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Human Rights Watch Calls Upon Egypt to Release Saad Eddin Ibrahim
WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A United States-based human rights group this week called upon the Egyptian government to immediately release civil society activist and American University in Cairo sociology professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed there were numerous irregularities in the Supreme State Security Court trial of Ibrahim, who was convicted last May on charges of receiving unauthorized foreign funds and disseminating information to defame Egypt's reputation abroad. Three of Ibrahim's assistants were also convicted of similar charges.
Ibrahim is currently serving a seven-year sentence in Cairo's Torah prison. He has appealed his conviction to the Court of Cassation, but any ruling is restricted to points of law and not substantive matters of fact or evidence.
In a 20-page backgrounder, entitled "The State of Egypt vs. Free Expression: The Ibn Khaldun Trial," HRW documented numerous irregularities in the trial, concluding that it was unfair at all stages of the proceedings.
The document also criticized the state of emergency decrees under which some of the charges were brought, and the treatment of the defendants at the time of their arrest and initial detention.
"The conviction of Saad Eddin Ibrahim on spurious charges, without any effective right of appeal, reflects nothing but shame on the government of President Hosni Mubarak," said Joe Stork, Washington director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "It's time for the government to do the right thing by releasing him and restoring his civil rights."
"The Ibn Khaldun case demonstrates the Egyptian government's profound intolerance for peaceful dissent," Stork said. "This trial was intended to silence Dr. Ibrahim, punish those who dared to be his associates, and intimidate any other Egyptians who might think about criticizing policies in politically sensitive areas."
The "false information" that Ibrahim was accused of disseminating concerned election fraud, government intimidation of voters and political candidates, and discrimination against Egypt's minority Coptic community.
The state's decision to prosecute Ibrahim came a day after he announced he planned to proceed with monitoring of the 2000 parliamentary elections, despite his initial arrest and six-week detention without charge.
Ibrahim had used foreign contributions to his Ibn Khaldun Center to produce a voter education video, which was supposed to be shown prior to Egypt's parliamentary elections.
The arrest, trial and subsequent conviction of Ibrahim, a dual national od Egypt and the U.S., created political tensions between Cairo and Washington, which provides Egypt with $2.1 billion annually in economic and military assistance.
The government of President Hosni Mubarak was also sharply criticized in U.S. media for its handling of the Ibrahim matter, as well as its poor human rights record. Several members of Congress also attacked Egypt during an official visit to Washington by Mubarak.
Human Rights Watch said the prosecution presented evidence in court concerning forgery and bribery charges against Magda Ibrahim al-Bey and Muhammad Hassanein 'Amara, and said they should be afforded a retrial on those charges consistent with international fair trial norms, or be released.
The Court of Cassation, if it upholds the defendants' appeal, can only refer the case back to the Supreme State Security Court and order a retrial before a different panel of judges but following the same procedures. "This will only prolong the effective denial of the defendants' right of appeal," Stork said.
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