Egypt - Ongoing detention and deterioration in health of human rights defender

Your Excellency,

I am deeply concerned for the continued detention and the deteriorating in health condition of Mosaad Soliman Hassan Hussein (a.k.a. Mosaad Abu Fagr) who has been in detention in Borg Al Arab prison in the Alexandria desert since his arrest on 26 December 2007. Mosaad Abu Fagr is a human rights defender, blogger and writer working on behalf of the rights of the Sinai community in Egypt.

On 6 November 2008, two lawyers, Rawda Ahmed and Gamal Eid, visited Mosaad Abu Fagr and another detainee, Kareem Amir, in Borg Al Arab prison. According to their reports, Mosaad Abu Fagr´s health had seriously deteriorated; he “could neither stand nor walk without the aid of a fellow detainee due to the twenty days of the hunger strike he is on to demand improvement of conditions and his own release”. The two lawyers also complained that during the visit they were harassed by prison officers who confiscated the lawyer´s newspapers, delayed their visit with the detainees for four hours, forced them and the detainees to sit on the ground surrounded by four policemen, and allowed each visit to last for just ten minutes.

On 16 February 2008, the Lower Court ordered the release of Mosaad Abu Fagr but the Public Prosecutor's Office (PPO) appealed against the order. On 12 May 2008, the 14th penal section of the Abbassya Court rejected the appeal of the PPO. Despite these orders, Mosaad Abu Fagr has been detained for almost one year and the Egyptian authorities have given no indication of his release.

On 26 December 2007, Mosaad Abu Fagr was arrested at his home in Ismailia. The police reportedly searched his house, confiscating his mobile phone and the hard drive disc of his computer. Mosaad Abu Fagr was charged by the PPO with having ‘instigated rioting’ and ‘spending of public funds’ under Egyptian penal law. Mosaad Abu Fagr has a blog called 'Wedna Ne’iesh’ (http://wednane3ish.katib.org). Human rights defenders in Egypt believe that his arrest may have been an attempt by the Egyptian authorities to prevent Mosaad Abu Fagr from taking part in a peaceful sit-in that was being held by members of the Sinai community.

I believe that the detention of Mosaad Abu Fagr is directly related to his work in defence of human rights and fears that this may form part of an ongoing campaign against human rights defenders in Egypt.

I urge the authorities in Egypt to:

1.Grant the immediate and unconditional release of the human rights defender Mosaad Abu Fagr as he is being detained solely on the basis of his legitimate non violent human rights work;

2.Take measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mosaad Abu Fagr while in detention and ensure his freedom from ill-treatment and torture;

3.Take measures to ensure that all human rights defenders in Egypt, carrying out their legitimate work in human rights, are able to operate free of restrictions and harassment.

Yours sincerely,