DNE: Brotherhood lawmakers arrested in Menufiya raid

Brotherhood lawmakers arrested in Menufiya raid

By Liam Stack
First Published: August 23, 2007

CAIRO: The government crackdown on opposition groups continued this week with the arrest of Sabri Amer and Ragab Abu Zaid, two members of the People’s Assembly who also belong to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group.

State security police raided the two lawmakers’ homes in Menufiya governorate around midday on Wednesday, according to Brotherhood sources.

Both men were previously arrested on May 9 at a meeting to plan for the elections to Egypt’s upper house of parliament, the Shoura Council, in which the Brotherhood does not hold a single seat.

At that time Amer and Abu Zaid were released because their parliamentary immunity protected them from prosecution.

Shortly after their release in May, the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee of the People’s Assembly, which is dominated by the National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak, voted to revoke their immunity and open a criminal investigation against them.

But Muslim Brotherhood sources say that neither man was subpoenaed or made aware of an ongoing criminal investigation before Wednesday’s raids on their homes. Mohamed Habib, the deputy chairman of the MB, called the detentions “an unjustified measure which lacks decency.”

“They should have subpoenaed them in a way which is in line with their prestige socially and politically,” he said in a statement to Daily News Egypt.

“The regime continues its tyrannical method in dealing with people in general and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular."

The government is cracking down on the group “to paralyze its political and social activities and to sideline its role in the political landscape,” he argues.

MP Mohamed Saad El Katatni, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the PA, called the arrests politically motivated and urged the regime to respect its own elected officials.

“These detentions are, legally speaking, arbitrary actions against two public figures,” he said.

“There is a specific message and a target for these actions — humiliating MPs and exploiting the prosecution as a tool in the hands of the regime to settle scores with the opposition,” he added. The Brotherhood is Egypt’s most influential opposition group, and holds 88 seats in the 454 member PA.

Brotherhood sources argue that the recent wave of arrests are in response to the group’s plans to register as an official political party in defiance of constitutional amendments passed in March that forbid political activity based on religion.

More than 600 members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been detained since December, when members of an MB-affiliated youth group staged a kung fu-themed demonstration at Al Azhar University.

The demonstration was heavily covered by the media and denounced by the government as a militia exercise.

But the crackdown has not only focused on the group’s youth cadres, but has ensnared many of the Brotherhood’s key leaders as well.

Forty of the group’s top businessmen and financiers, including Deputy Chairman Khayrat El Shater, are currently standing trial before a military court on charges of money laundering and membership of a banned organization. Their case has attracted condemnation from human rights advocates around the world.

Additionally, Essam El Erian, a well-known Brotherhood spokesman and coordinator of the group’s political department, was detained along with 15 others in a raid on the Giza home of businessman Nabil Moqbel last week.

They stand charged with membership of a banned organization and working against the public interest, although no trial date has yet been set.

DNE: UN officials warn of humanitarian crisis in Gaza

UN officials warn of humanitarian crisis in Gaza

By Liam Stack
First Published: August 23, 2007

CAIRO/GAZA: A senior United Nations official voiced concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation inside the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, joining an anxious chorus of international figures worried about the effects of the two-month closure of the Strip’s borders.

The main border crossing between Gaza and Israel, Karni checkpoint, has been shut since June 9, when the Hamas takeover of the territory sparked internal fighting there.

Border closures and restrictions on the movement of goods have slashed exports and forced factories to close, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians without jobs or income.

According to UN figures, before the June blockade began roughly two-thirds of Gaza’s residents lived below the poverty line. Officials worry that if the current restrictions remain in place, that figure could skyrocket.

Kevin Kennedy, the deputy UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said in a statement that while the basic humanitarian needs of Gaza's estimated population of 1.4 million people are largely being met, the conditions remain very difficult. He said that as a result of the border closure "tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and income," and that as a result the demand for UN humanitarian assistance had increased dramatically.

During an Aug. 9 visit to Gaza City, Filippo Grandi, deputy commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which cares for millions of Palestinian refugees, struck a similar chord. He demanded that Israel re-open the main crossing into Gaza.

“Failure to do this will lead to disastrous consequences: an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair in which extremism is likely to take hold,” said Grandi.

“This is not in the interests of anyone who sincerely seeks a lasting peace, in which the Palestinian people can live in dignity,” he added.

According to the latest figures from the Palestinian Association of Businessmen, the already anemic Gazan economy has lost $23 million since June. If the closures are not lifted, the group estimates that more than 120,000 Gazan workers could lose their jobs.

International development projects are also threatened by the closures, according to Maher Nasser, the UN spokesman in Egypt.

He says that import restrictions on building materials such as concrete and steel have brought $160 million worth of construction projects financed by UNRWA and the UN Development Program to a halt.

“If what is left of the Gazan economy is allowed to collapse, then poverty will rise and the people will become totally dependent on foreign aid,” he told Daily News Egypt.

“Israel must reopen the border crossing or risk serious humanitarian consequences.”

DNE: State denies workers’ rights group registration, citing “security reasons”

State denies workers’ rights group registration, citing “security reasons”

By Liam Stack
First Published: August 18, 2007

CAIRO: Four months after shutting down the headquarters of Egypt’s most active workers’ rights group, the government has refused to allow the Center for Trade Union and Worker Services (CTUWS) to register as a non-governmental organization.

In its decision, the Ministry of Social Solidarity told the group that "the security bodies rejected its registration for security reasons.”

According to a statement provided to Daily News Egypt, the CTUWS petitioned the state to be registered as an NGO on June 13, after several weeks of consultations with the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Director of the Central Department of Associations and NGOs.

The group says it was informed of the state’s decision at the end of the mandatory 60-day waiting period, and has expressed “surprise” at the rejection of its application.

The Center’s woes began in April when the government began to close its provincial branch offices one by one, first in the Upper Egyptian province of Qena and later in the delta town of Mahalla. By the end of that month state security shut down the Center’s headquarters in Cairo’s Helwan neighborhood as well, also citing security concerns.

Egypt has seen a surge in labor unrest in recent years, with strikes spreading to almost every sector of the economy.

The most high profile of these actions was last December’s strike in Ghazl El-Mahalla, where 27,000 workers organized in defiance of their government-backed union leaders and forced factory management to compromise on wages and benefits.

The strike became iconic in the labor movement, and has inspired other workers to organize outside of the official union system, which is dominated by the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak.

The regime has reacted warily to the strikes, viewing them as a threat to national stability but unsure of exactly how to respond to such widespread protests and to the increase of independent worker activity.

The shut down of the CTUWS was part of that response. As the country’s most active independent labor group, the state accused the Center of inciting workers to strike, organizing them outside the union system and endangering national stability.

But in remarks given to Daily News Egypt before his offices were shuttered, CTUWS Director Kamal Abbas denied that the Center had any organizing role in the strikes.

“The government has tried to lay all the blame on CTUWS and say that we instigated it all,” he said. “It’s an honor we can’t claim, although we would have loved if this had been the case.”

“Just by the fact that some of the strike leaders were either members of groups like the Tagamu Party or the CTUWS or any other organization does not mean that these groups were the ones that mobilized for the strike,” he added.

The surge of labor unrest and strikes has continued in the absence of the CTUWS, with July witnessing 97 separate strikes across the country, according to the Egyptian Workers and Trade Unions Watch. More than 17,000 people participated in these actions, with another 100,000 threatening to join in.

DNE: State denies child died of torture, rights groups see a cover-up

State denies child died of torture, rights groups see a cover-up

By Liam Stack
First Published: August 14, 2007

CAIRO: The Interior Ministry has denied allegations that 12-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh Abdel Aziz was tortured to death in a Mansoura police station after his arrest for petty theft, and asserted instead that he died of pneumonia.

In a phone interview with Dream TV’s magazine show Al Ashera Masaan, Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed Diaa El Din, said that a preliminary autopsy of the boy revealed a pulmonary infection was the cause of death.

Diaa El Din stressed that Mohamed’s family’s claims that beatings and electrocution to which he was subjected while in police custody were mere allegations.

Other ministry sources who preferred to remain anonymous told Agence France-Presse that Abdel Aziz’s brother, currently in prison on charges of knife possession, said that Mohamed had sustained electrical burns prior to his arrest on Aug. 2.

Abdel Aziz was accused of theft and arrested in the Dakahliah village of Shaha on August 2. He was detained in a local police station for six days, during which time his family claims he was savagely beaten and electrocuted.

On August 8, neighbors found the boy’s badly beaten and burned body lying in the street behind the village gas station, and his family rushed him to Mansoura Hospital. Four days later, he was pronounced dead.

Human rights advocates are skeptical about the ministry’s claims, although they say they are not surprised to hear them.

“The Interior Ministry is blatantly lying about this,” said Gamal Eid, director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. “From the outset, Egyptian child protection laws totally ban any form of overnight detention for children.”

“What they are saying is expected,” he added. “They are trying to cover up what they have done to this boy.”

According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, torture, police brutality and sexual assault in detention are system-wide problems in Egypt. In most cases, perpetrators are never punished.

This is a source of alarm for rights groups, who say that Egypt has a legal obligation to eradicate the practice as a signatory of the Convention Against Torture.

“This is a legally binding document. Whether or not the government will choose to abide by these agreements is not an issue,” said Gasser Abdel Razek, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch.

“The Egyptian government made the choice to agree to this document,” he added. “It is a legal and a constitutional obligation.”

DNE: Aboul Gheit condemns US human rights pressure, 2 die of torture

Aboul Gheit condemns US human rights pressure, 2 die of torture

By Liam Stack
First Published: August 13, 2007

CAIRO: Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit lashed out on Sunday at American criticism of Egypt’s human rights record under President Mubarak’s rule, denouncing what he called “interference” in Egyptian affairs.

This came after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed concern about the health of jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour.

Coming on the heels of two stories of police brutality in the delta — one of which ended with the death of a child — some say Aboul Gheit’s saber-rattling did less to showcase government resolve than it did to demonstrate the divide between the regime’s words and deeds on human rights.

"Despite the solidity of Egyptian-American relations, Egypt doesn't think that allows anyone — even the United States — to interfere in its internal affairs," said Aboul Gheit.

"Egyptian affairs concern Egypt. Egyptian law is the master on Egyptian territory and we reject some people's attempts at interference."

Government statements denouncing foreign pressure have become more frequent in recent months as the United States debated tying portions of its annual military aid to Egypt to improvements in human rights.

In June, the US House of Representatives voted to withhold $200 million of aid — out of a total sum of $2 billion — until some improvements were made. The measure will not become law until passed by the Senate. Many observers say this is an unlikely prospect.

Egypt’s attack on foreign meddling in local human rights issues comes at a macabre time. Local media reports are currently abuzz with two disturbing stories of torture and murder at the hands of police in Dakhaliah province.

On July 31, police came to the home of Ali Ahmed Abdullah in the village of Telbana to arrest him on unstated charges, but he was not at home. Ali’s brother Nasr came to the house to speak to the police on behalf of his brother’s wife and daughters, but the conversation soon turned violent. According to witnesses, police began to brutally beat him and other family members in the street with metal bars and wooden clubs.

Nasr was detained and brought to the police station, where lawyers later found him unconscious and tied to the legs of a desk. After his release he died of his wounds, and police claimed he had been a drug dealer.

Fearing unrest during his funeral, the government surrounded the village with state security troop carriers. As tensions rose, police fired tear gas into the funeral and arrested 13 people.

“Nasr was arrested because the police wanted to extort money out of his family, like he was a hostage,” alleged Magda Adly, director of the Nadeem Center, which led a fact-finding mission to the village after the incident.

“The police say he was selling hashish out of his house, but before they went there they had no permission from police to arrest anyone or conduct a search,” she adds. “They did not start talking about drugs until after he had died.” Days later, in the nearby village of Shaha in Mansoura province, Mohamed

Mamdouh Abdel Aziz, aged 13, was arrested for petty theft and detained in a local police station.

While in custody, his family says, he was brutally beaten and shocked with electricity for six days before neighbors found his comatose body lying in the street next to the village gas station. He was brought to Mansoura hospital, where he was treated for four days before dying of his injuries on Aug.12.

Although local media reports expressed outrage at Abdel Aziz’s young age, the deaths of him and Abdullah are sadly not an unusual occurrence in Egypt. Many observers say that both police brutality and torture are widespread.

Since 1996, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has maintained that torture is a policy of the Egyptian government. The UN says beatings, sexual assault and violence are used “systemically” throughout the criminal justice system and in matters related to the state security police.

Human rights activists say that the only way to end these abuses is to punish the perpetrators. But many agree that the regime has little stomach for rooting out such a deeply embedded problem.

“No matter how gruesome the crimes are, or how much pressure is put on the government by the United States and the European Union, the regime is not willing to punish the perpetrators by the appropriate means,” said Gamal Eid, the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

“All we ever see is a slap on the wrist,” he added. “Police brutality will never stop until the regime is willing to punish the perpetrators, who as police officers are also a part of the regime.”

According to Gasser Abdel Razek, the Middle East and North Africa regional director for Human Rights Watch, ending torture in Egypt is more about local political will than it is about foreign interference.

He points to a number of common sense steps the government could take to rein in police violence. Chief among them are changing the legal definition of torture, which is currently not in agreement with the standard set by international law; establishing an independent commission to investigate torture; and placing detention centers used by police and state security interrogators under judicial oversight.

But none of these measures has been adopted by the government, nor does it seem in a hurry to do so.

“There are many simple things that can be done to show that there is the political will to end the prevalence of torture in Egypt,” said Abdel Razek. “It would take very little effort, time or money to do any of these things, but they are not being done.”

“Egypt can do or refuse to do whatever it wants in its bilateral relationship with the United States,” he added, “but this country is bound by its commitments to international human rights law.”

DNE: Church keeps its distance from Higazy case, convert receives death threats

Church keeps its distance from Higazy case, convert receives death threats

By Liam Stack
First Published: August 12, 2007

CAIRO: Mohamed Higazy, a Port Said man who converted from Islam to Christianity, has gone into hiding after attempts to change his religion on his government ID card sparked a national controversy.

According to friends of Higazy, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for their personal safety, he and his wife, also a convert who is four months pregnant, went into hiding after receiving death threats.

Now the two live in an undisclosed location and change their phone numbers frequently, for fear that they will be discovered.

Religious conversion is a taboo topic in Egypt, where Muslims and Christians live side by side in an often tense peace. In recent years the two communities have clashed several times in small skirmishes in Alexandria and villages in Upper Egypt, which have left several dead. Frequently, these clashes have been sparked by rumors of conversions.

Most Muslims who convert do not wish to draw attention to themselves, because renouncing Islam is considered an act of apostasy which many believe is punishable by death.

In this context Higazy’s court petition to legally change his religion is a surprisingly bold step. But, according to an interview with the Associated Press, he is unwilling to back down.

''I know there are fatwas [religious edicts] to shed my blood, but I will not give up and I will not leave the country,'' said the 25-year-old, who has adopted the Christian name Beshoi.

Already, his legal case has run into trouble. His original lawyer, Mamdouh Nakhlah, quit after the public outcry began, and his new lawyer says he is still weighing whether or not to continue with the case.

Higazy’s case was dealt another potentially serious blow on Saturday, when TV newsmagazine El Ashera Masa’an, reported that the Coptic Church had released a statement dissociating itself from the case.

Daily News Egypt could not reach the church for comment at press time.

At the heart of the case, say human rights advocates, is the role that religion plays in documents issued by the Egyptian government.

“Including one’s religion on identity cards is nothing but a means of discriminating against people on the basis of religion. It should be totally discarded,” said Gamal Eid, Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

“Mohamed Higazy’s intentions were sincere,” he added. “He should be able to choose his own beliefs and religion free of any pressure from anyone else.”