SOS – Urgent Action: Detention of ESCR-Net Chairperson, Hossam Bahgat
Greetings,
On Sunday morning, 8 November, Hossam Bahgat, the chairperson of the ESCR-Net Board, was summoned by military intelligence, interrogated, and charged by military prosecution. He has been charged with publishing “false information that harms national interests” under new counter-terrorism laws that have been used to criminalize journalists who publish information that differs from the accounts of the Ministry of Defense. While continuing to serve as the chairperson of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Hossam has been working as an investigative journalist with Mada Masr. At present, Hossam remains detained.
Due to the urgency of the situation and in line with our agreed procedures, the Secretariat has senta letter to the Egyptian government, copying several UN Special Rapporteurs, calling for Hossam’s immediate and unconditional release, and denouncing legislation and practices aimed at silencing human rights defenders and journalists. Please feel free to disseminate the letter widely.
This situation is now being widely covered by Egyptian and international media, and many allies are also taking action. We will do our best to keep you informed of any developments.
For more information:
– Joint statement by the Forum of Independent Egyptian Human Rights Organisations – http://eipr.org/en/
– Joint statement by Front Line Defenders, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and EuroMed Rights: “Egypt: Free Hossam Bahgat, prominent human rights defender” –https://www.fidh.org/en/
– Amnesty International: “Egypt: Arrest of prominent activist Hossam Bahgat another blow for freedom of expression”- https://www.amnesty.org/en/
– Committee to Protect Journalists: CPJ calls on Egypt to release investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat – https://cpj.org/2015/11/cpj-
