Three other staff members of Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2014-023-004
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2014
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 26.820553
Longitude: 30.802498
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Egypt
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic
- Dates of prior UN action
- 24 December 2013
- Type of record
- Unnamed individual/group/organization
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
Representatives of Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights, Head of the Documentaries Unit
- Type of rights defended
- Economic/social rights
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
cooperation with the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the universal periodic review of Egypt
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Treaty Bodies: CESCR
- UN Human Rights Council: UPR
- Dates of engagement
- Unclear
- Type of attempted engagement
- Unclear
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 18 December 2013
- Reprisal information
n 18 December 2013, around midnight, more than 60 police officers and security agents reportedly raided the offices of the Centre, holding staff at gunpoint. After damaging equipment and confiscating several laptops, officers arrested and blindfolded Mostafa Eissa, Head of the Documentaries Unit, Mahmoud Bilal, a lawyer at the Centre, Mohamed Adel, a volunteer, and three other staff members. The following morning, all of them, except Mr. Adel, were released and their property returned to them. It is alleged that during their detention, the men were blindfolded and handcuffed, were forced to stand and were beaten. On 22 December 2013, Mr. Adel was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately US$ 7,000), allegedly in relation to his participation in a peaceful protest on 26 November 2013.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Property damage/raid/search/confiscation
- Detention/Imprisonment: Release within a day
- Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
- Physical attack: Torture/Cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 14 March 2014
- Government response content
Government indicated that the legal measures taken by the security forces in connection with the arrest of Mr. Adel had no connection with the Centre or its managers.
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 0