Human Rights Monitor demands release of Mahienour al-Massry and two others

The UK-based Human Rights Monitor group, along with a host of Egyptian political groupings, have denounced the rejection of an appeal for the release of three political detainees on Sunday.

The Raml Appellate Criminal Court in Alexandria rejected an appeal filed on behalf of the prominent leftist activist and human rights lawyer Mahienour al-Massry, along with two others who had previously been sentenced to one year and three months imprisonment, on charges of attacking and ransacking a police station in this Mediterranean city in 2013.

Massry remains in detention pending trial, along with two male defendants – the journalist Youssef Shaaban and activist Lo’aiy al-Qahwagi. This is their second appeal to be rejected, the first time being in September last year.  The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) described their ongoing imprisonment as a case of “arbitrary detention”.

FIDH called for their release, arguing: “This case is an illustration of a wider trend of repression against human rights defenders in Egypt.”

Prosecutors have charged the three defendants with injuring a policeman,  and damaging the police station and its contents. However, the defendants have repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack on the Raml Police Station, which took place nearly three years ago, on March 29, 2013.

The defendants’ lawyers say the charges are baseless.

This second rejection of their appeal has been met with criticism from Human Rights Monitor, together with outrage among political groups in Alexandria, and across much of Egypt.

HRM issued a statement on Sunday criticizing Egyptian authorities for their repression of political activists. The UK-based NGO added that the continued detention of the detainees also represents “the repression of the freedom of opinion and expression.”

According to the HRM statement, the ongoing imprisonment of Massry and her two co-defendants is aimed at “delivering a message to the Egyptian populace of subservience and surrender” to the whims of the ruling regime. HRM added that Egypt’s “judicial authorities are assisting the political regime in enforcing its repressive policies.”

HRM concluded by demanding the immediate release of the prisoners, and calling on the Egyptian state to uphold the basic principles of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with those in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (to which Egypt is party).

A loose coalition of opposition parties and groupings dubbed the “Coordination Committee for Political Forces in Alexandria” has issued a statement to the effect that this trial was politicized.

The privately-owned Al-Shorouk news portal quoted a statement from the coordination committee arguing that the trial of Massry and her co-defendants “again reveals that this is a case of score-settling against the (January 25^th) revolution and its youth.”

The committee expressed its “complete solidarity” with the detainees, adding that it is willing to provide them with all necessary assistance in hopes of guaranteeing their release.

Over the past two years, the vocal and active Massry has been jailed in relation to other political cases.

In 2014, she was awarded the Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize in recognition of her role as a lawyer fighting for human rights. This lawyer-based association is also involved in a campaign demanding Massry’s release.