Conectas condemns detention of Egyptian activist
Since Sunday, Egypt’s military has been holding the human rights defender Hossam Bahgat at an unknown location
Conectas Human Rights has joined the global condemnation of the illegal detention of Egyptian journalist and human rights defender Hossam Bahgat, calling for his immediate release and the dismissal of all charges against him.
The Egyptian military has been holding him in custody since Sunday, November 8. Bahgat is the founder of the prestigious human rights organization the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and he currently writes for the website Mada Masr. He is an international reference on human rights issues in Egypt and was in Brazil in 2013 to participate in the International Human Rights Colloquium organized by Conectas.
Bahgat was arrested after publishing an article in the press containing accusations against the government. He was interrogated at first without the presence of his lawyers and, according to Egyptian organizations, he did not appear before the Prosecutor today. The military has also refused to inform his lawyers where he is being detained, in violation of Egyptian and international law.
The arbitrary detention of Hossam Bahgat adds to the growing list of serious and systematic human rights violations registered in Egypt. The harassment and criminalization of human rights defenders and the curtailment of freedom of expression and freedom the press are some of the most frequent abuses. The authorities have used anti-terrorism legislation to harass activists and journalists.
Egyptian organizations said today that the detention of Bahgat “is a form of direct intimidation that will have a chilling effect on any journalists seeking to push the boundaries of the limited space for freedom of expression in Egypt today”.
Click here to read the full statement from the organizations.
