Egypt Human Rights
Human Rights Concerns
The human rights situation in Egypt continues to be troublesome. Amnesty International has long-standing concerns on systematic torture, deaths of prisoners in custody, unfair trials, arrests of prisoners of conscience for their political and religious beliefs or for their sexual orientation, wide use of administrative detention and long-term detention without trial and use of the death penalty. In addition, AI is concerned that armed opposition groups have renewed attacks on civilians after several years of quiet.
Despite the difficult human rights environment, political reformers and human rights defenders in Egypt have made their voice heard. Bloggers in particular have been active in alerting the world to human rights abuses. The Egyptian government has responded by arresting two prominent bloggers, Karim Amer and Abdel Moneim Mahmoud who have been declared prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International
Amnesty International is also concerned that the war on terror is hindering human rights in Egypt. The country has been in a State of Emergency since 1981, and despite minor reforms, State of Emergency legislation continues to give the government significant powers to use special courts, detain political prisoners and limit speech. In at least two cases, American intelligence officials have allegedly been linked to illegal renditions of Egyptians back to the country, where they have been allegedly tortured. A new Amnesty report, "Egypt - Systematic abuses in the name of security" highlights the impact on human rights in Egypt of the government's counter terrorism measures and the decades-long state of emergency.
Take Action: Blogger Karim Amer
One year ago, Egyptian blogger Karim Amer was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for the "crime" of publishing on the internet material critical of Islam and President Mubarak. Take action to help free this prisoner of conscience.
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