The first edition of Mesaha magazine

MESAHA Magazine

ISSUE 1 English Version

Termination of the use of preventing or delaying the renewal of passports for human rights activists outside Egypt.

19 Egyptian jurists sent a letter to Diaa Rashwan, the Chief of Journalists and the General Coordinator of the National Dialogue Committee, calling for the inclusion of the violations to which they are subjected to at the National Dialogue's table during the forthcoming sessions and for an end to the restrictions on civil society and its personnel

One of the signatories of the letter, Human Rights Lawyer Nejad Al-Barai, said that the letter called "for the inclusion of violations which prominent Egyptian human rights activists are subjected to since what they are facing is beyond their own capability and it extends and contravenes with the Constitution, the Egyptian law, and the National Human Rights Strategy.

The signatories said: "As part of those who care for human rights in our country”, the National Dialogue will not realize its aspiration, without seriously dealing with practices that have targeted the human rights defenders in Egypt for more than ten years " .

The letter noted that the reference to "human rights situations and defenders is based on a solid foundation in the Constitution and the law, the National Human Rights Strategy, and even the judgments of our Supreme Courts, and is an inherent part of any dialogue aimed at the supreme national interest".

The letter called for four basic points: a review of legislation and administrative decisions governing civil work, as well as executive practices that resulted in the failure to respond to requests for reconciliation of certain human rights organizations in accordance with the Civil Labour Organization Act No. 149 of 2019, and the termination of prosecutions and security issues raised against rights defenders during the past period because of their activism and working in human rights

The letter also called for the release of lawyers and civil society workers, such as lawyer Haitham Mohamedain, who is now serving a term of up to four years' preventive detention with rotating in more than one case, and Mohammed al-Baqer, a lawyer who is serving a four-year sentence by the State Security Court caught under the Emergency Law, and Bahi al-Din Hassan, who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years imprisonment as a result of a tweet he wrote on social media.

The letter also stressed the need to discontinue the practice of monitoring arrivals, travelling ban, and seizing activists at airports for long hours Also, the need to end banning or delaying the renewal of passports for jurists outside Egypt, and to improve the general climate for the return of those who wish to work inside Egypt in accordance with the constitution and the law.

Text of the letter:

Mr. Professor. Diaa Rashwan.

General Coordinator of the National Dialogue Board of Trustees

Ladies and gentlemen Members of the National Dialogue Board of Trustees

Greetings,

Today, from our deep understanding and belief in our historical and moral responsibility to contribute to the defense and consolidation of human rights as a constitutional concept and a fundamental guarantee of the rule of law, we address this message to you seizing the opportunity of the national dialogue.

As part of our country’s human rights sincere activists, we see that ' Without seriously addressing the practices that have targeted human rights defenders, men and women, in Egypt for more than 10 years, the dialogue will not achieve its aspiration. Many Egyptian activists continue to be prosecuted, some of whom have been sentenced harshly by courts, with some exceptions, as well as many activists being banned from travelling and seized their property, which negatively affects the rights movement and will not help the success and credibility of the national dialogue.

Today's talk and message on human rights situations and defenders are based on a solid foundation in the Constitution, the law, the national human rights strategy, and even the judgments of our Supreme

Courts. It is also an integral part of any dialogue aimed at the supreme national interest which we all seek

Consequently, we believe that it is the duty and responsibility of the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue to ensure the success of the Dialogue by making an adequate and public effort to support a number of basic actions without which the Dialogue will not be credible:

First: Review the legislation and administrative decisions governing civil work, as well as the executive practices that resulted in the failure to respond to requests for the reconciliation of the situation of certain human rights organizations in accordance with the Civil Labour Organization Law No 149 of 2019. We note here that the Egyptian Centre for the Right to Education has applied for reconciliation but the competent authority has not responded to it. This situation is common within a number of human rights institutions- They doubt that the authority tries to impede their work by pushing them to apply for registration as nongovernmental associations and then leaving them unanswered or initiating lengthy judicial procedures leading to their de facto cessation. Such manoeuvres cannot help to build a strong civil society, especially since the President of the Republic declared 2022 a year of civil society.

Second: To end the prosecution and security of human rights defenders over the past period because of their activism and work in human rights. Now, more than 10 years later, more than 17 prominent human rights activists representing active and important human rights institutions are still under investigation in case No 173 of 2011, restricting investigating judges This prevents these activists from using their constitutional right to move and travel, in addition to holding some of their funds, thereby placing them in a difficult financial position and preventing them from even renewing their car licenses, obtaining bank loans or obtaining credit cards, at a time when the State is going to reduce cash transactions A number of Egypt's most important human rights defenders continue to be subjected in separate cases to lawless actions. Jasser Abdel Razek and his colleagues working for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights are still prohibited from travelling and their funds were confiscated in a state security case No 855 of 2022 Lawyers in cassation, Hoda Abdel-Wahab and Nasir Amin, have been banned from travelling in a case that has not been investigated since 2017. Case No. 1086 is added to them for the year 2021; a

state security offense case where Patrick Zaki is accused in Al-Mansora’s second police emergency station

Third: Prominent human rights activists are subjected to prolonged and repeated pretrial detention, such as lawyer Haitham Mohamdain who is now serving up to four years' preventive detention, in more than one case, the lawyer Mohamed al Baqer, who is serving a four-year sentence by the judgment of the State Security Court established in accordance with the Emergency Act. Professor Bahiuddin Hassan was sentenced in absentia to 15 years' imprisonment as a result of a tweet he wrote on the social media site "Twitter "

Fourth: Halting the practices of monitoring arrivals, banning travelling, and arresting activists at airports for long hours, ending the use of the prohibition or delay of passports renewal for jurists outside Egypt, and improve the general situation for the return of those who wish to work inside Egypt in accordance with the constitution and the law

We believe that the country's interest, stability, and ability to meet the enormous challenges it is experiencing will not come without the rehabilitation of the values of justice, respect for the law and the Constitution; the crux of it is to empower a strong and independent civil society, a free and critical media, and an impactful political life.

Finally, we send you and all those interested in the supreme national benefit our letter as a sincere contribution to the pursuit of the Constitution laws implementation and ensuring respect for human rights.

Does the regime interact with itself?

The Authority calls for a "national dialogue" with the opposition and civil society.

Politicians make clear their demands to discover the seriousness of the call for this dialogue: release the detainees, end up targeting the opposition, and unblock sites.

A national dialogue is called for by the President of the Republic, at a time when political and economic conditions and freedoms are heading for the worse. Among thousands of political prisoners and opinion-holders, huge economic problems are sprouting on the surface; the poor and those with simple incomes are the ones who pay for it This increases the regime's desire for "dialogue", even if fictitious

On April 26, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced the launch of the National Dialogue, during the breakfast ceremony in The Dialogue with the Egyptian Family, after which a series of discussions came in public and other discussions in closed rooms. The dysfunctional political forces show up to express their demands and hope to capture the pulse of the current authority and know their credibility in calling for a genuine national dialogue

To achieve this end, the various political forces have placed many demands as a first step on Egypt's regime to demonstrate its goodwill towards national dialogue and political forces. At the top of these demands were the release of detainees, the cessation of targeting opponents, the lifting of blocks on newspapers and sites, and the cessation of security Despite the legitimacy of these demands, the regime has not responded to them in such a way as to satisfy the opposition and achieve the goal they have stated.

The Council Formation!

The selection of the General Coordinator of the National Dialogue was represented by Dr. Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt's Journalists Syndicate and Chairman of State Information Service, in addition to the selection of Adviser Mahmoud Fawzi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for media regulation, as Head of the Technical Secretariat for the National Dialogue. The ensuing steps were selecting the Board of Trustees After consultation with political and trade union forces and participating parties by the National Dialogue Department, which lasted approximately 20 days The National Dialogue's Board of Trustees was formed of 19 members.

Accordingly, Ahmed al-Sharqawi, as a member of the House of Representatives, was selected Amira Saber, member of the House of Representatives, Jamal Al-Kashaki, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram Al-Arabi Magazine, Dr. Gouda Abdel Khaliq, former Minister of Social Solidarity and Professor of Economics, Dr. Reham Bahi, Professor of International Relations, Cairo University, Samir MurKos, the researcher and political writer, Dr. Talat Abdelkawi, the member of the House of Representatives and President of the General Federation of NGOs, Abd Al-Azim Hammad, a Journalist, Imad Al-Din Hussein, a Senator and Journalist, Amr Hashim Rabi, Deputy Director of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, and Dr Fatima Al-Sayed Ahmed, a Journalist

In addition to Dr. Fatima Khafaji, the Coordinator of the Arab Network of Women Civil Society was selected, Kamal Zayed, a businessman, Dr Maya Morsi, President of the National Council for Women, Mohamed Salmawi, the writer and Journalist, Dr Mohamed Fayez Farahat, the Director of Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Nejad El-Barai, Human Rights Lawyer, and Dr. Hani Sri-Din, Professor of Commercial and Maritime Law at Cairo University.

The National Dialogue Code of Conduct and Ethics, promulgated by the Board of Trustees, affirmed that national dialogue is not merely a procedural process, it is not a formal ritual, it is a serious interactive dialogue It is expected to conclude practical recommendations and proposals that are effectively applicable, within existing possibilities, in accordance with appropriate circumstances and political, security, economic, and community standards. The Code included that the ultimate goal of the national dialogue was to increase the common denominators and spaces towards the founding of the new

Republic and to govern its discussions, decisions, and substantive recommendations, and the public interest in its broader and more comprehensive concept

A Call or a manoeuvre?

In a surprise move, Ahmed al-Tantawi, president of the former Karama Party and Parliament, announced his resignation from the chairmanship of the party participating in the national dialogue called by Sisi, last April, before later reversing the resignation after being rejected by the party's political bureau. Al-Tantawi considered that Egypt's political authority "uses the call for national dialogue as a political manoeuvre, questioning the state's actions with regard to dealing with opposition demands "

Tantawi’s stand is not the only one rejecting the manner and administration of power for its dialogue. Mohamed Anwar Sadat, head of the Party for Reform and Development, and member of the National Council for Human Rights, in a statement issued on 16 May 2022, criticized the attribution of the comprehensive national dialogue project called for by Sisi to the National Training Academy, which belongs and is run by "specific organizations" in the State.

In his statement, Sadat said: "I have been and I continue to welcome the inclusive national dialogue called for by the President of the Republic, but I am not satisfied or reassured to assign the organization and management of the dialogue to institutions belonging to and administered by certain organizations, even if this call and ceremony are accompanied by a temporary and limited breakthrough of releasing some of those remained in custody or issuing a presidential pardon for those sentenced to prison for political issues."

The First Session

The first session of the National Dialogue witnessed a debate on the terms of reference of the 19-person Board of Trustees, especially after the presentation of the Technical Secretariat of the Dialogue by Adviser, Mahmoud Fawzi, on the quality of the issues received by the National Academy of Training through the requests of participation of parties and citizens

During the session, representatives of the opposition "Civic Democratic Movement" stressed the need for prisoners of freedom of expression to be released before actual dialogue sessions could begin. They emphasized that the role of the Board of Trustees was to arrange dialogue sessions involving representatives of the opposition and the regime and to draft outputs for Sisi's presentation. Diaa Rashwan, General Coordinator of the National Dialogue Board of Trustees, announced the outcomes of the second session of the National Dialogue which had been held on priorities for national action He said that the political axes had been the focus of discussions, with 3 issues of direct political, local, and human rights. He stressed that discussions were being held on the understanding that all parties were partners without adverseness

On 30 July 2022, the official page of the National Dialogue published the preparation of the third day of dialogue and the third meeting of the Board of Trustees, held at the headquarters of the National Training Academy They aimed at discussing the proposals of members of the subcommittees in the economic and social pillars, and to finalize the drafting of article 18 of the Regulations governing the work of the Board of Trustees and the committees and its subsidiary actions.

Opposition political forces clarify their stands

The press writer Medhat al-Zahid, The Chairman of the Socialist People's Alliance Party, says: I believe that the call for a national dialogue is a positive step that further steps need to be taken to guarantee it International and local conditions could put the country on the brink of crisis and lead to social tensions. In these circumstances, it is better to attract protest energies to peaceful tracks and bring chances for expression that shall prevent chaos This requires a review and mitigation of the policy of exclusion and the blockade of opposition The institutions of government may have crystallized that dealing with different spectrums could allow alternative policies to be put forward to confront the crisis and help shape consensus points. The policy of repression has exhausted its purposes and society is in need of a truce Finally, the pressures of the human rights dossier have necessitated a change that would alleviate these pressures without the organizations losing their sovereignty.

"The seriousness of the national dialogue depends on the ability of governance institutions to build confidence in the release of prisoners of conscience; there can be no dialogue in the way of a guard and a prisoner dialogue. The official media shall cease accusations of fraud and reflection, lift the ban on blocked sites, and review remand laws. The Government must have adequate awareness of the need to enhance competitiveness in the political system with all the necessary legislative reforms that shall include electoral laws The dialogue shall be transparent without permitting its diversion to a big fake carnival or an allegiance party under the control and participation of public opinion " .

"From the opposition side, its role in the success of the dialogue depends on two things: Do not resort to rhetoric of prejudice, confrontation, and maintain awareness of the ceiling of dialogue. This must happen without being illusioned by the possibility of achieving a comprehensive change with its readiness to achieve consensus on urgent demands for rescue The second is: be able to elaborate alternative policies in various areas and formulate them in a clear and simple discourse appropriate to the citizens’ interests and make hope affordable for them " .

From his side, Eng Ahmed Baha'eddin Shaaban, Chairman of the Arab Socialist Party, emphasized that the advocacy for national dialogue is a good initiative to discuss all problems and issues of concern to society and that the dialogue was timely and consensual regarding its importance. However, there must be real guarantees of the seriousness of the current system and that the absence of dialogue among members of society and the closure of channels of communication between groups of society can lead to a social outrage such as that of students in 1968, the January 1977 uprising, the 25 January 2011 revolution, the 30 June 2013 revolution

Shaaban pointed out that it is a genuine dialogue that addresses society's problems, develops real solutions, and yields real results. Egypt is in crisis and a sense of national responsibility motivates participation in the national dialogue

Shaban considers that there are many errors in the management of power in the economic file, including, especially, the policy of increasing loans which augmented the internal and external debt crisis alarmingly, selling some vital state institutions, the way to attract foreign investment, unemployment, and aid. These issues must be figured out to give hope for the future.

From the guarantees of the seriousness of the National Dialogue, Shaaban continued that prisoners of conscience must be released and that if this point is not resolved, the parties will face a severe attack

from society. The dialogue will be publicly broadcast on air until it is valuable and voices reach the public opinion, and the opposition is not questioned Shaban called for a time limit for the implementation of the Dialogue's recommendations and resolutions.

Talat Khalil, the Secretary-General of the Conservative Party, said that his party welcomed the National Dialogue since President El-Sisi's launch of the call for the good of the nation The success of the National Dialogue should satisfy the needs of the people and the country and provide the necessary guarantees of its seriousness and effectiveness. Khalil continued, there are people arrested for simply writing a "post" and we hope that there will be a breakthrough in the political file and that the political stalemate shall be resolved We hope that the dialogue will reach a common ground for decongestion on the Egyptian street.

The Civil Democratic Movement (CDM) parties issued a statement last May 8 that included the 7 items, some of which were verified, such as an equal number of people representing power and opposition, and the release of detainees although the number of detainees was not hoped to be released.

Khalil added: "We in the Conservative Party believe that without political reform, there will be no economic reform There are papers on political reform We will not provide any papers on economic reform before political reform is approved. We have an ambitious economic reform agenda. Guarantees are needed for free elections and freedom to appear in the media. Khalil demanded that articles of the Constitution that are not active should be activated, and the speedy release of prisoners of conscience must not fail until that step gives the national dialogue weight and conveys a wonderful message to the Egyptian people, and build trust in the national dialogue.

George Isaac, a member of the National Council for Human Rights, and one of those invited to the dialogue, said that one of the most important issues to be raised in the national dialogue was the political profile and its reflection on education and health. We want an electoral law, an amendment to the law on NGOs, the establishment of the Commission for the Prevention of Discrimination, the amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure, especially the article on preventive detention, freedom of the press and greater openness, and the citizen's view without going to prison. " Isaac added: "I call on political parties to meet citizens in all the governorates of Egypt to see what problems they face so that they can resolve it in the coming period "

Dr. Aida Saif Al-Dawla in her Interview about freedoms, human rights, national dialogue, and prisoners:

We are facing the worst situation regarding freedom in Egypt.. An absent State of law and a pardon committee giving the lame excuse, "bureaucracy." Does anyone stand up to the President's will?

There is no real will to solve the detainees’ issue. Prison conditions are very bad despite changing names.

Civil society organizations are besieged like all forms of public work .. The Climate Summit is an opportunity to beautify the face of the regime and market its image to the world

Improving the country's climate conditions needs political will and a programme that achieves environmental justice.

Recent

economic decisions and its effect on Egyptian citizens; more despair and more muffled anger

The political will is absent to resolve the travel ban, blocking and arresting prisoners of conscience

The restructuring of the pardon committee has revived the hopes of many, but prison release rates are much lower than expected.

A solid strong jurist, she devoted her life to defending the oppressed and victims of torture and violations, paying a lot and a lot of the price for it, but she was not a moment late to advocate for the oppressed or demand absent rights or dream of a homeland that everyone could dream of.

Dr. Aida Saif

Al-Dawlat, Director and Founder of the Al-Nadeem Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Violence and Torture, we had this interview with her to explore her opinion on the file of freedom in Egypt and the

situation regarding the calls for a national dialogue and the campaigns to support detainees and demand their release

How do you see the situation of freedom in Egypt?

In my view, it has been at its worst since I started working as an activist in the human rights field. The worst of them is not only their manifestations but that we live in a State with no law whatsoever. Strangely, most of the detainees' and parents' demands focus on the application of the law that the State has accepted. Nevertheless, it is not implemented, let alone the international conventions ratified by Egypt and not applied.

After the National Dialogue, will we see a change in the political arena and open a public opportunity for dialogue with the opposition? Is it an opportunity, as some say, to release detainees and improve Egypt's political situation?

This is a question of what may happen in the future and therefore cannot be answered accurately The indicators are not promising, however, as the relationship between the public and that dialogue is currently limited to the Coordinator-General's statements. The General Coordinator meets with the public and outlines the dialogue and its interlocutors without knowing the references to these interlocutors, as well as general recommendations " The situation needs urgent resolutions from the dialogue's advocate -- the presidency -- to put an end to the suffering of thousands of families awaiting the dialogue and hope that the end of that suffering will come.

The announcement of the dialogue and the restructuring of the Amnesty Commission and some of its members' statements have revived the hopes of many that their relatives will soon be released from prison. However, the rate of pardon is much lower than expected as if the pardon is intended to keep hopes alive from time to time and not to solve the problem of political detainees

One of the most important objectives of the dialogue - as announced - is to discuss the priorities of national action in the coming period towards further construction of a modern civil democratic State. Would this be possible? Would the National Dialogue change the conditions for travel banning, censorship, and arresting prisoners of conscience?

Banning travel, blocking, and arresting opinion-holders -- which continues even after the announcement of the dialogue -- is subject to the political will which is capable of resolving these matters In my assessment, this will be absent and the decisions or actions taken on these matters are incomprehensible in terms of their causes and terms of reference as if they were subject to decisions unrelated to the law. The modern civilian state is supposed to be an institutional State governed by a constitution and law We possess these elements in terms of form, but they do not act and they are ineffective not only as a result of an error here or there but also as a result of a political decision not to activate them. For example, we have a Parliament that is supposed to be freely elected, although it is not, and if it were free to express the electorate’s opinion, one of its roles would be to lead this dialogue and not to set a new commission or form from outside the institutions.

What are your comments on the recent amnesty lists?

I think those who are pardoned with a presidential pardon are not more than only 10 people; therefore, we are not talking about "lists" that we have been waiting for The Minister of Justice confirmed that they had nothing to do with the Pardon Commission and that a number of them had been rotated into new cases in a procedure contrary to the pretrial detention law to prolong the period of pretrial detention

Members of the committee said there was a bureaucracy that hindered the national dialogue. Is this a real reason or a mere intransigence with the detainees? Or a desire to keep them locked up? Or hazing and torturing certain people?

These excuses are hard to believe. We are having a pardon committee formed by the President and a dialogue called to by the President. Is there a bureaucracy that stands in the way of the President's recommendations? Is there a higher willingness in the present circumstances to hinder the implementation of his recommendations? I believe that there is no genuine will to solve the problem of detainees and that there are certainly certain detainees or certain political forces that are constantly undermined by a political decision of the highest authority.

What about the prison conditions in Egypt at the moment?

Beyond terrible despite changing the names; this is shown through detainees’ distress and call for help and the rates of medical negligence and mortality inside the places of detention. This is expected as long as the detainees and places of detention are not governed by law but by the whims of the perpetrators who are in charge of these prisons

What is the current situation of civil society organizations in Egypt?

Trapped like all forms of public work. Some are still charged in a case that dates back to 2011 and despite allegations that the case has been closed, this is not true Some have been dismissed, and a number have been charged, banned from travelling and their assets were confiscated

Will we see them active in the coming period?

There are still a number of independent organizations trying to continue to operate despite the constraints and prosecutions but with a slightly lower impact and rate than before Future activity depends on what the State intends to do towards community action, both in a more restrictive and open manner and in ensuring freedom of organization and peaceful activity.

Besides the 7 steps already announced by rights organizations Will there be any further action that may be taken by these organizations? Have these demands been met even if they are minor?

Organizations have already taken more than one action since that time, together with the emphasis on the seven steps in each period It issued several statements on dialogue, monitoring the conditions of detainees, and following up its activity on the ground as far as possible. After the Pardon Commission's announcement, it contributed to the development of an informal form to assist the families in communicating with the Pardon Commission, etc The only requirement we can say that has been responded to formally is the cancellation of the state of emergency, but once it has been revoked a number of laws have been amended that have resulted in the transformation of the state of emergency into a permanent state that does not need to be renewed. The answer to this question, unfortunately, is no

What is the importance of the climate conference scheduled for November 2022? How can civil society organizations prepare to participate in Cup 27? Is it an opportunity to improve conditions within the country?

I think it's an opportunity to beautify the face of the system and market its image to the world and it could be an opportunity for economic gain. It is a controlled event organized in Sharm el-Sheikh, a place that is not accessible or open to all The role of civil society organizations in the Conference will depend on their participation in terms of attendance and perspective. This will be evident in the coming weeks.

Improving the country's climate conditions requires political will and a programme of environmental justice It may be remiss of me, but I have not recognized such a programme yet

Recent economic decisions to increase the prices of some goods, gasoline and others What is its psychological impact on Egyptian citizens? How can it be dealt with?

Its impact on the Egyptian citizen is the same as the effect of impoverishment, hunger and lack of resourcefulness More deprivation, more descent towards or below the threshold of poverty, more despair and more muffled anger.

Haytham Muhamadain

3 years and 3 months in prison since his arrest in May 2019

A long series of confinement decisions began since the first day of the January Revolution and its end has not come yet.

Human rights organizations demand the release of Mohamadain and all prisoners of conscience and freedom of expression.

A brave lawyer, with a genuine principle and perspective, defended, throughout his life and in every place he went, the working class and the rights of the poor, paying for this many years of his liberty and life in prison. The last of which was his last detention, which began 3 years and 3 months ago, and no one knows when it is going to end

The human rights and labour lawyer, Haitham Mohamadain, a young man who dreamed of absent justice and freedom and believed in this dream decided to fight in all legal battles to achieve this dream. Over 3 years, he dreams of a freedom breeze to return to his work for which he has devoted his life, and

"The Red Nightingale", who sang for freedom and dreamed of a homeland that welcomes everyone.

once again pursues his profession for which he is faithful and which has occupied his entire time. His profession, which he loved, was vigorously advocating for the restoration of rights to their owners, in particular the equality and defense of workers' rights.

Haytham Mohamedain's journey with confinement and deprivation is long and prolonged, especially after the 25 January revolution, where Mohamadain was detained On the first day of the revolution, that took place and he was released before the outrage Friday 28 January 2011. In September 2013, while on his way to support the workers' strike at a cement factory, he was charged with assaulting an officer, and was released after 48 hours without charge

In January 2015, Attorney General Hisham Barakat ordered the confiscation of the assets of 112 people, including Haitham Mohamadain, allegedly members or supporters of the Brotherhood. The year 2016 was different, with mass demonstrations in several governorates rejecting the maritime boundary demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia Hundreds of people were arrested, including Mohamadain, who remained locked up for six months, before gaining his freedom.

He returned again after protesting against the price increase of the metro ticket in 2018, when security forces attacked his home in Giza governorate, and he was taken to an unknown location Muhamadain then appeared in the Supreme State Security Prosecution. He was charged with aiding a terrorist organization for its purposes and inciting the Maadi metro protests. The prosecution placed Mohamadain in pretrial detention pending investigation in case No 718/2018, referred to informally in the case of "metro detainees", and in October 2018, his detention was replaced by precautionary measures and he remained free to exercise his support to all groups in need of support.

Until May 13, 2019, he was arrested from inside the Al-Saff police station He was subjected to a 3-day disappearance from the police station, until he appeared in state security case No. 741 of the 2019, facing multiple and repeated accusations of disseminating, and broadcasting false news and data, misusing means of social media, and joining a terrorist group

According to his family, Haytham Muhamadain went to the police station after being called by the police, arguing that the department had not received information about mitigating the measures against an old case he was locked up in - No 718 in 2018, which is known informatively as "metro detainees "

After nearly two years of imprisonment in the last case, specifically on March 8, 2021, he was released from the Criminal Court, but the day immediately after, he was surprised by a new investigation after another rotation and imprisonment in the Supreme State Security Case No 1956 in 2019

At each session, Haytham and his family's hopes for freedom were renewed, and the Presidential Pardon Commission had been reconstituted and several decisions had been made by the State Security Prosecutor to release detainees, along with the Republic's decisions to pardon others sentenced to prison sentences

In one of her letters, Mahinur El-Masri, previously described him as the "Red Nightingale" in one of her letters, written for his birthday in 2019 and published by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, where Haytham worked prior to his arrest

As if life were giving Haytham hope or telling him that everyone had not forgotten him, especially when the human rights lawyer, Mahinur El-Masri announced that Haytham Mohamedain, along with the

human rights lawyer Mohammed Al-Baqer, had won the Ebru Timtik Rights Prize, following a conference organized by the European Lawyers' Union on (fair trial), where they chose to talk about Egypt and its situation.

In a statement on 28 July 2022, the rights organizations renewed the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience Rights organizations - signatories of the statement - called on the Presidential Pardon Commission to declare the criteria and the rules governing the selection of names submitted to the President of the Republic for pardon.

The statement of the organizations came at the same time as they sent their second lists to members of the Presidential Pardon Commission, comprising 536 cases in Egyptian prisons, in conjunction with 3 months after the President's decision to reactivate the Presidential Pardon Commission.

While the first list -- sent on 23 May 2022 -- contained 2418 cases, only 49 of them were released from custody by criminal courts or prosecutors, 2 of whom were rotated in new political cases on the same charges. The total number of cases sent 2954 among which 2583 were accused in political cases, 241 in criminal cases, as well as 130 cases of enforced disappearance

Haitham is one of the thousands of prisoners in political cases. Their crime is just an attempt to exercise their constitutional and legal right to object, criticize, and practice the freedom of opinion Haitham Mohamadain's freedom is a right, and the right of every person who has not committed any crime, incited violence, or supported or promoted terrorism. His freedom is a mere right that he and others are entitled to have to prove justice

Marwa Arafa

A blogger’s tale spent more than two years away from her baby girl just for supporting everyone and activists!

Detained since her arrest in April 2020 after being accused of spreading false news and joining a terrorist group

Her family demands her release and her return to her young child, Wafaa who was deprived of her mother throughout this period.

For more than two years in pretrial detention, she dreams of freedom and awaits it with each date of a renewal session, with the hope that this nightmare will end, and that she will return to her family and the arms of her three-year-old daughter, who was deprived of her in the blink of an eye without any warning, at the neediest time.

However, the translator and blogger, Marwa Arafa has not yet received the breath of freedom, and the renewal of her confinement continues amid demands from her family to release her, especially since she has committed no crime, rather than everyone's testimony supporting all victims of injustice and upholding the rights of others

On April 20, 2020, security forces arrested the translator, Marwa Arafa, who has since been confined to Qanatar prison, following investigations and accused of broadcasting and spreading false news and joining a terrorist group. With every hour she passes through the confinement, Marwa feels the bitterness of missing occasions and holidays, especially her daughter's birthday, with whom she has not been able to celebrate during her years of confinement

Following her arrest, she remained missing for about two weeks. During the period of her disappearance, her family sent the Telegraph to the Attorney General and the Minister of the Interior to reveal the incident, but about two weeks after the date of the arrest, Marwa appeared in the State Security Prosecutor's Office, accused in a state security case No 570 of 2020

According to her friends, the circumstances of Marwa's arrest were difficult: at first, she was confined to a police station and visits were prohibited, and her confinement was renewed paperless without investigations or hearing from her or lawyers, to then be transferred to Qanatar Women's Prison and then those who were allowed to visit her were first-degree relatives. In the case, Marwa faces charges of disseminating, broadcasting false news and data, misusing a social media medium "Facebook", and sharing a terrorist group with knowledge and promoting its purposes

Her family had previously applied for release - according to the Freedom Campaign for Marwa Arafa - but it had been rejected, and her family had also demanded that the conditions of the visit be improved so that she could see her daughter longer and in a better place than visiting the prison

In the same vein, her lawyer filed more than one request for the judge's renewal hearings to release his client, on a number of legal grounds, including the lack of evidence to support any of the charges against her, and that her daughter needed special care But it was rejected

Pending Hopes are Clutching at a Straw!

Presidential, conditional, and health Pardons

Types and mechanisms for obtaining a decision to release prisoners or those in remand accused in cases without sentences

Presidential amnesty is a decision usually issued by the President of the Republic on official occasions and holidays

Conditional and health release: the first is on conditions established by law and the second may benefit persons in pretrial detention

In recent weeks, after April 25 and the restructuring of the Presidential Amnesty Commission, there has been growing talk about "amnesty" or the release of prisoners, specifically those held in cases of a political nature. However, with different types of amnesty and release decisions, there has been a case of confusion among citizens and families of detainees about the entitlement of their relatives to such decisions.

The types of remissions and prisoners' release varied between presidential pardons, health, and conditional pardons; while none of the authorities of the restructured Presidential Pardons Commission had been released on remand and had not been sentenced to imprisonment.

The first of these decisions, is the presidential pardon, according to the Egyptian Constitution, a presidential pardon is a decision of the President of the Republic to pardon punishment, as stipulated in article 155 (the President of the Republic, after consulting the Council of Ministers, has the power to pardon or commute the sentence, and the blanket amnesty is only by law, approved by a majority of the House of Representatives). According to article 155 of the Constitution, presidential pardons are two types (amnesty for punishment or blanket amnesty). An amnesty shall be to exempt the convicted person from all or some of its execution or to replace it with a lighter penalty than legally established in accordance with the Penal Code.

With regard to full pardon, it was a decision that must be passed in the form of law with the consent of a majority of the House of Representatives. If the Council does not meet within 15 days, the decisions of the President of the Republic shall cease retroactively to have the force of law, without the need to issue a decision thereon, unless the Council considers that they have been adopted in the previous period or that their consequences have been resolved. The person remanded in custody benefits from full pardons, whether his or her case has not been referred for trial or has not been sentenced.

Presidential pardons are issued on official occasions, such as: "25 January amnesty, 25 April amnesty, Eid al-Fitr pardons, Eid al-Adha, 30 June, 23 July, and the 6 of October". The prisoners may apply for pardons in different institutions, such as in the Presidency of the Republic, through the Citizens' Service Office of Abidine Palace, the Prison Service, the Complaints Office of the National Council for Human Rights, the main centre of the Council of the Fifth Settlement or the headquarters on the Council's website in the various governorates of the Republic. "

Another type is the conditional pardon, as it is "conditional", in the sense o the pardon of a person sentenced to a deprivation of freedom before the expiration of his sentence is restricted. The pardon shall be conditional on the following conditions: that the sentence imposed against him shall be a final sentence of restriction of freedom, and that he shall not be sentenced in a case where he is legally deprived of the privilege of a conditional pardon. One of the conditions for a conditional pardon is that he/ she has served half the sentence (not less than six months) in prison, and if the penalty is life, he must serve at least 20 years of imprisonment.

While in prison, the convict's behaviour must show self-correction, and his release must not jeopardize public security, after taking the opinion of the competent security authorities. The convicted person must have fulfilled the convicted person's financial obligations unless it is impossible for him to fulfill them.

The Assistant Minister for the Prison Service Sector issues the pardon decision, indicating the duties imposed on the released person in terms of his or her place of residence, way of living, and ensuring his or her proper functioning, as determined by the Minister of Justice. Prisoners in military prisons are held by the Director of the Prison Service for prisons administered by him and by order of the Director of Security for Prisons of Security Directorates.

Also, imprisoned people may apply for a conditional pardon, to the Attorney General "in Al Rehab" or to the Head of the Prison Service Sector, and in case of difficulty or difficulty in submitting a communication, they may send it by telegraph registered with access by calling 124, heading to the nearest Telephone Central and editing the telegraph registered with access, or submitting it electronically on the prosecution website.

A third type, is "health pardon", since it is the release of a prisoner or remand in custody, given his state of health, upon the decision of the health release commission, is constituted for this purpose, and its decision is approved by the Attorney General or Military Prosecutor as the case may be and is chaired by a forensic physician.

A remand in custody is entitled to a decision on health pardon if the conditions are met. The legislator, in article 36 of the Prisons Organization Act, establishes the conditions for applying the regime of health pardon to the convicted person.

Several procedures must be followed in attempts to obtain a healthy pardon for a prisoner, namely the issuance of medical reports showing the medical condition of the prisoner, which show that he has a life-threatening illness if he continues to be imprisoned, and the submission of a request to the Attorney-General "Office for International Cooperation", attached to the above-mentioned medical reports, which is examined and sent to the Prison Service for necessary legal action.

The third stage is the inmate's offer to a forensic doctor to examine him and attach a medical report to his condition. If he is found to have a life-threatening illness if he remains in custody, he shall be submitted to the Director of the Medical Department of the Prison Service for a decision on the release decision. In addition to the establishment of a committee of the Prison Service to sign a medical examination to ensure that his continued imprisonment is life-threatening, medical reports are submitted to the Attorney-General for decision in the application for health release, either to accept the application and to issue a decision on health release or to refuse. If the application is rejected, the decision can be appealed to the Administrative Court.

Towards a Homeland without Detainees, Torturing, and Oppressive Victims!

Human rights institutions launch their initiatives and campaigns to demand the release of prisoners and improve the human rights profile

Lists to be presented to the Amnesty Commission and a campaign to convey the voices of victims' families to the authorities responsible for the release of prisoners.

From the very first moment of talking about the restructuring of the Presidential Pardon Commission and the release of prisoners in cases of a political nature, several Egyptian human rights institutions announced their initiatives and campaigns to prepare lists of names of persons held in pretrial detention, whether in political or criminal cases, as well as the names of others who have been in disappearance for various periods, with a view to submitting them to the Amnesty Commission for decision and for release.

In two phases, the institutions of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, the Nadim Centre, the Foundation for Freedom of Thought and Expression, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, the Cairo Centre for Human Rights Studies, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Freedom Initiative

sent its list of nearly 3 thousand prisoners' names. The first list included 2,418 cases, and the second included 536 cases

Several human rights institutions had issued their demands in May 2021 before discussing any breakthrough in Egypt's human rights file, in 7 specific demands, notably the release of prisoners of conscience and political detainees, underscoring the need to terminate the file of pretrial detention and political prisoners so that they could start a national dialogue if there were genuine intentions to do so.

On 1 July 2022 Egyptian human rights organizations and human rights defenders launched a new human rights campaign, "Until the Last Prisoner", in which they called for the implementation of four main principles; it is the achievement of justice, that every political prisoner has equal and equitable opportunities to examine his or her situation on an objective basis, that there is transparency, that the decisions to release are made in accordance with declared and previously known criteria for detainees, their relatives, and society, and that the decisions to release include all the conditions declared without exception.

The campaign stated that the first steps of reform and the fundamental guarantee of the seriousness of the national dialogue are the state's recognition of repressive security practices committed daily, and the release of detainees solely for the expression of their views; otherwise, the national dialogue will just become a new attempt to save face which is added to the national human rights strategy launched last September

It should be noted that the Presidential Pardon Committee, with its first composition, was one of the outputs of the National Youth Conference, held in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2017, and was tasked with reviewing all cases and files of politicians in custody If they are not involved in acts of violence, to be released by decision of the President of the Republic, in accordance with the Egyptian Constitution's rights under article 155, which stipulates that "The President of the Republic, after taking the opinion of the Council of Ministers, pardons or commutes the sentence A blanket amnesty shall only be a law approving the consent of a majority of the members of the House of Deputies "

Since the restructuring of the Presidential Pardon Commission, the Egyptian authorities have issued decisions to release dozens of prisoners of conscience, but opponents consider such decisions insufficient and that anyone who has not been involved in violent cases is required to be released

In his dialogue with the BBC, Mohamed Lutfy, Executive Director of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, says that the release of these prisoners "will extinguish the fire of thousands of families throughout Egypt It proves to all that the practice of political action is no longer a taboo for which we risk our lives. " He adds that the recent release of some political prisoners is welcome but not sufficient.

Lutfy explains that the situation of public freedoms in Egypt has been so bad that any movement is a gesture of kindness, even a glimmer of hope, "but we are still plunged into severe repression We are still under the ground or underwater, and we need more quick action "to demonstrate that the State is determined to change the status quo.

Lutfi called on the Attorney-General to release those held in pretrial detention in cases of opinion and expression and to make amendments to the articles on preventive detention in the Code of Criminal Procedure in order to comply with the Egyptian Constitution and the human rights instruments and declarations signed by Egypt

Dr. Hani Nasira, a political writer, praises the role of Egyptian rights institutions at home, saying: In-house rights institutions played important roles in demanding the release of detainees of opinion, paying attention to many cases according to their interest and orientation, but advocacy and participation have always been permanent, some of which cannot be denied in legal support, support, defence, and demanding, a role mentioned, well-known and undeniable

The release of prisoners of conscience escalated in June and was placed as a first step before the National Dialogue. A number of symbols of the Civic Democratic Movement, including Kamal Abu-Eita, a member of the Presidential Amnesty Commission, praised the president of the Democratic People's Alliance Party for these demands and considered it a key guarantee of success

At the same level, Medhat al-Zahid, chairman of the Socialist People's Alliance Party, says in press releases that "thousands of remand-inmates need only a decision from the Attorney-General, including those who have remained in prison in custody more than two years after disturbing, recycling, and preventive detention, have turned into disguised arrest and recycling".

He added: "There is consensus that the pretrial detention law is unjust and it must be amended, which is originally an unnecessary precaution in the case of prisoners of conscience, who are not murderers or thieves threatening the society, and who, as owners of the opinion, will not mess with the evidence of their conviction, but are proud of their dissenting opinions and cannot influence witnesses.

"The continued detention of prisoners of conscience is an affront to Egypt, the State, and the judiciary Pardon is necessary only for those who have been sentenced, and they are a limited number. We request that they be pardoned consistent with the wisdom of ending the emergency situation and courts and consistent with the pardon of our friend Husam Moeness, whom, we hope, will be well-compensated for the years of injustice, and finally consistent with the call for a national dialogue that cannot take place while Egypt’s conscience and mind are behind the cells " .

The member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, Attorney Tariq Al-Awadi, also reiterated the need to release prisoners of conscience and to take action that would protect the freedom of the press before the beginning of the national dialogue. Many of those imprisoned for violence-related cases were mistakenly understood by their social media posts as calls for violence, and we are pressing for reconsidering his files "

Until the Last Prisoner; A Life Ring facing endless confinement!

Human rights defenders launch campaign to demand prisoners' release

The campaign is putting its control on justice. Transparency Inclusion... Speed. Widespread criticism of the slowness in finalizing the prisoners' file.

Campaign Leader: We Seek to End Egypt's Political Prisoners File through a Comprehensive Presidential Pardon.

In the past weeks, defenders and women human rights defenders have launched the campaign "until the Last Prisoner", with the aim of talking about prisoners in cases of a political nature; inventorying, preparing, and submitting lists to the Presidential Pardon Commission for release, while highlighting the suffering of their families due to long years of absence without trial or release.

The release of detained politicians and those accused of freedom of opinion and expression cases is a repeated demand by human rights organizations and human rights defenders, as well as the detainees' families, who appeal to the competent authorities to respond to them. But appeals and demands alone are not enough, so defenders and human rights defenders have decided to launch this campaign to unite efforts

The campaign set out a set of controls for the release of Egypt's political prisoners, representing the 4 points: "Justice, transparency, inclusiveness, and speed " On the basis of justice, the campaign affirmed that every political prisoner has equal and equitable opportunities to examine his or her situation on an objective basis, as well as transparency in decisions to release according to declared and previously known standards and controls for detainees, their relatives, and society

The campaign stressed the need for inclusiveness, namely, that decisions to release include all those who meet the stated criteria without exception. This process, like its predecessors, should not take years to add to the already lost ages of thousands of prisoners and their health and human suffering

The campaign "Until the Last Prisoner" launched its first statement, on 2 July 2022, outlining its objectives and the controls it operates on. At that time, she invited all individuals, organizations, political parties, media organizations, victims' family associations and others interested in human rights to join them

In the same vein, one of the campaigners, "Even the Last Prisoner", said that the campaign aimed to end the file of political prisoners in Egypt by requesting the President of the Republic to issue a comprehensive presidential amnesty for all prisoners who had been charged with unified charges based on security inquiries, including enforced disappearances. while ensuring that the arrest and enforced disappearance of any exhibitions or violators cease.

In his remarks, he explained that the idea of a blanket amnesty is not new to Egypt, since at every historic juncture the Authority then carried out such actions as a gesture of goodwill towards the people and a renewed vision for the future. The source noted that the idea of the campaign is a continuation of civil society efforts to make initiatives to stop Egypt's unprecedented deterioration in human rights situations over the past years, such as the seven-step initiative announced in May 2021.

Regarding future plans for the campaign, he said: "The campaign will constantly highlight the most important figures indicating the gravity of the file of political prisoners, in addition to launching a petition for signature from institutions, parties, public figures, regional and international institutions, victims' families and citizens adopting the demands of the campaign, in order to demand a comprehensive pardon from the President of the Republic "

Earlier, on 23 May 2022, human rights organizations had prepared the first list of a group of prisoners and submitted it to the Pardon Committee on the basis of an informal form offered by the organizations to communicate with the detainees' families Counsel Tariq al-Awadi, a member of the Presidential Pardon Commission, said that the Commission was suffering from bureaucracy and the slow procedures while handling prisoners' files.

He said: "The number of persons released from the Department of Public Prosecutions is more than 500 and added that 7 human rights organizations had volunteered to collect the number of detainees and receive the requests of the families, noting that the organizations had sent the Committee 2400 names, including 300 criminal prisoners. "

In the same vein, Kamal Abu Eita, a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, explained in media statements that the secret behind the delay in issuing a new list is for reasons not related to the Committee, but to those examining cases. In press statements, he said: "Those who want to rid the country of pain, and those who refuse, I wish everyone to realize the nature of the stage we are going

through, and I complain to God that the presidential orders of the Presidential Pardon Commission have not been implemented", stressing that the extreme slowness is "not in the favour of the nation nor in the favour of national dialogue."

Besides the first list prepared by rights organizations, the second list was sent to members of the Presidential Pardon Commission, on 27 July 2022, with 536 cases in Egyptian prisons The first list included 2,418 cases, of which only 49 were released, by decisions of the criminal courts or prosecutors' offices, equivalent to less than 2%, of whom 2 were recycled in new political cases with the same accusations A total of 2,954 cases were sent, 2,583 in political cases, 241 in criminal cases, and 130 in cases of enforced disappearance, according to the organizations' statement