Report of UN Special Rapporteur on Counterterrorism on his mission to Egypt

An advanced edited version of the UN Special Rapporteur’s report on Egypt is out now. (A/HRC/13/37/Add.2, 14 October 2009). It will be discussed at the Human RIghts Council’s Thirteenth Session in March 2010.

In this report the Special Rapporteur examines the emergency law, criminal law provisions on terrorist crimes, and amended article 179 of the Constitution [...]

Airport security in Egypt

According to newspaper Almasry Alyoum, every month seems to bring new tales of airport security hassles for Egyptians and foreigners alike.
* June: Prominent blogger Wael Abbas was detained for 13 hours after returning from a conference in Sweden. His bags were thoroughly searched and, even after his eventual release, police kept his laptop computer and [...]

ICJ Submission for Egypt’s UPR and Russia’s HRC report

Read the Egypt document here and the Russia document here.

Egypt begins trial of 26 alleged Hezbollah spies

Egypt began the trial n the emergency state security court of 26 men suspected of links with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and accused of planning attacks inside Egypt.The case has highlighted the worries of conservative Sunni Muslim states like Egypt and Saudi Arabia about the increasing influence of Shi’ite Iran and groups, like Hezbollah, seen as Tehran’s [...]

Freedom of opinion and expression in Egypt in 2008 – ANHRI Report

Read the report here.

Enforced disappearance of 16 Egyptian nationals in ‘Zeitoun terrorist cell’ plot

Alkarama has sent an urgent appeal today to the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances asking it to intervene with the Egyptian authorities in the case of 16 Egyptian nationals who disappeared in Mansoura province between 2 and 26 July 2009, after being arrested by the Egyptian State Security Intelligence (SSI). These individuals were [...]

John Brennan on the US counterterrorism policy

Remarks by John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, As Prepared for Delivery “A New Approach to Safeguarding Americans, 6 August 2009. Read the speech here.
Interview with Brennan here. Comments in the LA Times and the WSJ.

Egypt steps up campaign against online political activists

Allafrica reports that  bloggers Abdel Rahman Ayyash and Magdy Saad were arrested at Cairo airport last week as they returned from a political conference in Turkey. Egyptian authorities have intercepted at least two other cyber dissidents at Cairo airport this month. On Jul. 18, blogger Ahmed Salah was reportedly detained at customs for several hours [...]

Reprieve suing UK over rendition of Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni

Human rights group Reprieve announced Tuesday that it is suing the British government over the rendition of Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni from Indonesia to Egypt, where it says he was tortured. The group alleges that the UK allowed the US rendition flight of Madni to stop on the British island territory of Diego Garcia, despite [...]

Egypt refers Hezbollah case to emergency court

Egyptian prosecutors have referred 26 men suspected of links to Lebanon’s Hezbollah to an emergency state security court, accusing some of planning to attack ships on the Suez canal and tourists in Egypt. A prosecution statement said some of the men had monitored shipping in the canal and tourist movements and had assisted Hezbollah operatives [...]