Dr. Basma Abdelrahman of the El Nadeem Centre for the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture

In March 2012, Front Line Defenders welcomed human rights defender Dr. Basma Abdelrahman from Egypt to speak in Dublin, Cork, Galway and London.

Dr. Abdelrahman is a psychiatrist with the El Nadeem Centre for the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Cairo. The Centre, established in 1993, is the only specialist clinic in Egypt that is dedicated to treating victims of torture and trauma. In addition to working to provide support and resources to torture victims and their families, Dr. Abdelrahman has campaigned against the use of torture in Egypt and has worked to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Dr. Abdelrahman spoke about her work at the Centre and provided a vivid and moving testimony of her personal experience at the protests in Tahrir Square in January 2011.

‘What we say now is that the revolution is ongoing. People will not give up their hopes and that is why it is so important for human rights defenders to keep struggling and to continue their peaceful fight for the basic human rights of the Egyptian people.

Front Line Defenders supported us even before the revolution - issuing urgent appeals when some of our members faced prosecution, through a security grant in 2005, and by inviting our Director and our Clinic Director to participate in the Dublin Platforms and share experiences with other human rights defenders from around the world. As Egypt enters a crucial time in its history, this support for the El Nadeem Centre and other human rights defenders in Egypt will be even more valuable.’

- Dr. Basma Abdelrahman