Press Releases & News

Press Release30 Aug 2017

At the seventh anniversary of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) calls on the Egyptian government to sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (the international convention on enforced disappearances), to open an investigation into complaints of family members of the disappeared, to prevent enforced disappearances, and to combat impunity for the crime of enforced disappearance.

Press Release9 Aug 2017

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) condemns the verdict issued on Monday 7 August in case no. 8473/2013, before Minya Criminal Court, commonly known as the “Storming Matai Police Station” case, in which 12 defendants were sentenced to death and 119 others were sentenced to life in prison, 110 of which are currently in detention, although not all were present in court.

News9 Jul 2017

For many years, the residents practiced many forms of peaceful protests against the factory. They wrote petitions, filed complaints, held negotiations with factory officials, talked about their cause in the media, used social media, produced documentary films, and even conducted researches and proposed alternatives.

Press Release17 Jun 2017

The signatories condemn all violations of the rights of the defense, and the defendants' right to a fair trial, as stipulated in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The forced disappearance of the defendants contravenes article 40 of Egypt’s Penal Code, which stipulates that, “No one shall be arrested or imprisoned except by an order of the competent authorities, and shall be treated in a manner that protects human dignity and may not be harmed physically or morally.”

News29 May 2017

Residents of Wadi al-Qamar have recently posted a video, dated 18 May 2017, on Facebook, which depicts very large emissions coming out of a chimney of the Alexandria Portland Cement’s plant (APCC), which is adjacent to their homes. APCC is a subsidiary of TITAN Cement Group, a multinational cement and building materials producing company, based in Greece. Residents of the area have been complaining for years about the environmental pollution caused by the plant and the harmful effects it has had on their health and the health of their children.

Press Release8 Mar 2017

To mark International Women’s Day, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights is publishing scenes from the lives of trans women as part of a series titled “They’re Women Too.” The stories’ aim is to spotlight the hardship experienced by trans women in Egypt.

Press Release9 Feb 2017

The persistent legal harassment—the closure of the Nadeem Center will not be the last incident—will not deter Egyptian rights organizations from steadfastly exposing the current regime’s abuses and its violations of citizens’ fundamental human rights. We will continue to conduct research, monitor, and raise awareness in service of human rights principles and in defense of those victimized by draconian laws designed to forcefully shutdown the public sphere and all outlets for peaceful expression of opinion.

Press Release9 Nov 2016

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.

Press Release15 Oct 2016

The undersigned organizations welcome the most recent amendments to the Penal Code to include a precise definition of the crime of female genital cutting (FGC) and extend the the statute of limitation to ten years. The organizations nevertheless stress that enforcement mechanisms remain lacking and that the amended provisions still allows doctors and medical institutions to evade punishment.

Press Release10 Oct 2016

In March 2014, a first-instance court in Minya issued a preliminary decision sentencing 529 people to death. In April of the same year, the same court issued a preliminary decision sentencing 683 people to death. Preliminary death sentences are not final until approved by the Mufti of Egypt and then the criminal court finally confirms them (while it still retains discretion to change the verdict after it has been approved by the Mufti).

Press Release28 Sep 2016

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the global alliance Realizing Sexual and Reproductive Justice (RESURJ) are again calling on the Egyptian legislator to amend legal provisions on abortion to guarantee women’s access to safe abortion in cases where pregnancy constitutes a threat to the woman’s life or health or if the pregnancy is the result of rape.

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