Human Rights Watch

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights

Egypt: Human Rights Council Membership Requires Steps to Address Violations

A Briefing Paper by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and Human Rights Watch

May 2007

Table of Content
Introduction....................................................................................................................... 3 I. At the international and regional levels ......................................................................... 4 1. Commitment to the Human Rights Council's Effectiveness .................................... 4 2. Cooperation with the UN Rights Mechanisms................................................................. 4 3. Review and Reform of the Council's Mechanisms ................................................... 6 4. Ratification of International Human Rights Instruments.......................................... 7 5. Commitment to the African Human Rights System ................................................. 8 6. Hosting of North Africa Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ....... 8 II. At the Domestic Level ................................................................................................. 9 1. Recent Constitutional Amendments and Proposed Anti-Terrorism Law ................. 9 2. Impunity for Human Rights Violations .................................................................. 11 3. Freedom of Association and Role of Civil Society ................................................ 12

Introduction
On 17 May 2007, the United N ations General Assem bly (GA) will elect 14 new m embers to the w orld 's top official rights bod y, the H u m an Rights Cou ncil (the Cou ncil). When UN Mem ber States established the Cou ncil in Ap ril 2006 to rep lace the Comm ission on H u man Rights, they d ecid ed that m embers of the Cou ncil "shall u p hold the highest stand ard s in the p rom otion and p rotection of hu m an rights" and that the General Assem bly w ou ld "take into accou nt the contribu tion of cand id ates to the p rom otion and p rotection of hu m an rights."1 The u nd ersigned organizations believe that the Egyp tian governm ent has not met these criteria. Fou r of the 14 seats w ill be allocated to African states, and Egyp t is seeking one of them. The u nd ersigned organizations regret that only fou r African nations have su bm itted their cand id acies for m embership to the Cou ncil, thereby elim inating any real com p etition betw een them and d ep riving the GA mem ber states of the op p ortu nity to elect members with the best human rights records from among the continent's 54 states. The u nd ersigned are also d ism ayed that som e of the governm ents w ith the w orst hu m an rights record s are cu rrently m em bers of the Cou ncil, and that other governments w ith sim ilarly d ism al record s including Egypt are seeking m em bership this year. H ow ever, the u nd ersigned ap p lau d the government of Egyp t's w illingness to su bm it itself to the frank review of its record of seriou s and continu ing hu m an rights violations requ ired by the General Assembly resolu tion establishing the Cou ncil, esp ecially given the governm ent's history of d enying access to United N ations exp erts seeking to p rovid e an ind ep end ent assessm ent of fundamental rights in Egypt.2 This letter p rovid es an analysis of som e of the p led ges circu lated by the Egyp tian Government to GA m em ber states p rior to the elections, w hich inclu d e volu ntary com mitments in the field of hu m an rights d om estically and internationally.3

1GA

resolution 60/251, paras 8 and 9. Available at http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/A.RES.60.251_En.pdf. 2Ibid, para. 9. 3Egypt's pledges are available at http://www.un.org/ga/61/elect/hrc.

I. At the international and regional levels

1. Commitment to the Human Rights Council's Effectiveness The Egyp tian government p led ges to w ork "to make the H u m an Rights Cou ncil a strong, effective and efficient bod y, cap able of p rom oting and p rotecting hu m an rights and fu nd am ental freed oms for all."4 The u nd ersigned w elcom e this comm itm ent, esp ecially in light of the Egyp tian governm ent's attemp ts to w eaken the Cou ncil's p ow ers and even p revent its creation in the negotiations that led to the Cou ncil's establishment.5 Many of Egyp t's p ositions d u ring the first year in the Cou ncil's life cast seriou s d ou bt on the sincerity of its comm itm ent to the Cou ncil's effectiveness in p rom oting and p rotecting hu man rights. For exam p le, d u ring the Cou ncil's fou rth session, held in March and Ap ril of 2007, Egyp t, together w ith other Arab and Asian states, attem p ted to u se p roced u ral p loys to p revent the d iscu ssion of a rep ort on the ongoing hu m an rights atrocities in Darfu r that a Cou ncil-ap p ointed H igh-Level Mission p rep ared . Other African states took a m ore p rincip led p osition, including Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Mauritius, Senegal and Cameroon.6 2. Cooperation with the UN Rights Mechanisms In its p led ges, the Egyp tian governm ent claims that its national hu m an rights strategy is based on "p rovid ing an objective and cred ible resp onse torequ ests received from international and regional hu m an rights m echanism s and coop erating w ith them in the fu lfillm ent of their

4Egypt's 5For

pledges, para. A 1. a full documentation of the role Egypt played in the negotiations leading up to the establishment of the Council, see the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, "Egypt's Positions regarding the Proposed UN Human Rights Council", 17 August 2005, available at: http://www.eipr.org/reports/commission_05/commission_contents.htm.
6See

Human Rights Watch, "Human Rights Council: Act Now on Darfur", 22 March 2007, available at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/03/22/darfur15542.htm

mandate."7 In fact, Egyp t has never allow ed any of the sp ecial rap p orteu rs of the Cou ncil, or its p reced ing bod y, to visit the cou ntry in ord er to rep ort on hu man rights violations and p rop ose recommendations aimed at curbing them. Egyp t has not resp ond ed to the Sp ecial Rap p orteu r on tortu re's rep eated requ ests for an invitation since 1996. Requ ests for visits from the Sp ecial Rap p orteu r on hu m an rights and cou nter terrorism , the Sp ecial Rapp orteu r on the ind ep end ence of ju d ges and law yers, the Sp ecial Rap p orteu r on freed om of religion or belief, and the Sp ecial Rep resentative of the UN Secretary General on hu m an rights d efend ers are also pending.8 The Egyp tian governm ent p led ges su p p ort for the United N ations treaty bod ies, w hich are charged w ith m onitoring the imp lementation by states of their obligations u nd er hu m an rights treaties, and to "p eriod ically examine the state of the im p lem entation of hu m an rights instru m ents to w hich Egyp t is a p arty".9 In p ractice, how ever, Egyp t is cu rrently late in su bm itting a total of ten mand atory p eriod ic rep orts to six ou t of seven UN treaty bod ies. Egyp t's p eriod ic rep ort to the Com m ittee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, for example, is more than ten years overdue.10 For Egyp t to earn its mem bership to the H u m an Rights Cou ncil, it m u st set an exam p le in resp ecting its treaty rep orting obligations and in fu lly cooperating with UN human rights independent experts.

7Egypt's 8See

pledges, para. B 2(4). Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/countryvisitsa-e.htm#egypt. 9 Egypt's pledges, paras A 10 and B 13. 10 These are the 5th periodic report on the Convention Against Torture, the 4th periodic report on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 6th periodic report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the 17th and 18th periodic reports on the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th periodic reports on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the 3rd periodic report on the Convention on the Rights of the child (CRC), and the Initial report on the Optional Protocol to CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. See Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/eg/index.htm.

3. Review and Reform of the Council's Mechanisms Du ring the first year, the Cou ncil d ed icated m ost of its w ork to institution-bu ild ing and to review ing the m and ates and m echanisms inherited from its p red ecessor, the Com mission on H u m an Rights. This p rocess w as op en to all states and stakehold ers and not ju st to Cou ncil m embers. Du ring this year, Egyp t p layed an influ ential ru le -- both ind ivid u ally and throu gh regional grou p s in w hich it is a mem ber -- that calls into qu estion its comm itm ent to the strengthening of the Cou ncil and of its functions and mechanisms. For exam p le, d u ring the review of the Cou ncil's system of ap p ointing ind ep end ent exp erts and rap p orteu rs to stu d y certain them es or cou ntries, know n as sp ecial p roced u res, Egyp t p u shed for these exp erts to be elected by regional grou p s of Cou ncil m embers. Und er the cu rrent system , the Cou ncils p resid ent ap p oints ind ep end ent exp erts and rap p orteu rs follow ing extensive consu ltations w ith all stakeholders. While the cu rrent p roced u re of ap p ointm ent cou ld be m ore op en and transp arent, rep lacing it w ith elections based on nom inations by regional grou p s of states risks u nd erm ining the system by lead ing to the selection of exp erts on p olitical grou nd s rather than on the basis of their relevant expertise and independence.11 Egyp t has also w orked to su p p ort the ad op tion of a 'Cod e of Cond u ct' d rafted by the African Grou p to regu late the w ork of sp ecial p roced u res, instead of a manu al of op eration p rep ared by the mand ate-hold ers. The cu rrent d raft of the Cod e risks u nd erm ining the exp erts' ind ep end ence and ability to fu lfill their m and ate of p rom oting and p rotecting hu m an rights. For exam p le, the Cod e p laces restrictions on the exp erts' right to id entify their sou rces of inform ation, to act u p on the allegations they

11

"Special Procedures under discussion in HRC working groups", 19 April 2007, ReformtheUN.org, http://www.reformtheun.org/index.php/eupdate/3131.

receive of hu m an rights violations, and to com m u nicate w ith the m ed ia about human rights concerns or preliminary findings of investigations.12 Moreover, contrary to its p led ge to "p romote the constru ctive role of N GOs and civil society at large in the p rom otion of hu m an rights at all levels,"13 the public statements by Egyptian officials in the meetings of the Cou ncil and its w orking grou p s reveal the op p osite com mitm ent: to limiting the role p layed by civil society at the Cou ncil. For exam p le, Egyp t has stated its op p osition to civil society p laying a role in nominating experts for the new body that would provide expert advice to the Council or for Special Procedures.14 4. Ratification of International Human Rights Instruments The u nd ersigned w elcome Egyp t's com mitm ent to ratifying the

convention on Rights of Persons w ith Disabilities "as soon as p ossible and as a m atter of p riority, bu t are concerned that the governm ent refrained from treating w ith the same u rgency the ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disap p earances, to w hich the p led ges inclu d e a w eaker reference.15 The organizations regret that no reference is m ad e in the p led ges to Egyp t's intention to ratify the Rom e Statu te establishing the International Crim inal Cou rt, w hich Egyp t signed in 2000. Similarly, Egyp t has not ind icated its intention to ratify any of the international instru m ents allow ing ind ivid u als to su bm it com p laints to UN bod ies follow ing the exhau stion of all available d om estic rem ed ies, su ch as the First Op tional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Op tional Protocol to the Convention on the Elim ination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Wom en. Egyp t also has not ratified the

12 13

Ibid. Egypt's pledges, para A 5. 14"Human Rights Council Working Group on Review of Mechanisms and Mandates, Discussions on the Expert Body," Council Monitor, International Service for Human Rights, 13- 24 November 2006, available at http://www.ishr.ch/hrm/council/wg/wg_reports/wg_review_expertadvice.pdf. 15Egypt's pledges, para. B 12.

Op tional Protocol to the Convention Against Tortu re, w hich stip u lates preventive visits to places of detention. 5. Commitment to the African Human Rights System The u nd ersigned organizations w elcom e Egyp t's stated com m itment to "u p grad ing the African hu m an rights system and to the strengthening of the role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights."16 The u nd ersigned note that the Egyp tian governm ent's continu ing d enial to grant the African Com mission's Sp ecial Rap p orteu r on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africas five-year-old requ est to cond u ct a mission to Egypt runs contrary to such a high-level commitment. Fu rtherm ore, the Egyp tian Governm ent has not p led ged to ratify the Op tional Protocol on the Establishm ent of an African Cou rt on H u m an and Peop les' Rights. It is also u nclear w hether the governm ent intend s to ratify the Op tional Protocol on the Rights of Wom en in Africa d u ring its term, d esp ite the p romise to "su p p ort regional and international p rocesses that seek to ad vance the cau se of w omen's rights, the em p ow erm ent of w omen and gend er equ ality."17 Rather, in its p led ges, the government only com mits to "continu e to engage in the exam ination" of these two milestone treaties.18 6. Hosting of N orth Africa Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The Egyp tian governm ent states in its p led ges that it "looks forw ard to hosting the new OH CH R regional office for N orth Africa in Cairo."19 While the u nd ersigned w elcom e a p erm anent UN hu m an rights p resence in the su b-region, the tw o organizations stress that the regional office m u st enjoy the fu ll mand ate of OH CH R for the p rom otion and p rotection
16Ibid,

para. A 14. para. A 11. The pledges' reference to "the African Court of Justice and Human Rights" appears to indicate that the government intends to wait for the conclusion of negotiations on merging the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Court of Justice, rather than following the example of the 23 African states that have joined the human rights court, which is expected to start its activities later in 2007. 18Ibid. 19Ibid. para. A 3.
17Ibid,

of hu man rights in Egyp t and the rest of N orth Africa. UN officers m u st be able to cond u ct their w ork ind ep end ently and free from governm ent interference, and to comm u nicate and collaborate freely w ith all hu m an rights NGOs active in the region.

II. At the Domestic Level

1. Recent Constitutional Amendments and Proposed Anti-Terrorism Law The Egyp tian governm ent's p led ges refer to cu rrent "historic step s in the d irection of p olitical reform " and comm it "to lifting the cu rrent state of em ergency u p on the com p letion and ad op tion of a new anti-terrorism legislation," all in the fram ew ork of "the m om entu m of the p reced ing tw o years and the achievements realized."20 Constitutional amendments that Parliament approved in a party-line vote on 21 March and that Egyp tian voters ap p roved in a March 26 referend u m enshrined som e of the w orst asp ects of em ergency ru le into the constitu tion.21 Ju d icial and civil-society m onitors, inclu d ing those from the ru ling p artys N ational Cou ncil on H u m an Rights, said that seriou s irregu larities m arred the p olling, and that the real tu rnou t w as a fraction of the official rate of participation of 27 percent. Changes to Article 179 of the constitu tion have effectively rem oved constitu tional safegu ard s requ iring the government to obtain ju d icial w arrants before searching a citizens home, corresp ond ence, telep hone calls, and other com mu nications, w hen the governm ent d eem s the activity being investigated is terrorist-related . In su ch cases the p resid ent w ill also be allow ed to send cases to sp ecial excep tional cou rts or m ilitary tribu nals w hich fall short of international and regional fair trial stand ard s, inclu d ing the stip u lation that they be ind ep end ent and
20 21

Egypt's pledges, paras. B 8, 9, 10. See: "Personal Rights in Peril: The Counter-Terrorism Constitutional Amendment and its Impact on the Legal Protection of Freedoms in Egypt" The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights 18 March 2007. The report is available at: http://www.eipr.org/reports/179_07/contents%20ar.htm.

impartial and that they shou ld allow any p arty to the case to challenge their im p artiality. The am end m ents also au thorize the secu rity forces to exercise p ow ers of arrest that cou ld lead to arbitrary, and p otentially indefinite, detentions. Another of the ad op ted am end m ents ou tlaw s any p olitical p arty or p olitical activity w ithin any religiou s frame of reference or on any religiou s basis or on the basis of gend er or origin. The ICCPR p rohibits su ch broad ly w ord ed bans on p articu lar categories of p olitical p arties or p olitical activity. Rather, it gu arantees to citizens, in Article 25, the right to take p art in the cond u ct of p u blic affairs either d irectly or throu gh freely chosen rep resentatives and the right to vote and to be elected in p eriod ic and fair elections. These rights entail p articip ation in, and voting for, p olitical p arties, and m ay not be d enied on the basis of race, religion or gender, among other distinctions. The present law violates the rights of supporters of a p arty that claims a religiou s basis for its p rogram to associate together and to vote for representatives of their choice. This am end ment shou ld p rop erly be seen in the context of the governm ents continu ing crackd ow n on the Egyp tian Mu slim Brotherhood , w hich, d esp ite having renou nced violence for d ecad es and d esp ite being the largest op p osition bloc in p arliam ent, rem ains banned in Egyp t. Over the cou rse of the p ast year, the governm ent has d etained m ore than 1,000 m em bers of the organization. Many w ere held as long as eight m onths w ithou t ever being charged or brou ght to trial. Others w ere first acqu itted by civilian cou rts, p rom p tly re-arrested , and d etained again p end ing a trial before a m ilitary cou rt, w hose p roced u res fall short of international stand ard s and w hose d ecisions cou ld not at the tim e be appealed.22 On May 9, Parliament voted to strip tw o Brotherhood affiliated mem bers of Parliament of their p arliam entary im m u nity, d ays after the governm ent briefly d etained them in the N ile Delta p rovince of

22

Human Rights Watch, Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Detainees Face Military Trials, February 15, 2007 http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/02/15/egypt15329.htm.

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Manu fiyya w hile they attend ed a m eeting to d iscu ss the u p com ing elections for the upper house of parliament. 2. Impunity for Human Rights Violations The u nd ersigned organizations w elcom e the Egyp tian governm ents p led ge to fu rther strengthen the national red ress m echanism s available to all citizens w ith a view to enable them to rep ort any com p laints and to gu ard against im p u nity of any kind , 23 p articu larly since tortu re in Egyp t has become an ep id em ic, affecting large nu m bers of ord inary citizens w ho find them selves in p olice cu stod y as su sp ects or in connection w ith criminal investigations. The Egyp tian au thorities d o not investigate the great m ajority of allegations of tortu re d esp ite their obligation to d o so u nd er Egyp tian and international law . In the few cases w here officers have been p rosecu ted for tortu re or ill-treatment, charges w ere often inap p rop riately lenient and p enalties inad equ ate. This lack of effective public accountability and transparency has led to a culture of impunity. Provisions of Egyp tian law that allow for p rolonged , incom m u nicad o d etention have in many cases m ad e tortu re d ifficu lt to p rove; by the tim e d etainees are allow ed access to law yers or forensic d octors, the m arks of tortu re are often so old that it is d ifficu lt to d eterm ine w hen they occurred. Tortu re p rosecu tions have also been ham p ered by legal d efinitions of the crime. Und er article 126 of Egyp ts Penal Cod e, tortu re is lim ited to p hysical abu se, occu rs only w hen the victim is an accu sed , and only when tortu re is being u sed in ord er to coerce a confession. This narrow d efinition im p rop erly exclu d es cases of mental or p sychological abu se, and cases w here the tortu re is comm itted against som eone other than an accu sed or for p u rp oses other than secu ring a confession. The resu lt has been that officers, in the rare cases w hen they are convicted of abu sing d etainees, receive light sentences. Op p osition Egyp tian law m akers have
23

Egypts pledges, para 4 B

11

rep eated ly and u nsu ccessfu lly su bm itted d raft legislation to the Peop les Assem bly that w ou ld change the law to fit international d efinitions of torture. 3. Freedom of Association and Role of Civil Society The u nd ersigned also w elcom e the Egyp tian governments p led ge to encou rage the efforts of civil society, N GOs and the m ed ia to contribute as partners towards the protection and promotion of human rights within the ap p licable national legislations. 24 The u nd ersigned organizations hop e that tow ard this end , the governm ent w ill rescind its ord er to close offices of the Center for Trad e Union and Workers Services (CTUWS). Secu rity officers on Ap ril 25 closed the head qu arters of the CTUWS, w hich offers legal aid to Egyp tian factory w orkers, ed u cates them as to their rights, and rep orts on labor-rights issu es in the cou ntry. The Ministry of Social Solid arity has blam ed the CTUWS for inciting labor unrest around the country.25 The governm ents closu re of the CTUWS head qu arters w as the latest step in its crackd ow n on the organization. On Ap ril 11, ap p roximately 100 p olice officers arrived at the CTUWS office in the N ile Delta tow n of alMahalla al-Ku bra to d eliver an ad ministrative d ecision ord ering its closu re. This came after General al-Sharbini H ashish, head of the local cou ncil in the sou thern ind u strial tow n of N aga` H am mid i, issu ed an adm inistrative d ecision on March 29 ord ering the closu re of the CTUWS branch there, on the grou nd s that it violated Egyp ts law on associations, though the order did not specify how.26 The u nd ersigned fu rther hop e that the governm ents p led ge to encou rage civil society grou p sto contribu te as p artners tow ard s the p rotection and p romotion of hu m an rights w ithin the ap p licable national
24 25

Egypt's pledges, paras B 15 Human Rights Watch, Egypt: End Harassment of Labor Rights Group, April 27, 2007, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/04/27/egypt15781.htm. 26 Human Rights Watch, Egypt: End Campaign Against Labor Rights Group, April 16, 2007, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/04/16/egypt15696.htm.

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legislations27 ind icates a w illingness to rem ove legal restrictions on those groups. Although Egypt's Constitution guarantees the right to freed om of association, Egyp tian N GOs op erate in an extremely restrictive legal and p olicy environm ent. The N GO Law (nu mber 84 of the year 2002) enables the governm ent to interfere w ith the registration, governance and op eration of N GOs in several w ays. The law allow s for associations to be d issolved by an ad m inistrative ord er of the Ministry of Social Solid arity and restricts the right of N GOs to seek and receive foreign fu nd ing to support their activities. It imposes prison penalties on NGO members and activists for offences related to their activities. In short, the law "entrenches a system in w hich N GOs are treated as the child ren of a paternalistic government."28 The Sp ecial Rep resentative of the UN Secretary General on H u m an Rights d efend ers has rep eated ly exp ressed her concern to the Egyp tian governm ent regard ing the hostile legal environm ent in w hich d efend ers operate in Egypt. In 2006 the Special Representative reported that: Law 84 of 2002 still severely compromises the right to freedom of association by giving the government unwarranted control over the governance and operations of N GOs. The law which took effect in June 2003 provides for criminal penalties for so-called unauthorized activities, including engaging in political or union activities, reserved for political parties and syndicates (A rticle 11). In addition, it provides for up to six months in prison for receiving donations on behalf of an N GO without prior ministry approval. Persons carrying out N GO activities prior to the organizations formal registration are also liable to a threemonth prison term.29

27 28

Egypt's pledges, paras B 15. Human Rights Watch, "Egypt: Margins of RepressionState Limits on Non Governmental Organization Activism", July 2005, Volume 17, No.8, available at http://hrw.org/reports/2005/egypt0705/index.htm. 29 Report submitted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders, Hina Jilani- Addendum: Compilation of developments in the area of human rights defenders, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2006/95/Add.5, para 517.

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The u nd ersigned fu rther hop e that the governm ents p led ge to encou rage the med ia to contribu te as p artners tow ard s the p rotection and p rom otion of hu m an rights w ithin the ap p licable national legislations signals its intention to reverse its recent crackd ow n on freed om of exp ression in the cou ntry and to reform Egyp ts law s governing the media. On May 2, 2007, on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, a Cairo criminal court sentenced Al-Jazeera jou rnalist H u w aid a Taha Mitw alli, w ho also w orks for the Lond on-based d aily Al-Quds al-Arabi, to six m onths in prison for a documentary she made about torture in Egypt. The sentence follow s a string of threats to freed om of exp ression in Egyp t. On Ap ril 14, 2007, secu rity officers arrested television jou rnalist and blogger `Abd al-Monim Mahm u d at Cairo airp ort as he tried to board a p lane for Su d an to w ork on a story abou t hu m an rights abu ses in the Arab w orld for the Lond on-based Al-H iw ar satellite channel. Mahm u d , w ho is affiliated w ith the Mu slim Brotherhood , had recently written in his blog about his experience of torture in 2003, and prior to his arrest he sp oke ou t abou t tortu re in Egyp t at conferences in Doha and Cairo and in interview s w ith jou rnalists and hu m an rights organizations. H e is cu rrently in Tu ra p rison, ou tsid e Cairo, aw aiting trial on charges of membership in a banned organization. On March 12, 2007, the Alexand ria Cou rt of Ap p eals u p held a fou r-year p rison sentence against `Abd al-Karim N abil Su laim an, a blogger w ho had criticized Islam and Presid ent H osni Mu barak. And on March 10, secular activist and blogger Mohammad al-Sharqawi himself a victim of p olice tortu re retu rned hom e to find that his lap top , w hich he said contained an u nreleased vid eo d ep icting p olice abu se, had been stolen. Cash and other valuables in the apartment were untouched. On October 31, 2006, a m ilitary cou rt in Cairo sentenced Talaat al-Sadat, a m ember of p arliam ent elected as an ind ep end ent bu t affiliated w ith the su sp end ed op p osition al-Ahrar p arty and nep hew of late Presid ent

14

Anw ar al-Sad at, to one year in p rison for insu lting the m ilitary and the republican guard. On Ju ne 26, 2006, a cou rt near Cairo sentenced Ibrahim `Issa, ed itor of the op p osition new sp ap er al-Dustur, and Sahar Zaki, a jou rnalist for the p ap er, to one year in p rison for insu lting the p resid ent and sp read ing false or tend entiou s ru m ors in connection w ith an al-Du stu r article rep orting a law su it against Presid ent Mu barak and senior officials in the ru ling N ational Democratic Party. The tw o ap p ealed the sentence, and on Febru ary 27, 2007, a Cairo ap p eals cou rt red u ced the sentence to a US $3,950 fine. Long-aw aited amend ments to Egyp ts Press Law p assed in Ju ly 2006 left in force Article 308 of the Penal Cod e, w hich im p oses a m inim u m sentence of six m onths in p rison on jou rnalists w hose articles com p rise an attack against the d ignity and honor of ind ivid u als, or an ou trage of the reputation of families. Article 179, w hich calls for the d etention of w hoever affronts the p resid ent of the rep u blic, also stays on the books, as d oes Article 102(bis), w hich allow s for the d etention of w hoever d eliberately d iffu ses new s, information/d ata, or false or tend entiou s ru m ors, or p rop agates exciting p u blicity, if this is liable to d istu rb p u blic secu rity, sp read horror among the people, or cause harm or damage to the public interest. These vagu e and broad ly w ord ed p rovisions in Egyp ts Press Law invite abuse and contravene international standards of freedom of expression. The u nd ersigned organizations su bm it that Egyp t has not u p held the highest stand ard s in the p rom otion and p rotection of hu man rights, and ask the Mem ber States to take into accou nt the contribu tion of cand id ates to the p rom otion and p rotection of hu m an rights, p u rsu ant to General Assembly Resolution 60/251.

15