Tag: detainees

DNE report on the Mahalla 49 trial

Posted on By 3arabawy

Sarah Carr reports:

The trial of 49 people accused of a range of criminal offences allegedly committed during the April 6 clashes in Mahalla began Saturday at the Tanta Emergency State Security Court, where judges called for a continuance.
The next hearing will be held on Sept. 1.
Defense lawyer Ahmad Ezzat of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression told Daily News Egypt that only 26 of the group of 49 appeared in court.
The defense team requested that the public prosecution office be instructed to establish the status of all the defendants being held.
On his website 3arabawy ), journalist Hossam El-Hamalawy, who attended the trial, wrote that during the trial defendants cried out “hour after hour, detailing the police torture and abuse they faced in custody.”
The public prosecution office has not investigated defendants’ allegations of torture and abuse.
The group of 48 men and one woman were arrested in the weeks following protests which broke out in the Delta town of Mahalla over hiked food prices on April 6.
The demonstrations followed the collapse on the same day of a strike by 27,000 workers in a spinning factory in the town caused in part by security body intimidation.
Rights groups have condemned the excessive force — including live ammunition — which police bodies used against what eyewitnesses say was a peaceful demonstration.
Three people were killed during the demonstrations.
The group is being tried on what lawyers allege are spurious, trumped-up charges including “criminal damage to public and private property, assault of a public official, unlawful assembly of more than five people and illegal possession of weapons.”
The defense team requested that the court appoint accountants and engineers to assess and calculate the damage and loss described in the police reports.
The court assented to this request.
Defense lawyers also requested that the defendants be released on bail.
The court refused this and in fact ordered that defendants who had previously been released on bail be taken back into custody until the next court hearing.
Defendants pleaded not guilty to charges which right groups allege are being used to give credence to the government’s claims that the events of April 6 were an outbreak of thug-led violence, rather than an expression of discontent.

Protesters condemn trial of Mahalla workers outside London embassy

Posted on By 3arabawy

Sarah Carr reports:

Protesters demonstrated outside the Egyptian embassy in London Thursday against the trial of 49 people in an Egyptian exceptional court.
Carrying banners reading “solidarity with the people of Mahalla” and “no to trials in emergency courts” the roughly 15 protesters from a variety of political groups attempted to present a letter and a petition condemning the trial to embassy officials.
Journalist Blake Sifton told Daily News Egypt that police officers denied protesters permission to approach the embassy as a group.
Instead, three protesters posted the letter and petition through the embassy door after officials refused to meet the delegation or receive the letter and petition.
Lindsey German, representing the Stop the War Coalition, Rob Owen from the National Executive of the National Union of Students, Sami Ramadani and Sabah Jawad from Iraqi Democrats against the Occupation presented the petition to the embassy.
They were joined in the demonstration by trade unionists, students and representatives of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers.
The trial of the 49 defendants in the Tanta emergency high state security court is scheduled to begin today.
The group of 48 men and 1 woman were arrested after protests broke out in the Delta town of Mahalla over hiked food prices.
The protests followed the collapse on the same day of a strike by 27,000 workers in a spinning factory in the town caused in part by security body intimidation.
Rights groups have condemned the excessive force — including live ammunition — which police bodies used against what eyewitnesses say was a peaceful demonstration.
The group — five of whom are at large — will be tried in a state security emergency court on what lawyers allege are spurious, trumped-up charges including “criminal damage to public and private property, assault of a public official, unlawful assembly of more than five people and illegal possession of weapons.”
Some of the group allege that they were tortured while in police custody. If convicted, they face prison sentences of up to 10 years.

Amnesty: No justice for 49 Mahalla citizens facing trial before emergency court

Posted on By 3arabawy

I received the following statement from Amnesty International:

On the eve of the trial of 49 people for alleged involvement in violent protest, Amnesty International calls on the Egyptian authorities to stop trying individuals before special emergency courts that flout basic guarantees for fair trial. The organization also urges the authorities to open immediately a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the defendants’ allegations of torture.
Forty-nine individuals accused of taking part in violent protests, including nine workers and other craftsmen, will stand trial before the (Emergency) Supreme State Security Court in Nile delta city of Tanta, north of Cairo, on 9 August 2008. They are being tried on account of a range of charges, including assembly of more than five people with the aim of disturbing public order and security, deliberate destruction of public and private property, ransacking and theft, violent resistance and assault on police officers during their duties and illegal possession of firearms. Five of them believed to be on the run will be tried in their absence. They face up to 15 years’ imprisonment, if convicted.
On 5 April 2008, the government banned all demonstrations in advance of a general strike planned for 6 April in support of industrial action by textile workers in Mahalla, some 120 km north of Cairo. Thousands of police and security forces were deployed in Mahalla, Cairo and other cities. Although the industrial action planned by textile worker in Mahalla was called off after negotiations with officials and under pressure from the government, violent protests broke out in the city against the rising cost of living. At least three, including schoolboy Ahmad Ali Mabrouk, were killed by bullet injuries and dozens were wounded due to excessive use of force by security forces, many of whom were also injured. Some 258 who were arrested during the clashes were all released later without charge.
The 49 who are now facing trial were arrested between 13 and 18 April 2008 after the clashes in Mahalla. Following their arrest, the defendants were blindfolded for up to nine days. Many allege that while held initially at the State Security Investigations (SSI) offices in Mahalla and later at SSI headquarters in Lazoughly in Cairo, they were beaten, given electric shocks and threatened that their female relatives would be subjected to sexual abuse.
When they were brought before the Public Prosecutor on 21, 22 and 23 April, their lawyers complained about the torture and other ill-treatment to which the accused were allegedly subjected. However, no independent investigation is known to have been opened into these allegations. The main pieces of evidence used against the defendants are “confessions” allegedly obtained under torture that they had thrown stones at the police as well as the testimonies of witnesses, all of whom are members of the security forces or government officials. Some of the defendants also said that they had not participated in the protest and had witnesses to confirm their statements. Although the Public Prosecutor heard some of these witnesses, he dismissed their testimonies as baseless.
The Egyptian authorities have a right to establish law and order and prosecute those responsible for violence; however, while doing so they must not curb peaceful protest and the rights to freedom of expression and assembly as protected under international law. Those protesters found not to have used violence must be released immediately and unconditionally; the others must be given a fair trial in accordance with Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law and standards.
All the defendants remained in detention until 2 June when the Public Prosecutor ordered the release on bail of 20 of them, including a 58-year old woman. Nine of those released were immediately rearrested under emergency legislation by orders of the Minister of Interior. All those in custody are currently held in Borj al-Arab Prison, near Alexandria. On 6 June, the Public Prosecutor referred their case for trial before the emergency court in Tanta.
They are the first to be tried by an emergency court following the Egyptian authorities’ renewal of the state of emergency in May 2008. Emergency courts are special courts established under emergency legislation. Amnesty International’s research shows that they use evidence obtained under torture and other ill-treatment to secure convictions and their procedures routinely fall short of the basic guarantees for a fair trial. Furthermore, judgements by emergency courts cannot be appealed and become final after ratification by the President.
Amnesty International is urging the Egyptian authorities to rescind the decision to refer the defendants to the emergency court and order a retrial before an ordinary court and ensure they receive a fair trial.
The authorities must also open a full, independent and impartial investigation into the killings in Mahalla which left three dead. In particular the investigation should focus on the circumstances in which police used lethal fire and ensure that any officers or other officials responsible for using or ordering excessive force should be brought to justice.