The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) welcomes the release of Egyptian fishermen yesterday, who disappeared in Libya in April 2012. On May 9, 2012, EOHR received a complaint in which the complainer said on April 24, 2012, two Egyptian fishing boats with 23 fishermen were attached with an armed Libyan boat. The Egyptian fishermen were kept in Darana Port for two days then the kidnapers called for 50.000 dinars in order to release the detainees. 9 of the detainees could escape later and get back to Egypt. The families of the kidnapped people complained to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to set them free, but in vain.

The Libyan authorities yesterday, May 15, 2012, gave the fishermen to the Egyptian Border Guards in Salloum Area, but they are still there and their relatives are not allowed to visit them.

In this regard, EOHR calls the Egyptian authorities to release the Egyptian fishermen in Salloum immediately to get back home; there is no reason for keeping them in Salloum.

Last Sunday, EOHR called the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to end the problem of the fishermen in particular and give special care to enhancement of the Egyptian citizens living conditions in the Arab Countries in general.  Saving Egyptian people’s souls is one of the high priorities of the Egyptian authorities.

Mr. Hafez Abu Seada, the head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) stated that the Egyptian penal code includes many controversies. It includes many articles facilitate impunity. He called for amendment of article 126 of the Egyptian penal code in order to comply with article 2 of the International Convention against Torture “Each State Party shall make these offenses punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature”. He called also for issuing legislations mentioning the right of filing lawsuits against those who get people under torture in order to give confessions in police stations and detention centers in addition to forcible detention.

In the same concern, Abu Seada commented on the proposed legal text of the Constitutional and Legislative Committee of the parliament saying that “the text facilitates impunity by imposing light sanctions, which do not deter perpetrators from going on criminal acts.” Abu Seada calls the parliament for endorsing the proposal issued by EOHR for modifying the torture-related articles within the penal and legal procedures’ codes.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) completely denounces detention of journalists while covering the violence in front of the Ministry of Defense’s headquarters in addition to university students. The journalistic photographers Mohamed Al Shami from Al Misry Al Youm Newspaper and the photographer Mohamed Omar from Al Watan Newspaper were injured. Many of the students of Ein Shams University, nearby the Ministry of Defense’s headquarters, were arrested while they were going to attend their classes, during the clashes between the military troops and the protesting Islamists. The military troops also Ahmed Ramadan and Islam Abu El Ezz, journalists for Al Badel Newspaper, Abdallah Mishrif, journalist from Al Watan Newspaper and Virgini Nuin, a Belgium photographer for Misry Al Youm Newspaper.

EOHR is worry for arresting those groups of journalists and university students. Such actions do not comply with the international standards of freedom of expression and assembly. The arrest of those people does not comply with the Egyptian constitutional declaration issued by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces in March 2011 guaranteeing these freedoms. He expressed worry for the human rights in Egypt during the transitional justice.

A presidential election will be held in Egypt on 23 and 24 May 2012, with a run-off on 16 and 17 June 2012, if necessary. It will be the second presidential election in Egypt’s history with more than one candidate, following the 2005 election, and the first presidential election after the 2011 Egyptian revolution during the Arab Spring.

Because of the significance of the first presidential electoral process after the Egyptian revolution, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) has started observing and documenting the electoral process with following up the campaigns the presidential candidates. On April 30, 2012, the observers of EOHR found campaigning materials covering walls all over the country including the worshipping houses. The Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) did not take any actions against those candidates who started campaigning before a month and even those who campaigned inside the worshipping houses. So, EOHR issued the first report on the presidential election, including the following:

Rules for the 2012 presidential election

The rules of Egypt’s first post-January 25 Revolution presidential election were released on 30 March 2011. They form part of the Constitutional Declaration and function alongside the 2005 Presidential Election Law (law No. 174 of 2005).

The rules:

1. Candidates have to have been born in Egypt, may not hold dual nationality and may not be married to a foreigner. They must not be less than 40 years in age.

2. In order to be nominated, candidates must secure the support of 30 elected MPs or the recommendations of 30,000 voters from at least 15 Egyptian governorates (or provinces) with no less than 1000 recommendations per governorate, or nomination by a party holding at least one seat in the legislature. The 30,000 recommendations must be officially documented by special public notary offices affiliated to the Ministry of Justice.

3. Candidates must submit a detailed statement about their wealth, must have performed military service or have been exempted from it.

Election date

The presidential election will be held in Egypt on 23 and 24 May 2012. If no candidate garners more than half the vote in the first round, the top two candidates will face one another in a runoff on 16-17 June.

A new president will be named by 21 June, a timeframe that allows the country’s military rulers to meet their pledge of transferring power to a civilian government by the end of June 2012.

The electorate

Estimated population of Egypt: 85 million.

Size of the electorate: Close to 52 million Egyptians are eligible to cast their ballots in the 2012 presidential election.

Period of campaigning

According to SPEC Chairman Farouk Sultan on 7 March, campaigning for the presidential elections will officially begin 30 April or after a final list of candidates is announced 26 April. Campaigning will continue until the end of 20 May, or 48 hours before elections day on 23 May. Anyone breaching these dates will be prosecuted.

Funding of presidential election campaigns

On 7 March, SPEC Chairman Farouk Sultan said: “Presidential candidates will be obliged to open a bank account with the objective of funding their election campaigns. The account will be opened in Egyptian pounds only with just three state-owned banks: the National Bank of Egypt, Misr (Egypt) Bank, and Banque du Caire.”

SPEC set a ceiling on funding in the first round of the presidential election at LE10 million per candidate. In a run-off round, candidates may not spend more than LE2 million on campaigning.

Hatem Bagato, SPEC secretary-general, indicated that the funding will be overseen by the Central Auditing Agency. He indicated that each candidate will be obliged to give SPEC firsthand information about how many cash donations they received and how they are spent. He or she will also have to provide SPEC with a statement about how much funding he or she obtained within 15 days after the announcement of the results of the election.

Bagato also stated that candidates are strictly forbidden from obtaining foreign funding for campaign spending. It is also illegal for presidential candidates to campaign in sites of religious worship. Their campaigns must not violate the private lives of other candidates or stir up issues that might spark sectarian strife.

Presidential campaigning regulations:

Egypt’s Higher Presidential Elections Commission (HPEC) announced on Saturday, the regulations of the presidential campaigning that will start as of April 30, and run until midnight Monday, May 21. If there is a run-off, the campaigning will kick off again on the day following the announcement of the results of the first round until Friday, June 15. Otherwise, further campaigning will be banned. Among the rules of the campaigning, are that the presidential candidate has the right to hold meetings, rallies and symposiums to explain his or her electoral platform. The candidates are not allowed to expose other candidates’ private lives, or their families in any form. They are banned from disseminating remarks against national unity, and too, the norms of society – nor are they able to use religious slogans. Violence, threats and gifts in donations, cash or in kind or promises to offer them, whether in a direct or indirect way are not allowed. The use of public buildings and facilities, state transportation, places of worship, schools and universities is also not permitted. Civil servants are not allowed to make use of their positions in campaigning for presidential candidates. Three daily periods are allocated in Egyptian television and radio to present the electoral platforms of the candidates. The pre-paid advertisements in state media are not allowed.

Exceeding the ceiling of Funding of presidential election campaigns:

EOHR started following up funding the presidential election campaigning. The observers of EOHR noticed and documented starting campaigning earlier than the date set for campaigning, April 30, 2012. Some of the presidential candidates have already paid more that LE 10 million of campaigning materials and activities before April 30, 2012. Some of the presidential candidates pay salaries of local coordinators in 27 governorates countrywide in addition to the cost 30.000 authorizations and the cost of the rallies. Mohamed Morsi, the candidate of Freedom and Justice Political Party held a rally in Dakhlia and Amr Mosa, independent candidate, did the same in Minia, before April 30, 2012.

Campaigning inside worshipping houses:

Although the law no. 174, year 2005, prohibits using worshipping houses for electoral campaigning, many of the presidential candidates used mosques for that purpose. Al Nor Salafi and Freedom and Justice political parties used mosques also for campaigning during the parliamentary elections and the election commission did not have any action against that serious violation, which encourages the presidential candidates of the same references to use the same kind of campaigning.

Electoral campaigning disorders:

The presidential candidates did not wait until April 30, 2012 for spreading their campaigning materials; they did not also wait for the presidential candidates’ short listing. All of them spread their campaigning materials since identifying the presidential election time table before more than two months. The campaigning materials of the excluded candidates are still on the walls in Cairo. The candidates should have been given equal spaces for spreading their campaigning materials. Their should have been an independent body to identify the campaigning regulations and fund ceiling and also following up the campaigning of each candidate in order to delete the names of those who violate the electoral regulations. The independent body could have controlled all these campaigning disorders that cannot be seen in any of the democratic countries.

On April 26, 2012, Agouza Misdemeanor Court rejected similar lawsuits against actor Adel Imam, author Linen Al Ramly and the art director Wahid Hamed, submitted by the same complainer.

EOHR emphasizes unlimited support to the freedom of expression and creation and denounces taking thinkers to accountability for their thoughts, which represents a negative indicator to the future of the freedom of expression in Egypt. EOHR also calls for reorganizing the legislative structures in order to stop having this kind of court decisions against the freedom of expression and placing rules for filing lawsuits, according to the international standards of human rights.

Mr. Hafez Abu Seada, the head of (EOHR) emphasized on the importance of the freedom of expression according to the international standards of human rights. Such sentences represent threat to the freedom of expression after the Egyptian revolution. The sentence also is not based on enough legal reasons, because the complainer is not directly damaged or even affected. This kind of issues has to be discussed friendly through direct debates, out of courthouses.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) expresses worry for detaining the political and human rights’ activist Ahmed Al Gizawy, while having “Omra” in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

On April 17, 2012, when the political activist and his wife arrived in Gedda International Airport, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for practicing Omra, the Saudi security forces arrested him. The human rights’ activist used to call for the rights of the Egyptian detainees in the kingdom. He used to criticize the Saudi policy towards the Egyptians in the kingdom. So, following his arrival at the kingdom, he was informed that a royal court charged him with insulting the king, when he filed a lawsuit against the king and the Saudi authorities in connection with forcible detention and torture of Egyptians without any legal reasons. Within the lawsuit, Ahmed Al Gizawy called for releasing the detainees and providing them with their civil rights and compensations for the human rights’ violations they suffered in the Saudi prisons and detention centers. The Saudi court gave him one year sentence. In addition, Ahmed Al Gizawy will be flogged by the Saudi authorities next Friday.

EOHR stated that what happened is against all the international standards of human rights. Ahmed Al Gizawy was deprived from his right of movement. The Saudi action was against the freedom of expression too. Punishing people for criticizing royal policies cannot be accepted, according to the international covenants of human rights, signed by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

EOHR also calls the Supreme Council for Armed Forces and the Egyptian government for immediate intervention to release Ahmed Al Gizawy and cancel the detention and flogging sentences. The Egyptian ministry of Foreign Affairs has to provide him with the required legal support in order to reopen his lawsuit, according to the international standards of fair trial.

Mr. Hafez Abu Seada, the head of EOHR, stated that such occurrence can be simply considered as revenge. For a long time the Arab and international human rights’ organizations and activists have been criticizing the Saudi human rights’ violations. Now the Saudi authorities aimed at sending a message to all those human rights’ defenders in order to stop criticizing the Saudi policies against human rights, or they will come under the same punishment. They just set an example.

On April 23, 2012, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) held a meeting for discussing the governmental draft law of the local and international civil society organizations. The meeting was held at the headquarters of EOHR, 12 pm, in attendance of leaders of local civil society organizations.

The Egyptian Ministry of Social Insurance declared preparation of an amended draft of the law no. 84, year 2002. The governmental amended draft was declared, while many of the local and international civil society organizations came under one of the most aggressive defamation campaigns.

The attendees generally did not accept and criticized particularly the following:

First: the project aims at getting all the local and international civil society organizations under governmental control. It does not include any definition to “civil society organizations”. The draft law did not mention anything about the importance of civil society organizations in defending human rights in Egypt. Specifying the number of an NGO founders is not accepted and specifying the working fields of an NGO is not accepted too.

Second: the draft law restricts the freedom of founding and registration of new NGOs in order to have NOGs working only on charitable activities, completing the developmental role, which is naturally played by the governmental authorities. The international covenants signed by the Egyptian government mentions the freedom of assembly and forming NGOs, after only notifying the governmental authorities; a prior approval is not required.

Third: the draft law is aimed at turning the civil society organizations to local governmental units.

Fourth: the governmental draft law gives control on registration and activities of civil society organizations to the General and Regional NGOs Federations. According to the law, NGOs will not be allowed to defend the rights and interests of the Egyptian groups, for example the Private and Public Sectors’ employees.

Fifth: the law mentioned having 10 members in order to found a new NGO, which deprives activists with lower number from forming an NGO.

Sixth: the draft is free from any provisions enabling local and international civil society organizations from monitoring the governmental performance, loans, grants etc.

Seventh: the draft is free from any provisions related to tax exemptions, administrative and financial facilitations for NGOs.

Eighth: the draft is free from any provisions related to the role of NGOs in drafting the new law of local and international civil society organizations after the Egyptian revolution.

Ninth: the leaders of the civil society organizations denounced the governmental obligations on foundation or modification of the basic system of NGOs. NGOs must have the free rights to place their own constitutions and local rules.

Tenth: the law is free from any facilitation on donation and taxation exemptions for the donors.

Eleventh: the law is free from any provision related to supporting the activities implemented by NGOs in order to achieve transparency and defend human rights.

Twelfth: the leaders of the civil society organizations, who attended the open discussion workshop, refused imposing criminal punishments and imprisonment against the leaders of NGOs, who commit administrative mistakes. These criminal punishments should be decided only by courts, after guaranteeing the right to legal defense and fair trial.

Thirteenth: the draft does not comply with the international standards in connection with dismantling NGOs. NGOs can be dismantled upon either a court decision or the decision of the founders. The administrative authorities do not have the right to dismantle a local or international civil society organization.

By the end of the open discussion meeting, the participants stressed on promoting the draft law issued by EOHR and 120 civil society organizations in Egypt, providing the NGOs in Egypt with all the required safeguards for working freely. According to the draft law, a civil society organization is registered, following notifying the governmental authorities. It included also easier procedures for registration of a new foreign NGO. Local and international civil society organizations are allowed to participate in the national developmental planes. NGOs are free to form regional federations. The law cancels all the criminal punishments against the leaders of NGOs, because the law of NGOs is for organizing foundation and performance only. Local NGOs are allowed to join any legalized international coalitions.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) denounces the decision of the Egyptian Ministry of Social Insurance that banned many international civil society organizations from observing the Egyptian presidential elections. The decision, issued on April 23, 2012, mentioned that the activities of these organizations do not comply with the state supremacy. The banned organizations include Carter Center, Rights and Freedoms International and Seeds of Peace.

EOHR calls the Egyptian government to reconsider legalizing the international observation missions. All of these banned organizations aim at providing the Egyptian society with international experiences, needed during the democratic transformation era. For many years many of the international organizations applied to the Egyptian authorities for legalizing their status in Egypt. The observation mission launching refusal coincidences with the ministry’s draft law for NGOs that restricts most of the NGOs activities in Egypt, local and international.

Mr. Hafez Abu Seada, the head of EOHR, stated that the decision is not logical. All the countries of the world support the role played by the civil society organizations, while the Egyptian Ministry of Social Insurance chains NGOs during the democratization phase. The international standards should be taken as references for all the governmental forthcoming decisions and legislations.