Human Rights Watch today called on Egyptian authorities to release Farid Zahran, a Cairo publisher and activist for Palestinian rights. Plainclothes security officials abducted Zahran on a Cairo street on September 20, and the next day prosecutors ordered him held for fifteen days without charges.
Zahran, 44, who runs Al Mahroosa publishing house, is a leading member of the Coordinating Committee of the Egyptian People’s Committee for Solidarity with the Palestinian Uprising (EPCSPU). The EPCSPU has called for a demonstration on September 28 to mark the end of the first year of the current Palestinian uprising.
Zahran is the first political activist to be arrested by the Egyptian government since the September 11 attacks in the United States. Human Rights Watch expressed concern that the government would use the anti-terrorism campaign to silence critics of government policy, citing President Mubarak’s recent remark that “human rights arguments should not be put forward on all occasions.”
“We hope that Mr. Zahran’s arrest is not the first in a new wave of repression against people trying to express peacefully opinions the government doesn’t want to hear,” said Joe Stork, Washington director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. “The government should release him immediately.”
According to eyewitness accounts, Zahran was abducted by plainclothes personnel of the State Security Intelligence (SSI – Mabahith Amn al-Dawla) shortly after midday outside the al-‘Ogail store on al-Tayaran Street in Cairo’s Madinat Nasr district. They drove him to his home nearby, where they seized papers and personal belongings. He was held overnight in SSI headquarters on Lazoghly Square.
The next day, the State Security Prosecution (Niyabat Amn al-Dawla) ordered Zahran held in preventive detention for fifteen days without formal charges. Lawyers who attended the interrogation told Human Rights Watch that Zahran was accused of disseminating tendentious information aimed at disturbing public order, and planning public marches and demonstrations. The prosecution authorities failed to clarify which legislation formed the basis for these accusations.
An SSI official phoned Zahran on September 19 and summoned him to SSI headquarters, but then postponed the meeting to the next day outside the al-‘Ogail store. Zahran had asked a fellow EPCSPU member to accompany him as a measure of protection, but when that person arrived, eyewitnesses said that plainclothes SSI personnel had already taken him away.
Zahran suffers from diabetes and a serious heart condition, and his family has expressed fears for his health. Zahran’s wife told Human Rights Watch that when she enquired about him at SSI headquarters the night of his arrest SSI officials informed her that he was not being held there. On September 25, she was able to visit him at Mazra’at Tora Prison after much difficulty. She gave him a further supply of medicines but he had not as yet had access to a doctor.
“The authorities must ensure that persons in their custody are treated humanely,” Stork said. “Farid Zahran should get whatever medical attention he needs without further delay.”
BACKGROUND
The EPCSPU, set up in Cairo in October 2000 by Egyptian human rights activists and other professionals, currently has several hundred members. Its aims are to generate support for Palestinians under Israeli occupation, and to provide foodstuffs and household goods to offset hardships stemming from the clashes that began a year ago.
On September 10, 2001, the EPCSPU participated in a large demonstration in al-Tahrir Square comprising representatives of opposition political parties and trade unions. The demonstration, held amid tight security, coincided with the end of a two-day meeting of Arab foreign ministers discussing Israeli policy towards Palestinians. Reuters reported that the gathering was largely peaceful; some demonstrators burned U.S. flags and raised placards condemning U.S. support for Israel and calling for a boycott of U.S. goods. When EPCSPU members and other demonstrators attempted then to march to the nearby U.S. embassy to deliver a letter of protest, security forces prevented them from doing so and severely beat several, according to eyewitnesses.
In the autumn of 2000, hundreds of Egyptians, mainly university students, took to the streets to protest the government’s perceived acquiescence to U.S. policy regarding Israel and the Palestinians. Many were rounded up and held for days without charge, and over twenty were held for weeks in preventive detention. Following their release, several reported that they had been beaten while in SSI custody and, in at least one case, severely tortured.
The arrest of Farid Zahran takes place against a backdrop of serious erosion of basic civil rights for Egyptian citizens. Under emergency rule, the government can arrest people at will, detain them for extended periods—even years—without charge, shut down publications, and ban public meetings.
