- Title: U.N. rights office urges Egypt to free blogger, lawyer, activist
- Date: 18th October 2019
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT - SEPTEMBER 20, 2019) (VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) PROTESTERS CALLING ON PEOPLE GATHERING AT BRIDGE AND CHANTING (Arabic): "COME DOWN" MAN CHANTING (Arabic): "LEAVE" PROTESTERS BANGING ON METAL STALL CARS DRIVING PAST PROTESTERS GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (OHCHR) SPOKESWOMAN, RAVINA SHAMDASANI, SAYING: "Once again, we remind the Egyptian government that under international law people have a right to protest peacefully, and a right to express their opinions, including on social media. They should never be arrested, detained, let alone charged with serious offences such as terrorism, simply for exercising those rights." CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT - SEPTEMBER 20, 2019) (VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CHANTING (Arabic): "SAY IT, DO NOT BE SCARED, SISI HAS TO GO" PEOPLE CHANTING (Arabic): "WE WILL NOT LEAVE, HE WILL LEAVE" GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (OHCHR) SPOKESWOMAN, RAVINA SHAMDASANI, SAYING: "All those arrested and detained solely for exercising their rights or lending legal assistance to those who have been arrested, should be released immediately. We also remind Egypt of its obligations under international law to respect and protect the right of a person not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (OHCHR) SPOKESWOMAN, RAVINA SHAMDASANI, SAYING: "On the 12th of October, plainclothes security officers arrested Esraa Abdelfattah, a journalist and prominent human rights defender in Cairo. Ms. Abdelfattah was taken to an undisclosed place, where she was reportedly beaten because she refused to unlock her mobile phone. She was then allegedly forced to stand facing a wall for seven hours, after her phone was unlocked through enforced use of her fingers or thumb, enabling the contents of her phone to be searched"
- Embargoed: 1st November 2019 13:32
- Keywords: U.N. rights office Esraa Abdelfattah Egypt street protests alleged mistreatment in police custody Abdel Fattah al-Sisi activist journalist Cairo
- Location: CAIRO, EGYPT / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: CAIRO, EGYPT / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1ML2YV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The U.N. human rights office called on Egypt on Friday (October 18) to free a prominent blogger, lawyer and journalist allegedly mistreated in custody who are among nearly 2,000 people detained since street protests began a month ago.
Officials at the interior ministry were not immediately available for comment. The state prosecutor's office said in late September that it had questioned a number not exceeding 1,000 suspects who took part in the demonstrations.
Protests against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo and other cities have followed online calls for demonstrations against alleged government corruption.
Sisi, who came to power after, while army chief, leading the 2013 overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, has overseen a broad crackdown on dissent that has extended to liberal and Islamist groups, and which rights groups say is the most severe in recent memory.
Journalist and activist Esraa Abdelfattah was arrested by plainclothes security officers in Cairo on Oct. 12 and was reportedly beaten after she refused to unlock her mobile phone, Shamdasani said. Abdelfattah is on a hunger strike, U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing in Geneva.
Alaa Abdel Fattah, a blogger and software engineer, was released in March after serving a five-year sentence for protesting without permission, but was re-arrested on Sept 29, Shamdasani said. The same day, his lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer, was arrested while attending the interrogation, she added.
Abdel Fattah was struck by guards on his back and neck while being forced to walk down a corridor in his underwear, while al-Baqer has been subjected to physical and verbal abuse, and denied water and medical aid, Shamdasani said.
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