- EGYPT
- September 7, 2015
- 4 minutes read
Rights Organization Condemns Continued Detention of Egypt Women
The Afro-Arab Center for Freedoms and Human Rights (ACFHR) has documented the presence of 91 women and girls currently held in Egyptian prisons and detention centers. Some of these women are being tried in military courts, such as student Heba Kishta, who was recently sentenced to two years imprisonment by a military court on charges of demonstrations on campus at the University of Mansoura.
There is also the oldest female detainee: (Ms) Wedad, 55, from Alexandria, who was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of demonstrations, road-blocking and damaging property, despite her illness and disability.
Also held in detention is the minor Mary Yasser, 15, detained from Alexandria; and Samya Shanan, who was sentenced to death in the Kerdasa clashes case; as well as the longest-held detainees: two sisters Rasha and Hend Munir, who were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The geographical distribution of the detention of these women and girls indicate that arbitrary arrests are taking place throughout the entire country, from east to west, and from north to south.
Two women detainees are from Beni Suef, to the south of Egypt; one is from the Sinai, in the north-east; while eight are from Alexandria, on the north coast; ten from Damietta; forty-four women detainees are from Cairo, and six are from Gharbiya. With other women detained from the rest of Egyptian governorates, the current number of women and girls held in Egyptian prisons and detention centers are 91.
Surprisingly, the number of Egyptian women detained in junta jails is almost four times the number of women detained in Israeli ones. This reflects the dramatic human rights situation in Egypt. The Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission’s August 2015 report confirmed that the number of Palestinian women prisoners in the jails of the Israeli occupation authorities recently rose to 25 (all of them are held in Israel’s Hasharon prison).
ACFHR affirms that the repressive policies currently pursued by Egypt’s Ministry of Interior against the Egyptian opposition will only make the situation more complex and desperate, and that the continued detention of women and girls violates all humanitarian norms. It also is a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations for Human Rights and the Egyptian Constitution, which guarantees the right of Egyptian women to freedom of expression.
ACFHR calls upon Egypt’s Public Prosecutor and the National Council for Human Rights to carry out their fundamental role to secure the release of these female detainees.
Cairo: Sunday – September 6, 2015
