On 25 August 2020, Bahey Eldin Hassan, a prominent Egyptian human rights defender, and director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) was sentenced in absentia to fifteen years in prison by an Egyptian terrorism court.
This judgment comes in addition to a freezing of his bank assets, the closure of the Center and a sentence in absentia to 3 years in prison and a fine of 20,000 pounds for contempt of court on 19 September 2019. Bahey Eldin Hassan is regularly subjected to defamation campaigns and death threats by newspapers and television stations close to the authorities. For several years now, the Center has had to cease its activities in Egypt while pursuing them outside the country.
For years, and for decades for some of us, we have followed Bahey’s peaceful struggle for human rights in Egypt and other countries in the region and admired his full commitment to justice, respect for fundamental rights, gender equality and fraternity among peoples.
In all our meetings with him, whether academic or activist, we were able to note his sense of dialogue, his ability to listen and his availability for exchange.
By this appeal, we reiterate to him our friendship, admiration, and solidarity. We join all voices calling for an end to oppression, torture, unfair trials, and the repression of all dissident voices.
Freedom for the people of Egypt.
Click here for the list of signatories.