• The March 11 acquittal of the only military officer charged in the “virginity tests” trial is a blow for any hopes of accountability for the abuses women have experienced at the hands of the Egyptian military over the past year. The military has failed to investigate and punish credible claims of other instances of violence by its members against women, including the beating and torture of women demonstrators by military officers on March 9 and December 16, 2011.

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Egypt

  • May 7, 2012

    Egypt’s parliament on May 6, 2012, approved amendments to the Code of Military Justice that failed to end the unprecedented expansion of military trials of civilians, despite pleas for reform from the legal and human rights communities. In 2011 more than 12,000 civilians, including children, faced unfair military trials which fail to provide the basic due process rights of civilian courts, more than the number of military trials of civilians during 30 years of rule by former president Hosni Mubarak.

  • Apr 7, 2012
    The March 11 acquittal of the only military officer charged in the “virginity tests” trial is a blow for any hopes of accountability for the abuses women have experienced at the hands of the Egyptian military over the past year. The military has failed to investigate and punish credible claims of other instances of violence by its members against women, including the beating and torture of women demonstrators by military officers on March 9 and December 16, 2011.
  • Mar 27, 2012
    Egypt’s military courts have investigated or tried at least 43 children over the past year,including the pending trial of 16-year-old Ahmed Hamdy Abdel Aziz in connection with the Port Said football riots.
  • Mar 13, 2012

    Since assuming power, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) of Egypt has failed to address several serious human rights problems in the country, and in many cases has exacerbated them.  

  • Mar 7, 2012
    The Egyptian authorities should drop the charges against 43 workers with nongovernmental organizations who are charged with operating “unlicensed” groups under a repressive law.
  • Feb 11, 2012
    The climate for free expression in Egypt has worsened since Hosni Mubarak was ousted a year ago. Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) should act to end assaults on journalists by security forces. It should cease prosecutions based on laws violating media freedoms, and the country’s newly elected parliament should promptly repeal those laws.
  • Feb 5, 2012
    Egyptian authorities should drop all charges against unregistered nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and stop the criminal investigation of such groups. Authorities should not take action against NGOs until Egypt’s new parliament proposes legislation consistent with international legal standards, Human Rights Watch said. The organizations under investigation are not registered under the Mubarak-era Associations Law, in many cases because the government failed to respond to their requests to register.
  • Jan 25, 2012

    As Egypt marks the first anniversary of the Jan. 25 civilian revolt that eventually toppled the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, there's no agreement – on how to celebrate or even whether rejoicing is in order.

  • Jan 24, 2012

    The Egyptian military’s announcement on January 24, 2012, that it will lift the state of emergency except in cases of “thuggery” is an invitation to continued abuse, Alkarama and Human Rights Watch said today. The two rights groups said that the government should use the regular penal code and civilian criminal courts to address alleged criminal activity. It should also repeal Law 34, which criminalizes participation in strikes during a state of emergency.

  • Jan 16, 2012
    Egypt’s newly elected parliament should urgently reform the arsenal of laws used by the Mubarak government to restrict freedoms, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today outlining priority areas for legislative and institutional reform. These laws were used to curb free expression and criticism of government, limit association and assembly, detain people indefinitely without charge, and shield an abusive police force from accountability.