ACHRS Statement: Release Alaa Abdel Fattah
Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has been held in arbitrary detention at the high-security prison Egyptian Tora 2 since September 29, 2019. Amman Center for Human Rights Studies alerts of the deterioration of his health condition, condemns the use of torture employed against Alaa Abdel Fattah, and urges Egyptian authorities to establish a fair trial.
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On the 24th of September, The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights defenders issued an urgent appeal, expressing concern over human rights defender Alaa Abdel Fattah’s deteriorating health condition. Abdel Fattah is currently arbitrarily detained at the High-Security Prison Egyptian Tora 2.
Alaa Abdel Fattah was last arrested in September 2019 by the National Security Agency (NSA) and has been in pre-trial detention since then. However, he was first arrested in December 2013 for writing about the military killing of 26 protesters under the Maspero massacre in the Egyptian Revolution. He was later released under supervision in a police station 12 hours a day. Alaa Abdel Fattah’s current prison, Tora High-Security Prison 2, is known for its harsh prison conditions.
The director of the office for North Africa Naija Bounaim has said that Abdel Fatteh’s detention, together with that of his lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer, is unjustified. Bounaim condemned the use of torture and cruel treatment, arguing that “both men appear to have been targeted solely based on their legitimate work defending human rights – they should not even be behind bars, let alone facing torture and other ill-treatment.”
These practices violate the right to political freedom and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment ratified by Egypt in 1986. The arbitrary detention of human rights defender Alaa Abdel Fattah and his lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer is a violation of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
ACHRS alerts of the deterioration of his health condition, condemns the use of torture employed against Alaa Abdel Fattah, and urges Egyptian authorities to release Alaa Abdel Fattah and establish a fair trial.
Image Source: Amnesty International
