No space for dissidence in Egypt, warns HRW

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has rebuked Egypt’s interim government for its “zero tolerance” policy towards any form of dissidence in recent months.

In a statement released on Thursday, HRW said there has been a crackdown against those expressing political opinions that don't toe the party line, as seen in the arrests and prosecution of journalists, demonstrators and academics who had peacefully expressed their dissenting views.

“Journalists should not have to risk years in an Egyptian prison for doing their job,” said Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, in the statement.

The statement was issued on the same day that 20 Al Jazeera journalists headed to court for the so-called “Marriot cell” case. They face charges of belonging to a terrorist organization, fabricating news and threatening national security.

HRW also pointed to the prosecution of two prominent academics as a violation of the newly passed Constitution, which prohibits jail time for political dissidents, as well as the international charters to which Egypt is a signatory that guarantee freedom of expression.

Academic and former MP Amr Hamzawy was referred to trial along with 25 other defendants on charges of insulting the judiciary in January.

The charge was based on a tweet that Hamzawy wrote in June 2013, accusing the judiciary of being politicized. Hamzawy has been banned from travel and his case was referred to trial, but a court date has yet to be scheduled.

In a similar case, a political science professor at Cairo University, Emad Shahin, was charged with conspiring with foreign organizations to threaten Egypt’s national security in January. Shahin had already left the country when the charges were filed.

“Both Shahin and Hamzawy had been vocal critics of [former] President Mohamed Morsi’s government, but they had also criticized the bloody repression of the Brotherhood after the military removed Morsi from power,” the report noted.

“The prosecution of these journalists for speaking with Muslim Brotherhood members, coming after the prosecution of protesters and academics, shows how fast the space for dissent in Egypt is evaporating,” Stork said in the statement.

The statement also criticized the Protest Law issued last November, which HRW alleged has been used as a pretext for violently dispersing peaceful protesters and arresting them, including prominent activists.