Egyptian human rights group notes 'sharp decline' in freedom of expression

[News_Editor]

Egyptian human rights group notes 'sharp decline' in freedom of expression

2011-09-25 23:20:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) -- A human rights group on Sunday noted a 'sharp decline' in freedom of opinion and expression in Egypt following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak during a revolution earlier this year.

The Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemned recent measures taken by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) which was handed the power to govern Egypt after the revolution resulted in the ouster of Mubarak in February.

Earlier this month, SCAF declared the return of Mubarak-era emergency laws after a weekend of violent clashes between protesters and police at the Israeli embassy in Cairo. However, SCAF is now also using emergency laws to prosecute new crimes such as 'infringing on others' right to work', 'impeding the flow of traffic', and 'spreading false information in the media'.

When SCAF took over to govern Egypt in February it had promised to end the controversial emergency laws which were originally set to expire later this year. Instead, SCAF has even extended the duration of these laws until May 2012.

"Freedom of opinion and expression in Egypt is experiencing a serious turning point, especially with the insistence of the Military Council to enforce the emergency law and even expanding its competencies, regarded as a very worrying sign," ANHRI said in a statement on Sunday.

Among recent incidents is the refused entry to Egypt of French journalist Marie Edmee Josette Duboc and the brief detention without reason of famous Egyptian writer Amr Al-Shobaky, who is also an expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies as well as the head of Al-Bada'el forum and member of the Consultative Committee of Al-Adl party.

Furthermore, the emergency law was also used on Sunday to confiscate and destroy the print edition of the Sawt Al-Ummah newspaper. The head of the newspaper, Abdel-Halim Qandil, said in a statement that Sunday's edition included an investigation titled 'The scandal of Omar Suleiman's Intelligence - Why does General Murad Muwafi not initiate a purge of Mubarak and Suleiman's men?'

"Following a popular uprising that raised the slogan of freedom, it is contradictory that repression, confiscation and denying journalists and activists entry into Egypt without providing any reasons persist among the remnants of the practices of Mubarak's regime," ANHRI said.

The human rights group called on the Egyptian government to assure freedom of opinion and expression and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the emergency laws. ANHRI also demanded an explanation from the government regarding the recent incidents.

Mubarak, his two sons Alaa and Gamal, former Interior Minister Habib Ibrahim al-Adly and six other former senior officials are currently on trial. They face charges over the deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters during the 18-day uprising earlier this year, which toppled Egypt's 30-year-long ruler.

According to Amnesty International, at least 840 people were killed and over 6,000 people were injured during the violent repression. During the trial's first session, Mubarak pleaded not guilty to charges of ordering the killing of anti-government protesters and abusing his powers.

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