The signatory organizations warn that the most recent amendments to the criminal procedures code that were ratified on April 27, 2017 will expedite court procedures related to the administration of the death penalty. Before the amendments were made, it was possible for the Court of Cassation to annul a verdict by a criminal court and order a retrial in front of a different court.
Programs: Criminal Justice
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) calls for the immediate release of Ola Qardawi and her husband Hossam Khalaf and the disclosure of the charges their arrest was premised on.
On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, ten organizations are urging Egyptian authorities to drop the preventative detention order against Hanan Badr el-Din, a human rights defender and co-founder of the “Association of
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.
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.
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.”
EIPR reasserts that the increasing use of death sentences by the Egyptian state as a form of punishment in cases of terrorism or cases labeled as ‘political,’ following trials that do not meet the standards of a fair trial, is far from being a seemingly efficient method of facing violence.
7 Feb 2017
I.Checklist for Interaction with the Victim
1-Procedure
a. The Rapporteur determines whether the complaint falls within his mandate
b. Effort is made to verify the information and seek additional details if necessary
c. The Special Rapporteur reaches out to the Government of the State where the alleged violation is thought to have occurred
i.Urgent Appeals (for ongoing violations): Government urged to respond as soon as possible
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).
The undersigned human rights organizations and political parties express their deep concern about the Egyptian authorities' intention to start investigations with the two judges Assem Abd al-Gabbar and Hesham Raouf, for allegedly engaging in polit
