The undersigned organizations demand the immediate release of Dr.
Files: Freedoms of expression
A report by the Islamic Research Academy, al-Azhar University, had attacked el-Beheiry’s program titled “With Islam” broadcast on al-Kahira wa-Nas, which discussed some elements of Islamic heritage critically.
The undersigned organizations strongly condemn the detention of researcher and journalist Ismail Alexandrani, upon his return to Egypt from Germany on Sunday, November 29, at 2 pm at the Hurghada airport, which constitutes a violation and restriction of his freedom.
The undersigned organizations reiterate their demand for the repeal of the law and the immediate release of all persons detained or convicted under it.
For centuries, the Egyptian state has maintained policies based on the model of the Caliphate in its administration of mosques. Policies of all modern political administrations employed different authoritarian tools against challengers to teachings of the official religious institutions thus infringing on the rights of Muslims who don’t wish to follow the state’s interpretation of religion.
The undersigned organisations call for the immediate and unconditional release of the journalist Hossam Bahgat who has been arbitrarily detained solely for the peaceful expression of his views.
Joint Statement from Parties, Institutions, Rights Organizations, and Public Figures on the Proposed Counterterrorism Law
The undersigned rights organizations add their voices to that of the Journalists’ Syndicate, which has rejected the draft counterterrorism law in light of its inconsistency with Article 71 of the Egyptian constitution and because it seeks to reinstate restrictions that journalists have fought against for decades—a struggle that came to fruition in the 2014 constitution.
The case was filed in 2013 following the Edward Snowden leaks, which revealed the scale of communications surveillance by British and US intelligence practiced through the direct interception or tapping into global communication infrastructure.
Yesterday, the investigating judge in the NGO foreign funding case delegated a committee from the Ministry of Social Solidarity to visit the offices of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) in Cairo and look into its activities.