim and the 27 co-defendants pending their appeal to the Court of Cassation and that they be kept informed about the continuing appeal process.

The Experts said they considered that the conduct of the trial illustrated the need for closer monitoring of the situation of human rights defenders and the independence of the judiciary in Egypt.