Case History: Mahienour El-Masry

On 20 September 2015 El Raml Misdemeanour Court of Appeal in Alexandria upheld the sentence against Ms Mahienour El-Masry, Mr Youssef Shabaan, and Mr Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman.

Mahienour El-Masry works to promote judicial independence and prisoners' rights by organising peaceful protests, raising awareness through social media and organising support for political prisoners in the form of solidarity events and fundraising for bail for prisoners. Youssef Shabaan is a journalist and a defender of workers' rights. Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman is an independent youth activist and human rights defender, and is currently serving a prison sentence in connection to a separate case.

On 31 May 2015, El Raml Misdemeanour Court of Appeal imposed a reduced sentence of one year and three months' imprisonment on Mahienour El-Masry, Youssef Shabaan, and Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman. This followed an appeal application by the three human rights defenders, which was heard on 11 May 2015, after which the court ordered thepreventive detention of Mahienour El-Masry and Youssef Shabaan, who were in attendance at the hearing, as well as of Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman.

The human rights defenders had appealed a two-year prison sentence issued by the El Raml Misdemeanour Court in Alexandria on 9 February 2014 on charges of “raiding El Raml Police Station”, “attacking a policeman” and other fabricated charges relating to “disrupting traffic”, “damaging content of the Police Station”, “spreading fear and terror among citizens” and “an attempt to smuggle prisoners”. The implementation of the sentence was postponed until the appeal hearing, upon payment of a 5,000 Egyptian Pounds fine (approximately €580) per person.

The charges arose out of their participation in a sit-in staged at the First Raml Police Station in March 2012. The human rights defenders were present with lawyers and others working for the protection of human rights, to ensure the implementation of a prosecutor's decision to release a number of activists who were being held at the police station.

Upon arrival at the police station, the human rights defenders were verbally abused by the police. They subsequently began a sit-in inside the police station, demanding that the prosecution investigate the police aggression against them. In response to the sit-in, police verbally and physically assaulted them. Some of those who participated in the sit-in were later released, but Mahienour El-Masry, Youssef Shabaan, Mohamed Ramadan and Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman, as well as six other individuals, were held in detention.

On 11 May 2015, El Raml Misdemeanor Court of Appeal in Alexandria ordered the preventive detention of human rights defenders Mahienour El-Massry and Youssef Shaban, along with Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman, who is currently serving a prison sentence in connection to a separate case.

The court heard the appeal of El-Massry and Shaban - the only defendants in attendance - along with those of Mohamed Ramadan, Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman and eight other activists. The Court excluded relatives, friends of the defendants, and journalists from attending the session. The trial was adjourned to 31 May.

The persecution of human rights defenders in this case is indicative of Egypt's now iconic crackdown on activists and NGOs. In July 2014, Egypt’s Ministry of Social Solidarity issueda deadline of 10 November 2014 for “all entities conducting civil society activities” in Egypt to register under the country’s highly restrictive NGO law. The government indicated that groups which failed to register would be subject to investigation and prosecution.

Less than three months after the deadline for organizations to register under the restrictive NGO law, President Sisi issued broad counterterrorism legislation in February 2015. The legislation can be used to persecute civil society organizations for legitimate and peaceful work investigating and defending human rights in Egypt.

Mahienour El-Massry works to promote judicial independence and prisoners' rights by organising peaceful protests, raising awareness using social media and organising support for political prisoners in the form of solidarity events and fundraising for bail for prisoners.

Youssef Shabaan is a journalist and a defender of workers' rights. Mohamed Ramadan is a human rights lawyer who previously worked for the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). He was also one of Mahienour El-Masry's defence lawyer in a separate case against her in which she and Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman, an independent youth activist and human rights defender, were convicted of violating the protest law, assaulting security forces, and disrupting traffic.

The current appeal relates to the sentence to two years' imprisonment issued by the El Raml Misdemeanour Court in Alexandria against Mahienour El-Massry, Youssef Shabaan, Mohamed Ramadan, Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman and eight other activists on 9 February 2014. The sentence was suspended upon payment of a 5,000 Egyptian Pounds fine (approximately €580) per person. The four human rights defenders were convicted of “raiding El Raml Police Station”, “attacking a policeman” and other reportedly fabricated charges relating to “disrupting traffic”, “damaging content of the Police Station”, “spreading fear and terror among citizens” and “an attempt to smuggle prisoners'.

The charges arose out of their participation in a sit-in staged at the First Raml Police Station in March 2012. The human rights defenders had come with lawyers and others working for the protection of human rights, to ensure the implementation of a prosecutor's decision to release a number of activists who were being held at the police station after being brought there on 29 March 2012 by members of the Freedom and Justice Party, an Egyptian political party formed by the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood. Upon arrival at the police station, the human rights defenders were verbally abused by the police. Subsequently, they initiated a sit-in inside the police station, demanding that the prosecution investigate the police aggression against them. In response to the sit-in, police verbally and physically assaulted the human rights defenders. Some of those who participated in the sit-in were subsequently released, but Mahienour El-Massry, Youssef Shabaan, Mohamed Ramadan and Loay Mohamed Abdel Rahman, as well as six other individuals, were kept in detention.

On 20 July 2014, the Sidi Gaber Appeal Misdemeanour Court in Alexandria upheld a sentence against Ms Mahienour El-Massry to six months' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 Egyptian pounds (€5,000), thus reducing the original sentence of two years' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 Egyptian pounds.

She was sentenced on charges of “protesting without a permit” and “assaulting security forces”.

Mahienour El-Massry was initially sentenced on 2 January 2014, in absentia, for violating the protest law, assaulting security forces, and disrupting traffic. The first instance court proceedings were repeated in her presence and a sentence to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 Egyptian pounds (€5000) was confirmed on 20 May 2014 by the Sidi Gaber Criminal Court in Alexandria. The court refused the defence lawyers' request to postpone the trial.

The sentencing referred to events occurred on 2 December 2013, when Mahienour El-Massry took part in a peaceful solidarity demonstration in front of Alexandria Criminal Court during the fourth hearing session in the case of Khaled Saeed, an activist and icon of the 25 January revolution, who was murdered by plain-clothed police officers. The human rights defender was not arrested during the demonstration, but was subsequently detained on an arrest warrant.

In a separate court case, Mahienour El-Massry also faces charges of assaulting security forces and raiding El Raml First Police station, along with other legal professionals. In March 2013, they had gone to a police station to investigate allegations that police officers had assaulted a lawyer who defended detainees accused of burning the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters. At the police station, Mahienour El-Massry and her colleagues were assaulted and then accused of assaulting security forces and raiding El Raml First Police station. The case was heard on 21 July 2014, when the judge postponed the hearing to 13 October 2014.

It is believed that Mahienour El-Massry's arrest is part of ongoing police harassment targeting the human rights defender in recent years in relation to her advocacy work providing legal representation to detainees and challenging human rights violations committed by the police.