A group of residents of the Wadi al-Qamar area in western Alexandria, located near a cement plant, had filed a complaint to the Environmental Affairs Agency (EAA) and the Public Prosecution in August 2015, alleging that emissions from the Alexandria Portland Cement were harmful to their health.
Press Releases & News
April 2018 ended as one of the worst months for the issuance of death sentences. Most of these were issued in ordinary criminal cases, not political, and in one case, 45 defendants were sentenced to death, leading observers to wonder if criminal judges in Egypt have any sentencing tools at their disposal but the death penalty.
We write to you in your capacity as members of the Consultative Group of the Human Rights Council in relation to the appointment of Special Procedure mandate holders at the 38th, 39th and 40th sessions.
The 28th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, May 3 each year, marks the first anniversary of the Egyptian authorities’ massive campaign to block press and media websites, which reached 98 blocked sites, according to the latest survey by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE).
The EIPR found that from September 28, 2016, when the church construction law was issued, to April 2018, state institutions have shuttered 14 existing churches that were hosting religious services prior to the closure orders. Four of these churches were closed this year, with Copts denied access to them and prayer services in them prohibited.
The report is of particular relevance to the meeting scheduled for April 20, 2 pm GMT, between World Bank officials and civil society organizations focused on tax justice and the disclosure policies of international finance institutions such as the World Bank and IMF.
The EIPR again urges the court to sentence the defendants to the maximum penalty allowed for the crimes for which they are charged, the prosecution having declined to charge the defendants with torture under Article 126 of the Penal Code and instead opting for assault leading to death.
EIPR recommends that all places of detention regulated by the Egyptian Prison authorities guarantee sentenced prisoners’ bimonthly and pretrial detainees weekly right to 60 minute visits—without a glass barrier or any other additional constraints.
The EIPR urges the president to use the authority imparted to him by the law to substitute the death sentence with a less severe punishment until the petition to reopen the case is considered. The president has previously commuted a death sentence against Mohammed Hussein on 22 January 2017.
EIPR sees this judgment as justice for the complainants and a recognition of their rights to health and environmental safety. The judgment is particularly important because current environmental laws and regulations allow heavy polluting industries such as cement and coal-powered plants to operate in residential areas.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights criticized the parliament for approving a government-submitted bill by a two-thirds majority vote in its general session on Tuesday, March 6. The bill amends provisions of the Penal Code (Law 58/1937) to stiffen penalties on persons convicted of the possession, importation, or manufacture of explosives. According to media sources, the bill introduces the death penalty for one of the crimes set forth.
A year after the displacement, the security situation remains unstable and Christians are not afforded a minimum level of protection. The displaced families are therefore unable to return to Arish, and in some cases people who decided to return were targeted and killed by masked men.
The undersigned organizations strongly condemn Cairo University intransigence in renewing the 2018-2019 sabbatical of the assistant professor at Faculty of Arts at Cairo University, Kholoud Saber and ceasing the payment of her due salary since October 2017. The signatories demand from Cairo University the halt of such unlawful procedures, especially since they are induced by state security interventions in academic institutions and work.
The Egyptian government implemented half of the measures required of it under the terms of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from April to December 2017, the second IMF review period.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights condemns attempts to intimidate the family and those who have acted in solidarity with the family of 22-year-old Muqattam victim Mohammed Abd al-Hakim Mahmoud, known as Afrotto, in order to influence the
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights is deeply concerned about the judgment issued yesterday by the Atfih Misdemeanor Court in the Giza governorate in case no.
The report is divided into two chapters: the first includes factual information on some cases in which death sentences were handed out and upheld during 2017; the second identifies patterns of human rights violations which some of the defendants sentenced to the death in praesentia faced in the course of trial proceedings.
The undersigned rights groups condemn the execution of three defendants, before yesterday, in case no. 93/2011/Ismailiya plenary military felonies, following a trial before a military court that did not meet fair trial standards. With this, 22 civilians have now been put to death following military trials in just three weeks, a toll unprecedented in Egypt’s modern history.
At least 19 civilians were executed within the span of a week, pursuant to sentences given by military courts that do not meet the minimum requirements for fair trials; an increasing number of militant attacks on civilians and military personnel were also recorded during this time.
The undersigned groups condemn the execution, today, of 15 people sentenced to death in case no. 411/2013/Ismailiya plenary felonies, known as the “Officer Tracking Cell” case. This is the latest in a series of death sentences handed down without regard for basic guarantees for a fair trial.
