Egypt :: Activist is released
It is still unclear what will become of the charges brought by the military against Hossam Bahgat, who was illegally detained for three days
The Egyptian activist and journalist Hossam Bahgat, founder of the organization the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, was released yesterday, November 10, after being illegally detained since last Sunday. In a statement published on the website of Mada Mars, where he works, Bahgat explained that he was not permitted to tell his family about his whereabouts or to contact a lawyer during his interrogation by the military prosecution. Afterwards, he was searched, blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, without any explanation about the status of his detention.
Despite his release, it is unclear whether the charges against him for writing an article critical of the government will be dropped. The Egyptian military prosecution claims that the information published by Bahgat “harms national interests” and has charged him with “disseminating information that harms the public interest”.
Read more: Conectas condemns detention of Egyptian activist.
“I wish for freedom for the thousands of people unfairly detained in Egyptian prisons,” said the journalist. “I reassert my rejection of the criminalization of journalistic work, the use of the Penal Code to imprison journalists and the trial of civilians in military courts.”
Bahgat’s release was welcomed by the UN. In a public statement, David Kaye, special rapporteur on freedom of expression, and Michel Forst, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, reiterated their concern at the ongoing harassment and intimidation of journalists and activists.
“We are deeply concerned that the fear of criminalization and of being detained, even if not ultimately charged, creates an environment that deters reporting and intimidates writers and activists of all kinds,” said Michel Forst.
The statement was endorsed by the rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Seon-Phil Hong; the special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai; the special rapporteur on torture, Juan Méndez; and the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Mónica Pinto.
Click here to read the statement by the UN.
