Egypt: Sawaseya Says Detentions Threaten Freedoms

Sawaseya Centre For Human Rights and Prevention of Discrimination on October 22, 2006, released a statement in which it condemned the security crackdowns on the candidates of the Labors’ Union with the aim to block them from standing for the Union elections slated early in November of this year.

The centre in its statement called on the authorities to immediately release the detainees and stop all excesses which contravene with the law and pose a threat to freedoms, with the statement depicting the recent detentions as encroachment on the labor and professional rights in general.

 It called on the NGOs to monitor the election and extend aid and support to workers to secure their rights to choose their representatives with the Union. The detentions came after the Muslim Brotherhood earlier a week ago decided to field some of its members to stand for the November election.

The group opted to participate only in 15% of the seats allocated to the companies boards of directors and 50% of the seats affiliated to the Union , as well as participating in 1700 subsidiary committees nationwide.

 Apparently to deny the group access into the Union’s seats, the security authorities launched a random campaign of arrests which reached out to five of the Muslim Brotherhood candidates on their way to the Union to obtain their election credentials.