A/HRC/39/41 disappearances for submission to the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances. 37. Ms. Othman was the subject of a previous communication by four special procedures mandate holders on 6 July 2017 (EGY 9/2017) that concerned her arrest on 6 May 2017 at the Al Qanater Al Khayriyah Prison in the Governorate of Qalyubiya, where she went to enquire about the fate and whereabouts of her husband. Following her arrest, she was brought to the Public Prosecutor of Shubra El Kheima in the Governorate of Qalyubiya, and charged with “belonging to a banned group” and “forming a women’s organization.” She is currently held at the Al Qanater Al Khayriyah Prison for women in reportedly inhuman conditions. The Government responded to the special procedures’ communication of 6 July 2017 on 30 October 2017. However, nearly six months after being detained, Ms. Othman remains in pre-trial detention, without being charged. There is concern that her detention may be an act of reprisal for her cooperation with the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances. 38. During its eightieth session in November 2017, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention rendered its opinion that the detention of Ms. Othman and other individuals was arbitrary, and requested the Government of Egypt to immediately release her and others and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations. The Working Group also referred the case to the Coordinating Committee of special procedures and the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (see A/HRC/WGAD/2017/78, paras. 89-93). There has been no Government response to the communication of the special procedures of 21 February 2018. 39. In an update to OHCHR on 31 July 2018, the Government noted that the investigations indicated that the accused is involved in a number of women’s groups, which aim to monitor officers and individuals, as well as the cars they use for transportation for the purpose of targeting them through terrorist operations. The Government confirmed that the accused is currently in Qanatar prison for women and is charged with joining a terrorist organisation in case number 5163 of 2017, Administrative Qanatar Khayreya Police Station. She has been provided with medical treatment. The Government did not address the allegations of reprisals. 9. Guatemala 40. On 30 November 2017, five special procedures mandate holders raised concerns regarding allegations of criminal charges against Mr. Jerson Xitumul Morales, a journalist who regularly collaborated with OHCHR Guatemala by providing information on the human rights situation in Izabal (GTM 6/2017). On 11 November 2017, Mr. Xitumul Morales was arrested in the city of El Estor, and accused of threats, instigation to commit a crime, illicit association, illicit meetings and demonstrations, damages and illegal detention. These accusations were related to demonstrations in May 2017 organized by fishermen from El Estor to protest against the alleged pollution of Lake Izabal by the mining activities of the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN). The participation of Mr. Xitumul Morales in the protests was limited to covering the events in his capacity as a journalist, narrating the facts and denouncing alleged excessive use of force. 41. The arrest of Mr. Xitumul Morales took place four days after personnel from the OHCHR office in Guatemala met with the mayor of El Estor to discuss the problems of the protests against mining activity in the region. During the meeting, the mayor reportedly accused Mr. Xitumul Morales, another journalist and seven fishermen of being part of organized crime. 42. At the end of his visit to Guatemala on 12 November 2017, the High Commissioner expressed support for the national human rights institution (Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos). 9 The statement followed reprisals faced by the human rights Ombudsman (Procurador de los derechos humanos), Mr. Augusto Jordán Rodas Andrade, allegedly due to his support to the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). In particular, following the President’s declaration of the head of the Commission as persona non grata in August 2017, Mr. Rodas Andrade filed an injunction order to prevent his 9 26 OHCHR, Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein at the end of his mission to Guatemala, 12 November 2017. GE.18-13325