A/HRC/39/41 8. Egypt 32. Various United Nations actors addressed the situation of Mr. Ebrahim Abdel Moneim Metwally Hagazy, one of the founders of the Association of the Families of the Disappeared. Mr. Metwally was traveling on 10 September 2017 from Cairo to Geneva to attend a meeting with the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances on 15 September 2017. 7 Mr. Metwally had submitted a complaint on 3 April 2016 to the Working Group on behalf of his son, Mr. Amr Ibrahim Abdel Moneim Metwally, who was arrested on 7 August 2013 in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate by police and army security forces and who has been reported as disappeared (see A/HRC/WGEID/109/1, para. 35). The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights addressed this case in writing to the Government on 15 September 2017 and to the Human Rights Council on 20 September 2017. 8 On 3 October 2017, seven special procedures mandate holders expressed concern about his arrest and incommunicado detention (EGY 14/2017). The Government of Egypt replied to the Working Group (see below) and addressed the Human Rights Council on 20 September 2017. 33. Mr. Metwally was charged with founding and leading an illegal terrorist organisation, conspiracy with foreign entities or organizations to harm state security, and spreading false information. He was detained in Aqrab Prison for 15 days, pending the investigation, and reportedly subjected to ill-treatment and torture in detention. The Government responded to the special procedures on 8 November 2017, available online, but information has been received that he is still being held in solitary confinement in pretrial detention and cannot exercise his right to habeas corpus. 34. The Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances expressed its continued concern that the cases and charges against Mr. Metwally may relate to his documentation of cases of enforced disappearance in Egypt, including for submission to the Working Group, and requested an update from the Government on outstanding questions raised, including whether an OHCHR letter confirming a meeting with the Working Group is part of the criminal file of Mr. Metwally and is being used as evidence against him (see A/HRC/WGEID/114/1, para. 56). The Government replied that it was not yet possible to confirm whether Mr. Hegazy had been holding a letter from OHCHR as the items found in his possession at the time of his arrest were still being inspected, and the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances has subsequently requested an update on this matter. 35. On 31 July 2018 the Government provided an update to OHCHR, reiterating its previous communications with the Working Group, including its response to special procedures (EGY 14/2017) on 8 November 2017. The Government noted that Mr. Metwally was charged with leading a terrorist group (in association with the Muslim Brotherhood) and spreading false news, statements and rumours abroad about the internal situation in the country. It noted the case is still being investigated as Mr. Metwally is still being interrogated and his seized assets are being examined. The examination report of Mr. Metwally’s e-mail, phone, and CDs is still pending. The officer who conducted the investigation and who was responsible for his arrest and search still needs to be interviewed. The Government noted that Mr. Metwally was presented upon his request more than once to the prison hospital, where he was subjected to medical examination and care, was allowed to telephone his family and was given clothes, food, and medicine in his cell. The Government did not address the allegations of reprisals. 36. On 21 February 2018, five special procedures mandate holders addressed the prolonged nine-month pre-trial detention of Ms. Hanane Baderraddine Abdalhafez Othman, of the Families of the Forcibly Disappeared Association, as well as allegations of her being denied medical attention while in prison (EGY 4/2018; and see A/HRC/WGAD/2017/78, paras 89-93). Ms. Othman began to advocate for justice for victims of enforced disappearance and their families after her husband, Mr. Khaled Mohamed Hafez Mohamed Azzedine, disappeared on 27 July 2013 following his arrest by state security forces during a demonstration in Nasr City, Cairo district. She has documented cases of enforced 7 8 GE.18-13325 OHCHR, “UN rights experts dismayed by arrest of Egyptian lawyer Ebrahim Metwally en route to meet them,” 15 September 2017. OHCHR, “Report highlights rising reprisals against human rights defenders cooperating with the UN,” 20 September 2017. 25