Cairo: 29 March 2003

 In Defense of the Right to Peaceful Assembly

EOHR Issues A Report on Police Exceeds Used By Police on Protesters

 Article 2, Convention against Torture: No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political in stability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

 Article 54, Egyptian Constitution:  Citizens shall have the right to peaceable and unarmed private assembly, without the need for prior notice.  Security men should not attend these private meetings.  Public meetings, processions and gatherings are allowed within the limits of the law.

             The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) issues today a report on the exceeds of police against anti-Iraqi-war protestors.  Egyptian policemen used excessive force against demonstrators in Al-Tahrir Square and the Bar Association on March 21, 2003.  In addition, policemen and state security forces, arrested hundreds of protestors during demonstrations; they were detained at a number of police stations and central security camps.  While some of them were presented before different prosecutors (including state security prosecutors), others were released without being presented before any prosecutors.  Up until this point, 34 were released after having made bail.

            With this in mind, EOHR monitored several violations and exceeds committed by police against demonstrators; in addition to using excessive force to disperse them, they tortured and ill-treated them in other ways according to some victim accounts.  There were also blatant constitutional violations with respect to defendant investigative procedures.  This report includes a number of violations documented and monitored by EOHR field work lawyers who followed up on the prosecutions' investigations.  Field work attorneys also documented victim accounts and noted the names of those who were detained pre-trial. 

            EOHR calls on Egyptian authorities to release immediately those who are still detained, to close all files related to the protestors and to take the additional following measures:

• To immediately investigate police exceeds against protestors such that they  conform to the Articles of the Convention Against Torture, which was ratified by Egyptian authorities.  Article 12 of the Convention Against Torture states the following:  "Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction.";

• To abolish Gathering Law Number 10/1916 and replace it with one that comports with international and constitutional standards.  A possible requisite element of implementing a different law may be to notify Ministry of the Interior of all information related to the assembly (such as the date, time and place) to avoid suspending traffic;

• To remove all restrictions on the right to organize and form associations, political parties and syndicates as they are civil and political frameworks that participate in organizing and regulating the right to assembly.

            In this regard, EOHR reiterates its demands for the cessation of the Emergency Law which does away with many rights and public and personal freedoms, including the right to peacefully assembly.