The trial of human rights defenders Messrs Ahmed Seif El-Esalm, Gamal Eid and Amr Gharbeya has been adjourned until 26 June 2010.

Further Information

Mr Ahmed Seif El-Esalm is a human rights lawyer and director of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC), which was established in 1999 to provide legal support to victims of human rights violations. Mr Gamal Eid is director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), which distributes information regarding human rights violations in the MENA region and provides legal support to cases related to human rights. Mr Amr Gharbeya is a human rights activist and blogger. Front Line previously issued a news item relating to their case on 21 May 2010.

On 22 May 2010, Ahmed Seif El-Eslam, Gamal Eid and Amr Gharbeya presented before the Khalifeh court of misdemeanour, in case no. 8260/2009, on charges related to defamation and blackmail against Judge Abdel Fattah Murad and “misuse of a communication tool”. At the trial session, the defence team requested a copy of the case file, claiming that the Attorney General had denied them a copy, whereas one had been provided to the plaintiff, Judge Abdel Fattah Murad. The trial was subsequently adjourned until 26 June 2010.

According to the ANHRI, the charges stem from a joint publication, released on 11 February 2007, in which the ANHRI and HMLC alleged that Judge Abel Fattah Murad had plagiarised material from an ANHRI report “Implacable Adversaries: Arab Governments and the Internet”, without citing a source, in his book “The Scientific and Legal Principles of Blogs”. Amr Gharbeya subsequently posted the statement on his blog.

Judge Abdel Fattah Murad has, in previous cases, advocated the closure of 50 websites including that of the HMLC, and initiated cases against Gamal Eid and two bloggers on charges related to defamation. The defendants, however, were acquitted in both cases.

It is worth noting that both the HMLC and the ANHRI have questioned the neutrality of the office of the Attorney General in many human rights cases in the past several years.

Front Line believes that the charges against Ahmed Seif El-Esalm, Gamal Eid and Amr Gharbeya are a direct result of their legitimate work in defence of human rights, particularly civil and political rights. Front Line fears that the judicial persecutions against the three defenders are part of a mounting campaign by the authorities in Egypt to paralyze the work of independent human rights defenders. This includes the highly restrictive draft law on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) recently submitted by the Government to the Shura Council (People's Assembly) for approval. Front Line issued an urgent appeal concerning said draft law on 9 April 2010.