{"id":2375,"date":"2023-09-01T13:04:29","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T13:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/egyptianforum.org\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2023-09-01T13:04:29","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T13:04:29","slug":"egypt-immediately-release-prodemocracy-advocate-hesham-kassem-and-cease-the-targeting-of-peaceful-dissidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/egyptianforum.org\/en\/egypt-immediately-release-prodemocracy-advocate-hesham-kassem-and-cease-the-targeting-of-peaceful-dissidents\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt:  Immediately Release Prodemocracy Advocate Hesham Kassem and Cease the Targeting of Peaceful Dissidents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"s3\">Egyptian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Egyptian prodemocracy dissident and press publisher Hesham Kassem, as his detention stems from the exercise of his freedom of speech, said 12 organizations today. While his trial is scheduled for 2 September, his lawyers have been denied access to his case file to date, thus undermining his due process rights. The circumstances of his detention and prosecution strongly suggest that this is a politically motivated persecution in retaliation for his opposition to the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">Kassem, one of the sharpest critics of President Abdelfattah al-Sisi and a veteran advocate of freedom of media and the press, is detained on trumped up defamation charges for sharing on social media newspapers article on potential corruption and will stand trial on September 2. Kassem\u2019s detention comes less than two months after he cofounded the Free Current, a coalition of liberal political parties and figures opposing the Sisi government and seeking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mc-doualiya.com\/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B7\/20230701-%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%B6-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%AE%D8%B5%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%B4%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81-%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1\"><span class=\"s4\">present alternative economic policies<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">Kassem is being targeted by Egyptian authorities for his peaceful opposition and prodemocracy work. We fear that he may join tens of thousands of political prisoners who were<a href=\"https:\/\/cihrs.org\/egypt-unjust-verdict-must-not-be-ratified-against-activists-mohamed-el-baqer-alaa-abdel-fattah-and-mohamed-ibrahim\/?lang=en\"><span class=\"s4\">harshly sentenced in sham trials<\/span><\/a>, or kept for years on end <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2022\/07\/16\/world\/middleeast\/egypt-prisoners.html\"><span class=\"s4\">in pretrial detention<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">Despite its atrocious human rights record over the past decade, Egypt is the recipient of substantial financial and economic<a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/egypt-imf-loans-keep-sisi-afloat-sinks-deeper-debt#:~:text=It%20is%20currently%20the%20second,almost%20%24155bn%20in%202022.\"><span class=\"s4\">support<\/span><\/a> from Western governments and international financial institutions. Although Egyptian authorities have been claiming recently to address the human rights situation, the detention of Kassem and the <a href=\"https:\/\/cihrs.org\/egypt-recent-arbitrary-practices-show-no-intent-to-improve-human-rights-situation-or-release-political-prisoners\/?lang=en\"><span class=\"s4\">recent surge of repressive practices<\/span><\/a> are yet another indication that Egyptian authorities have no intention of changing course. We call on the international community to demand the release of Kassem, and act in support of Egypt\u2019s swelling population of political prisoners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">On 19 August, although Kassem was summoned by the South Cairo Public Prosecution Office as a witness, he found out when he went to the prosecutor\u2019s office the following day that he is being questioned as a suspect in relation to a libel complaint filed by former minister Kamal Abu Eita. Kassem had earlier shared on his social media account newspaper articles concerning allegations of corruption against Abu Eita. The Prosecutor charged Kassem with defamation, and set a bail of EGP 5,000, \u00a0an unusual procedure in defamation cases,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acijlponline.org\/upload\/%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%20EN%20(1)(3).pdf\"><span class=\"s4\">according<\/span><\/a> to Kassem\u2019s lawyers, and as such, he petitioned having to pay bail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">The following day, while Kassem and his lawyers were awaiting the Prosecutor\u2019s decision regarding the request to abolish the bail, they learned that another complaint has been filed by three police personnel alleging that Kassem had verbally assaulted them while carrying out their duty. The case was referred to court with an urgent session set on Saturday 2 September. Kassem\u2019s lawyers have not been granted access to the case files, which compromises his right to a fair trial. Under international standards, defendants have the right to an adequate time to prepare for their defense, which requires courts and prosecutors to grant them access to case files.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s5\">Background on Hesham Kassem<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">Hesham Kassem (64 years) is a renowned Egyptian press publisher, human rights defender, and liberal politician. In the mid-1990s, he published the English-speaking magazine Cairo Times, which was forced to shut down due to <a href=\"https:\/\/ifex.org\/ongoing-government-harassment-of-cairo-times-magazine\/\"><span class=\"s4\">restriction<\/span><\/a>s imposed by the government. In 2004, he cofounded Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt\u2019s first independent daily newspaper in decades, which quickly became one of the country\u2019s leading newspapers and challenged the dominance of state-owned media. Kassem is the former chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. Hesham Kassem is also a former member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.movedemocracy.org\/\"><span class=\"s4\">World Movement for Democracy\u2019s<\/span><\/a> Steering Committee and a recipient of the National Endowment for Democracy\u2019s 2007 Democracy Award.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">In 2018, Kassem was one of the founding members of the Hope Coalition, an alliance of opposition figures and parties aiming to run as a joint list in the 2019 parliamentary elections. The coalition was ended after Egyptian authorities arrested and imprisoned several of its leaders, in what was later named the \u201cHope Cell\u201d case. In June 2023, ahead of the forthcoming presidential elections, Kassem cofounded the Free Current, a liberal coalition of opposition parties and figures, seeking to present alternatives to the Sisi government\u2019s political and economic policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\"><span class=\"s5\">Background on Political Prisoners in Egypt<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">Since the military coup of July 2013, the number of political prisoners in Egypt has exponentially grown. Tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience are either serving sentences handed down in grossly <a href=\"https:\/\/srdefenders.org\/egypt-fair-trial-violations-and-threat-of-long-term-detention-for-mohammad-el-baqer-joint-communication\/\"><span class=\"s4\">unfair trials<\/span><\/a> or are being detained in pretrial detention, sometimes for periods extending the two-year limit stipulated by Egyptian law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">Prison conditions in Egypt have significantly deteriorated over the past decade. Access to <a href=\"https:\/\/cihrs.org\/egypt-rights-groups-warn-of-collective-punishment-at-badr-prison\/?lang=en\"><span class=\"s4\">medical care and visitation rights<\/span><\/a> are granted arbitrarily, while some prisoners spend years in solitary confinement. In 2019, UN experts have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2019\/11\/egypt-un-experts-denounce-morsi-brutal-prison-conditions-warn-thousands#:~:text=Morsi.-,%E2%80%9CDr.,or%20two%20blankets%20for%20protection.\"><span class=\"s4\">warned<\/span><\/a> that thousands of detainees in Egypt \u201cmay be suffering gross violations of their human rights, many of whom might be at high risk of death. This appears to be a consistent, intentional practice by the current government of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to silence dissenters.\u201d Egyptian authorities still refuse to grant independent rights groups access to prisons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"s3\">In April 2022, President Abdelfattah al-Sisi called for a National Dialogue and subsequently a presidential pardoning committee was reactivated. However, according to the Till the Last Prisoner campaign, an initiative led by Egyptian human rights defenders, while authorities released 1,662 prisoners between April 2022 and mid-July 2023, 4,968 others were newly detained on politically-motivated charges.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s5\">Signatories:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">1. <\/span>Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">2. <\/span>Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti Violence Studies<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">3. <\/span>Committee for Justice<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">4. <\/span>Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">5. <\/span>Egyptian Front for Human Rights<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">6. <\/span>EgyptWide for Human Rights<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">7. <\/span>Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF)<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">8. <\/span>EuroMed Rights<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">9. <\/span>Freedom House<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">10. <\/span>International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">11. <\/span>PEN America<\/div>\n<div class=\"s7\"><span class=\"s6\">12. <\/span>World Movement for Democracy<\/div>\n<p class=\"s8\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Egyptian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Egyptian prodemocracy dissident and press publisher Hesham Kassem, as his detention stems from the exercise of his freedom of speech, said 12 organizations today. While his trial is scheduled for 2 September, his lawyers have been denied access to his case file to date, thus undermining his due [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-statements"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Egypt: Immediately Release Prodemocracy Advocate Hesham Kassem and Cease the Targeting of Peaceful Dissidents - Egyptian Human Rights Forum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/egyptianforum.org\/en\/egypt-immediately-release-prodemocracy-advocate-hesham-kassem-and-cease-the-targeting-of-peaceful-dissidents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Egypt: Immediately Release Prodemocracy Advocate Hesham Kassem and Cease the Targeting of Peaceful Dissidents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Egyptian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Egyptian prodemocracy dissident and press publisher Hesham Kassem, as his detention stems from the exercise of his freedom of speech, said 12 organizations today. 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