{"id":386,"date":"2020-05-22T12:21:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T09:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penlebanon.org\/?p=386"},"modified":"2020-06-09T15:11:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T12:11:33","slug":"60-organizations-call-for-release-of-all-artists-writers-and-journalists-in-pre-trial-detention-in-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penlebanon.org\/index.php\/2020\/05\/22\/60-organizations-call-for-release-of-all-artists-writers-and-journalists-in-pre-trial-detention-in-egypt\/","title":{"rendered":"60+ Organizations Call for Release of All Artists, Writers, and Journalists in Pre-Trial Detention in Egypt \u0631\u0633\u0627\u0644\u0629 \u0645\u0641\u062a\u0648\u062d\u0629 \u0645\u0646 \u0666\u0660 \u0645\u0646\u0638\u0645\u0629 \u0639\u0627\u0644\u0645\u064a\u0629 \u0644\u0648\u0632\u064a\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u062f\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u0631\u064a \u062a\u062f\u0639\u0648 \u0627\u0644\u0649 \u0625\u0637\u0644\u0627\u0642 \u0633\u0631\u0627\u062d \u0627\u0644\u0641\u0646\u0627\u0646\u064a\u0646 \u0648\u0627\u0644\u0643\u062a\u0651\u0627\u0628 \u0641\u064a \u0645\u0635\u0631"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Shady Habash died in Tora Prison at the age of 24. He had been behind bars for 793 days without ever having been charged or gone to trial.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection, together with<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Amani: Africa Creative Defence Network<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and over 50 NGOs and organizations around the globe, penned an open letter to Egyptian authorities calling for an open and transparent investigation into the jailing and death of Shady Habash, a 24-year-old filmmaker who died in custody on May 2, 2020.<\/span><\/p>

The letter also calls for the release of all artists and writers in pre-trial detention for merely exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression. You can read the full text of the letter below.<\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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For the Arabic version, please scroll down.<\/i><\/p><\/div>

Open Letter to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice<\/h6><\/div>


To His Excellency Omar Marwan, Egyptian Minister of Justice:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

We, the undersigned, call for an open and transparent investigation into the jailing and death of Shady Habash, a 24-year-old filmmaker who died in custody earlier this month. Furthermore, we call on you to immediately release all artists and writers in pre-trial detention for merely exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression.<\/p>

Habash died while being held in the maximum-security Tora Prison on May 2, 2020. Arrested in March 2018, he had been in pre-trial detention for 793 days, despite the fact that Egyptian law only allows a maximum of two years\u2019 pre-trial detention. Such detention is meant to be an exceptional measure of last resort to hold suspected criminals that authorities believe pose an imminent threat if released. All Habash did was direct a music video. His case never went to trial, nor was he charged with a crime.<\/p>

The public prosecutor issued a statement on May 5 claiming that Habash died from drinking sanitizing alcohol, thinking it was water, and a state autopsy report on May 11 allegedly confirmed the cause of death as alcohol poisoning. Such reports have several apparent inconsistencies, including whether Habash knew he was drinking alcohol and when\u2014or if\u2014doctors decided to transfer him to an external hospital. Even if the reports are taken at face value, Tora Prison officials were apparently medically negligent in their lack of response. Habash\u2019s fellow inmates reportedly yelled and made noise from their cell for hours while Habash was dying, to no avail. Habash\u2019s family deserves the truth about the circumstances surrounding his death\u2013\u2013and why he was illegally detained in the first place\u2013\u2013which can only be achieved through a thorough and proper investigation.<\/p>

Habash was one of eight people who were detained in March 2018 for their reported involvement in exiled musician Ramy Essam\u2019s song, \u201cBalaha<\/a>,\u201d which criticized the Egyptian government and was released in February 2018 on YouTube. However, Habash played no role in developing the song\u2019s content and only directed the accompanying music video. We remain seriously concerned about the continued pre-trial detention of Mustafa Gamal, who merely verified Ramy Essam\u2019s Facebook page, and Galal El-Behairy<\/a>, who penned the lyrics to \u201cBalaha\u201d and remains behind bars, serving a three-year sentence.<\/p>

It is our contention that these arrests were a grave infringement of freedom of expression, contrary to both international and Egyptian law. But these are not the only cases that\u2013\u2013we fear\u2013\u2013represent deepening repression of free expression and artistic freedom in Egypt. In recent years, we have seen a disturbing trend in the number of artists, journalists, and writers held in pre-trial detention in Egypt for expressing their views, including:<\/p>