Human Rights Organizations: Egypt | Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly are human rights, not Crimes.
” JHR “ expressed – in conjunction with several human rights organizations – in an official statement – their attitude toward the repression against protesters in Egypt who face arbitrary arrests during peaceful demonstrations on September 20 and the violation of the right of freedom of expression, demonstration and peaceful assembly. The organizations also expressed their deep concern about the fierce attack on lawyers and human rights defenders in Egypt.
- To see the text of the statement: (Link).
Official statement
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are human rights, not crimes.
The undersigned human rights organizations have followed with great concern the arbitrary arrests and detentions of a number of citizens in several Egyptian governorates, as they were in peaceful gatherings since last Friday, September 20, 2019.The police forces confronted demonstrators and protesters with tear gas to disperse them. Also, they arrested more than 1,000 citizens, and arrested other political activists from their homes at dawn over the past few days until Tuesday morning, September 24, 2019. They didn’t only abduct and arbitrary detentain demonstrators and activists, but they also arrested a number of Lawyers and human rights defenders in Egypt, including the lawyer and human rights activist Mahinour Al-Masri and lawyer Sahar Ali after attending prosecutors’ investigations with peaceful demonstrators who had been arbitrarily detained.
The signatories to this statement, consider that the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, are fundamental human rights, protected by all constitutions and local laws, as well as all international conventions, most notably, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Rights Civil and political.
As indicated by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), all States are aware of the limitations of rights applicable in the context of peaceful protest, as those rights are enshrined in the human rights treaties to which they have signed. Human rights law protects the rights of persons to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and association. These rights have become the cornerstone of every free and democratic society.
Therefore, the human rights organizations that have signed this statement call on the following:
- Releasing all detainees who were arbitrarily arrested during peaceful demonstrations in the past few days.
- Stopping the security terrorism on lawyers and human rights defenders, especially with regard to their arrest and detention without legal support, and the need to immediately release the two lawyers, Mahinor Al-Masri and Sahar Ali.
- Respecting the Constitution, law and international covenants, and not to violate the right to demonstrate and peaceful assembly.
- The security forces to stop attacks on peaceful citizens, do not use force or violence against demonstrators, and work for their safety and protection.
Signatories;
- Justice for Human Rights (JHR) – Istanbul.
- Human Rights Monitor (HRM) – London.
- El Shehab For Human Rights (SHR) – London.
- Najda For Human Rights (NHR) – London.
- Salam International Organization For Protection of Human Rights (SPH) – London.
- Egyptian Coordination of Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) – Cairo.
- AFD International – Brussels.