The undersigned human rights organizations denounce the ruling on 11 January by the Egyptian Court of Cassation upholding the imprisonment of human rights defender Amal Fathy with a one-year prison sentence including time served, in case no.
Files: Sexual Violence
EIPR called on the Court of Cassation to promptly set a hearing for the criminal case appeal No.
On Sunday, October 30th, the Mansoura Economic Misdemeanors Court ruled in the case of defamation and threats to the victim in an incident of mob sexual assault in the city of Meet Ghamr, which took place in December 2020.
EIPR hopes that the prosecution’s decision not to proceed with the referral of Menna Abdel Aziz to trial is a precedent that will be generalized to the rest of sexual violence cases, through the prosecution’s use of its inherent right to suspend investigations or counter-reports that the victim of sexual violence may face once they report the incidents of abuse.
EIPR had previously and repeatedly warned that the precedent of accusations being brought against a victim and survivor of rape and kidnapping sends a clear message to women and girls that reporting sexual assaults they are subjected to, may end up in them being charged as accused and lead them to prison, hindering any community efforts seeking to support women and girls in their quest to recover from the aftermath of sexual violence crimes that they may be exposed to.
EIPR calls upon the Public Prosecution again to use its authority, and to take the decision best suited for the safety of the victim, Menna Abdel Aziz (Aya), to drop all charges against her and release her immediately, so that she can begin recovering from the psychological and physical effects of the attacks that she was subjected to at the hands of the accused.
The Prisons’ Authority forced al-Helw to undergo a full external physical examination and inspection of her genitals, conducted by doctors at a general hospital, against her will and without medical grounds, which constitutes a clear assault on her bodily and psychological safety.
This most recent incident confirms the fears of numerous women’s groups and rights organizations about the continued risk to the lives and health of girls, the inadequacy of the protection provided by the law, and the short-sightedness of a statutory philosophy based on stricter penalties while disregarding the social tolerance of female circumcision.
The EIPR found substantial discrepancies between the Arabic definition of female circumcision and the definition in all other languages on the WHO website.The Arabic definition lacks an important sentence affirming that there is no medical basis for the practice.
The undersigned groups and organizations declare their condemnation of the incident of mob sexual assault that took place inside the Cairo University campus on Sunday, March 16, 2014.A group of students from the Faculty of Law followed a female st
