I'm starting this thread to track news articles about Human Rights related issues in Egypt. I think it's important for anyone who is going there to read and know about.

Angry Egypt cancels talks with EU officials

By Alaa Shahine
Reuters
Saturday, January 19, 2008; 11:58 AM

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has cancelled talks with senior European Union officials after the bloc criticized the Arab country's human rights record, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

Egyptian analysts and rights activists said the government overreacted by cancelling the talks, which were due to cover a range of political issues including democracy and human rights.

But they said the squabble was unlikely to have longer-term repercussions, in part because issues such as trade ties were more important to both sides. The EU is Egypt's biggest trade partner. It accounts for nearly 43 percent of Egyptian imports and 31 percent of exports, including natural gas, according to the EU's website.

The spat arose after a European Parliament resolution, passed on Thursday, called on Egypt "to end all forms of harassment, including judicial measures, detention of media professionals and, more generally, human rights defenders and activists."

It also called for the immediate release of opposition politician Ayman Nour and for a change in the law on military courts, which critics say Egyptian authorities have sometimes used against the government's political opponents.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said the resolution had created a "tense atmosphere" that made holding the two-day meeting of the EU-Egypt Subcommittee on Political Matters "at this stage inappropriate." The talks were had been due to take place in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday.

Some Egyptian lawmakers called for ties with the European Parliament to be suspended.

Local and international human rights groups say torture is systematic in Egyptian jails and police stations. They also criticize the government for cracking down on political dissidents, journalists and bloggers who oppose its policies. Cairo denies systematic human rights violations.

"The Egyptian response was exaggerated and (reflected) a high degree of tension," political analyst Amr El-Choubaki said. He said Egypt hoped to discourage the EU from similar criticism in the future by cancelling the talks.

Mohamed El Sayed Said, a political commentator and editor of the leftist al-Badeel daily, said the issue would not harm bilateral relations, even though Egypt "will not implement any kind of (democratic) reforms.

"The issue will cool down in a couple of weeks and both sides will be negotiating new (trade) agreements again."

Egyptian rights activists have long criticised the European Union for not pushing President Hosni Mubarak for more freedoms and democratic reforms. They also blame U.S. President George W. Bush for abandoning his campaign for democracy in the largely autocratic Middle East.

"They (Egyptian authorities) are still euphoric that Bush is leaving (office next year) without carrying out the political reform he wanted for the region," said prominent rights activist Hesham Kassem. (Writing by Alaa Shahine; Editing by Caroline Drees)

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EU human rights criticism puts Egypt on the defensive
2 hours ago


An Egyptian protester breaks through a cordon of riot police with a national flag

CAIRO (AFP) — European Union criticism of Egypt's human rights record has forced government officials on the defensive over allegations of torture, the decades-old emergency law and the status of minorities.

Lawmakers present at the European parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday voted in favour of a resolution criticising Egypt's human rights record.

The resolution ruffled feathers in Cairo, with government officials slamming it as a flagrant interference in domestic affairs.

The text even prompted Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, long criticised by rights groups for cases of alleged torture in police custody, to hold his first ever chat with prisoners inside a prison, in a highly publicised visit.

"Egypt is committed to the protection of human rights in all security areas, including prisons and police stations," he said.

"The modernisation of prisons and the care provided to prisoners is proof of (Egypt's) respect for human rights," he said, touring facilities around Cairo prisons.

Rights groups say that abuse by security forces, including torture, is widespread in Egypt and that most cases go unpunished. Authorities say abusers are brought to justice.

Former UN secretary general Boutros Boutros Ghali, who now heads the government National Council for Human Rights, said that while a dialogue on human rights was healthy, there can be no universal measure for judging rights records.

"Egypt's human rights record is good," Boutros Ghali told the state-owned Al-Ahram daily in an interview.

"There is no ideal example of human rights that can be applied to all countries... The circumstances of every country differ," said the former UN chief, himself an Egyptian.

The resolution drew the customary knee-jerk reactions from Egypt's diplomatic circles who slammed it as interference, but in an unusually harsh tone, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit rejected it as arrogant and ignorant.

Ahead of the vote, he summoned 27 EU ambassadors in Cairo to protest the text.

"Egypt totally rejects attempts by anyone who takes it upon himself to be an investigator of human rights in Egypt," Abul Gheit said on Friday.

"Egypt does not need lessons from anyone, particularly if this party is arrogant and ignorant."

The resolution also called for the immediate release of jailed dissident Ayman Nur who mounted a campaign against President Hosni Mubarak in the country's first contested presidential elections in 2005.

An ailing Nur is currently serving a five-year sentence on charges widely seen as politically motivated.

The toothless nature of the resolution allowed Cairo to flex its muscles, at least for domestic consumption, observers said.

"Cairo's overreaction is intended to exploit the limited and insignificant European resolution to defend the gloomy state of human rights in Egypt which could be the Achilles heel of the regime," columnist Abdullah Iskandar wrote in the pan-Arab Al-Hayat.

The secular opposition movement Kefaya welcomed the resolution, saying it was time for Egypt's human rights violations to be exposed, while some in ruling circles saw it as a move to deliberately incite sectarianism.

Adly Hussein, governor of a Nile Delta province and member of the EU-Egyptian Association Council, in comments to the official MENA news agency, said he regretted the fact that the text "brought up issues of the utmost sensitivity" such as the status of religious minorities including Christian Copts and Bahais in Egypt.

"This issue is aimed at inciting sectarianism in Egypt... All Egyptians are united," he said.

In a November report, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said members of minority religions in Egypt suffer daily discrimination.

International organisations have repeatedly expressed concern about human rights in Egypt, including continued crackdowns on political dissent and the state of emergency in effect since 1981.

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Movies critical of police and government become hits in Egypt
4 hours ago
By: The Canadian Press

CAIRO, Egypt - The latest hit movie in Egypt opens with footage of Egyptian police brutally beating democracy protesters and ends with angry masses storming a police station where demonstrators are being tortured. The audiences cheer.

The film, "Heya Fawda" - Arabic for "It's Chaos" - is a rare frank look at police torture, corruption and political oppression that rights groups say is widespread in this top U.S. ally. It has been pulling in viewers and raising controversy since it opened in November.

"Egypt's anti-Egypt cinema" ran a headline earlier this month in Rose el-Youssef, a staunchly pro-government newspaper, whose editor wrote several long editorials denouncing the movie and accusing it of inciting people to revolt.

The movie comes at a time of intense polarization in Egypt. The government has successfully suppressed a wave of pro-democracy protests that erupted in 2005, arresting secular activists as well as hundreds of members of the main opposition movement, the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood.

But a layer of discontent with the rule of President Hosni Mubarak continues. The government has been faced over the past year by a string of labour strikes - more than 500 in 2007, demanding salary raises as the gap between rich and poor grows.

At the same time, bloggers have become more prominent in exposing police abuse. Videos of police torturing detainees have been posted on activists' Web sites, prompting authorities for the first time to prosecute and imprison several officers.

Even U.S. President George W. Bush made a veiled reference to Egypt's treatment of jailed dissidents in a speech last week in Abu Dhabi.

"You cannot build trust when you hold an election where opposition candidates find themselves harassed or in prison," Bush said. "And you cannot stand up a modern and confident nation when you do not allow people to voice their legitimate criticisms."

"It's Chaos" was directed by one of Egypt's most esteemed filmmakers, 82-year-old Youssef Chahine, and Khaled Youssef, a longtime Chahine protege.

"My movies are not calling for chaos, they are warning of it," Youssef told The Associated Press. The film "is not about torture, its about the repression and corruption that prevail in the Egyptian authority."

Audiences have responded: "It's Chaos" has already made more than US$2 million in the first month, more than any of Chahine's previous 30 movies did.

It tells the story of a corrupt policeman, Hatem, who tortures detainees with beatings and electrical shocks, takes bribes and stalks - and eventually rapes - the girl who lives next door to him, Nour.

The movie does make some apparent concessions to government sensitivities, likely aimed at ensuring it got past state censors. It begins with a statement saying the film does not intend to depict the police as a whole, only a few bad apples. It also depicts a heroic public prosecutor - Nour's fiance - who pursues Hatem and eventually brings him down, a nod to the recent prosecutions of police torture.

But it also shows Hatem's superiors in the police covering up for his crimes and has some pointed criticisms of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party.

"You have been crushing our hearts for more than 24 years. This is enough," the prosecutor's mother shouts at an NDP election candidate in one scene. In another plot line, the daughter of a top NDP official takes drugs, gets pregnant outside marriage and gets an abortion.

It also starts off with real footage taken from 2005 democracy protests that were put down by police beating and dragging away demonstrators.

It is not the first Egyptian movie to tackle the issue of torture - but it is one of the few that shows it so overtly.

"I didn't know there is such torture at police stations or prisons for ordinary people," said one viewer, Amal Zaki, 25, as she was leaving the theatre. "I thought they only torture terrorists," she added.

Egyptian Interior Minister Habib el-Adly defended the police Thursday, saying the entire force should not be criticized for the mistakes of a few officers.

"We can tolerate criticism and transparent review according to the rule of law and commitment to the constitution," el-Adly said during a speech celebrating police day in Egypt. "But we reject that individual mistakes be exaggerated in order to propagate the sick and weird delusions of some."

"It's Chaos" was followed by another sharply critical film - "Hayna Maysara," Arabic for "Until Things Get Better," about the inhuman conditions in Egyptian slums.

"Until Things Get Better" directed by Youssef, touches on a whole range of social ills and taboos - prostitution, drugs, promiscuous sex, lesbianism, street children and Islamic militancy - and shows security forces tackling problems with tear gas and brutal crackdowns.

It too sparked heavy denunciations in the pro-government press and constant debate on television.

Khaled el-Sergani, a columnist in the independent daily newspaper Al-Destour, said the criticism only highlights the reality of the films. "Why else would all these government writers be up in arms against them," he wrote.

General Fouad Allam, former head of state security police, warned that "It's Chaos" will "make people sympathize with the citizens against the police, it will reinforce us versus them. This is not in the state's interest."

"It's Chaos" ends with the angry masses storming the police station to liberate jailed political activists. Hatem, the police officer, shoots himself after he tries to kill the prosecutor.

"Until Things Get Better" ends with police surrounding a slum as they chase terrorists, who battle police then set the area on fire. The terrorists escape, while many of the poor die in the blaze.

The final cut is to a message from the director, Youssef, apologizing to the viewers "for failing to depict the real slum dwellers. Their life is far harsher."

Source

olivia, investigative reporter

good articles!

Thx!

I get what she is trying to do making a film about Human Rights in Egypt. However, I have to make a point here since I just took Documentary class last semester. I learned that any filmmaker that attempts to "reconstruct" a scene for a documentary film is discrediting themselves because it would not be a true documentary. It's true what the Egyptian government is calling it because it is "fabrication" and any serious documentary filmmaker would not want to make this mistake and be tainted by the film society.

Al-Jazeera Journalist Arrested in Egypt
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD – 37 minutes ago

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — An Al-Jazeera journalist already appealing one jail sentence was arrested again Monday while filming a documentary, allegedly without a proper license, her lawyer and police said.

Egyptian Howaida Taha, 44, a documentary producer for the pan-Arab TV news channel, was filming in a low-income neighborhood in Cairo when police detained her in the morning. Police later questioned her long into the evening, her lawyer Ahmed Helmi told The Associated Press.

Helmi, who was with Taha during the interrogation, said it was not clear whether his client would remain in custody overnight.

"She is under a constant police watch, they want to ban her from working in Egypt," Helmi said. He added that Taha had all the needed permissions issued from the Egyptian press center.

A police official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, confirmed the arrest and said four other people also were detained, including three crew members and an Egyptian human rights activist. All remained in custody.

Taha, who is known for her criticism of the Egyptian regime, was first detained last January for two days for possessing 50 video tapes that police alleged contained fabricated scenes of torture by Egyptian police. At the time, Taha said the footage was a "reconstruction" for her documentary on police torture in Egypt.

She was sentenced in May to six months in jail after a Cairo state security court found her guilty of "harming the country's interests" by "fabricating" the torture scenes.

At the time of her sentencing, Taha was in Doha, Qatar, where Al-Jazeera has its headquarters. She later returned to Egypt to appeal the verdict, and a decision on her appeal is expected Feb. 11, her lawyer said.

The torture documentary, "Beyond the Sun," was aired on Al-Jazeera in April, as Taha had kept copies of the confiscated tapes.

Rights groups say torture, including sexual abuse, is routinely conducted in Egyptian police stations. The government denies systematic torture but has investigated several officers on allegations of abuse. Some were convicted and sentenced to prison.

The documentary Taha was working on when she was detained Monday, "In the Shadow," deals with people living on the edge of society.

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seems like freedom of the press is a new concept over there

In the same category as Tooth Fairy, Keebler elves, and painless waxing !!!


I agree, Olivia. You're doing some great investigating and reading. I like your articles !

Thx!

Landmark case for converting back to Christianity from Islam.

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I read about that, Olivia, in my Egyptian Gazette.... It's printed in English & my husband brings me one every morning to work !! I love it.

That article was interesting ! Thanks.

Really Awesome!

I have an egyptian friend who just visited a copt church. the police saw him and took him to the police station and tortured him for 2 days screamed at him, hitting him and shocking him. It was 5 years ago and he is still messed up in the head

Seriously Cindy Sheehan takes her activism to Egypt? Woah!

U.S. peace activist protests Egypt military trials
Wed 13 Feb 2008, 15:42 GMT

By Cynthia Johnston

CAIRO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. peace activist Cindy Sheehan pressed Egypt on Wednesday to free members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood who are on trial in a military court, urging leniency for the sake of their families.

Egypt sent 40 members of the Brotherhood including its No. 3, Khairat el-Shater, to a military court a year ago. The men, six of whom are being tried in absentia, are the first Brotherhood members to face military trials since 2001.

Most of the serious charges, including terrorism and money laundering, were dropped in December, but the men are still charged with belonging to a banned group. A verdict is due on Feb. 26.

"I'm a mother whose son was killed in Iraq. I know what these families are going through -- stress and trauma," said Sheehan, who became a leading U.S. anti-war activist after her son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004.

On a visit to Cairo to protest against the military trials, she added: "So as a mother, I'm asking for leniency from the Egyptian government, not only for the Muslim Brotherhood people, but for their children and their families also."

Dozens of police kept Sheehan and 200 Egyptian protesters cordoned off on a Nile river promenade in central Cairo as foreign tourists gawked, but they did not stop the protest.

Speaking over a loudhailer opposite government and ruling party offices, Sheehan accused Egypt of using the military court "as a last resort to guarantee a guilty verdict" and said U.S. aid to Egypt should be tied to better human rights practices.

Local and international rights groups including Amnesty International have criticised the military trial as unfair. Egypt has barred independent observers from the court.

"Freedom, where are you?" read a banner held by one protester. "We miss you, dad" read another, with a photograph.

Several protesters, mostly the wives and children of the Brotherhood detainees, held banners or wore shirts emblazoned with slogans comparing the children of the Muslim Brotherhood detainees to Sheehan's son. "She lost her son, we lost our husbands and fathers," said Brotherhood detainee Khairat el-Shater's daughter Zahraa, 30.

Aisha Hassan Malek, the 11-year-old daughter of one of the Brotherhood men, said: "I just want them to be found innocent and return to us and their families as soon as possible." The non-violent Muslim Brotherhood, which holds a fifth of the seats in Egypt's parliament, seeks an Islamic state through democratic means and operates openly despite a decades-old ban.

The government often detains Brotherhood members without charge, and a spokesman for the group said nearly 350 are currently in detention. (Writing by Cynthia Johnston, editing by Tim Pearce)

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Egypt police 'widen HIV arrests'

Egyptian police have arrested four men suspected of being HIV positive, bringing the total detained in a recent crackdown to 12, rights groups say.


Men accused of being homosexual are tortured by police, HRW alleges

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said last week that HIV-positive Egyptian men had been chained to hospital beds and forced to undergo tests for the virus.

The latest arrests took place after police followed up information coerced from men already detained, HRW said.

The Egyptian interior ministry has not responded to the allegations.

In a joint press release, Amnesty International and HRW warned that Egypt's efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly virus could be seriously damaged by the arrests.

"This not only violates the most basic rights of people living with HIV. It also threatens public health, by making it dangerous for anyone to seek information about HIV prevention or treatment," said Rebecca Schleifer, who works on HIV/Aids issues at HRW.

Two of the newly-detained men tested positive for HIV, and are awaiting further hearings, HRW said.

Homosexuality 'tests'

The rights organisations say a wave of arrests began in October 2007, when two men were arrested after a scuffle in central Cairo.

When one said he was HIV-positive they were taken to the police branch which deals with issues of public morality, HRW said.

Both men said they had been beaten for refusing to sign statements written by the police and subjected to anal examinations to "prove" that they had engaged in homosexual conduct, the group said.

Two more men were arrested when police found their photographs and contact numbers in the wallets of those detained, HRW said.

All four men, who have not been identified, remain in custody pending a prosecutor's decision on possible charges.

Four further arrests were made in November when police raided the flat of one of those being held, which had been placed under surveillance, HRW reports.

Those four men were sentenced to one year in jail in January having been convicted of "habitual debauchery", which Human Rights Watch says is a euphemism used to penalise consensual homosexual acts.

Their lawyers claimed the prosecution had produced no evidence against the defendants, who pleaded not guilty.

All those who have tested positive have been held, chained to their beds, in Cairo hospitals, the rights groups said.

While not explicitly referred to in Egypt's legal code, homosexuality can be punished under several different laws covering obscenity, prostitution and debauchery.

Egypt has come under repeated criticism by both human rights groups and the international community for its treatment of homosexual people.

"These cases show Egyptian police acting on the dangerous belief that HIV is not a condition to be treated but a crime to be punished," Gasser Abdel-Razek, HRW's acting director of regional relations in the Middle East, told the BBC.

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Egypt

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 11, 2008

The National Democratic Party (NDP) has governed the Arab Republic of Egypt, with a population of approximately 79 million, since the party's establishment in 1978. The NDP, which continued to dominate national politics by maintaining an overriding majority in the popularly elected People's Assembly and the partially elected Shura (Consultative) Council, derives its governing authority from the 1971 constitution and subsequent amendments. Executive authority resides with the president and the cabinet. In 2005 President Hosni Mubarak won a fifth six-year term with 88 percent of the vote in the country's first presidential election, a landmark event that was marred by low voter turnout and charges of fraud. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, which committed numerous, serious abuses of human rights.

The government's respect for human rights remained poor, and serious abuses continued in many areas. The government limited citizens' right to change their government and continued a state of emergency, in place almost continuously since 1967. Security forces tortured and abused prisoners and detainees, in many cases with impunity. Prison and detention center conditions were poor. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals and kept them in prolonged pretrial detention. The executive branch placed limits on and pressured the judiciary. Security forces held political prisoners and detainees. The government's respect for freedoms of press, association, and religion declined during the year, and the government continued to restrict other civil liberties, particularly freedom of speech, including Internet freedom, and freedom of assembly, including restrictions on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Corruption and lack of transparency persisted. Discrimination and violence against women, including female genital mutilation (FGM), continued.

During the year the government and civil society took steps to combat FGM, including a Ministry of Health decree banning the practice.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:

a. Arbitrary and Unlawful Deprivation of Life

The government did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, there were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the year.

On April 25, police in the Sinai killed one Bedouin after he refused to stop at checkpoint. Bedouin leaders protested the killing.

On July 22, security personnel shot and killed a woman from Darfur as she attempted to illegally cross into Israel with a group of 26 other African migrants.

On July 31, according to the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), police arrested and beat Nasr Ahmed Abdallah el-Saeedi in the Al-Mansoura governorate. Police officer Mohamed Moawad reportedly battered el-Saeedi with his pistol. Police officers took el-Saeedi to Al-Mansoura police station, where he died from his injuries shortly thereafter. The chief prosecutor in Al-Mansoura ordered the detention of the officers involved but later released Chief of Investigations Captain Mohamed Qandil, Corporal Saber al-Beltagy, and detective Ahmed Hussein. On August 28, the independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that two witnesses testified that police officer Mohamed Awad and three of his assistants, Yasser Mekawy, Ahmed Saad Azim, and Sherif Saad, tortured el-Saeedi and inflicted injuries leading to his death. All three of the officers were convicted; two were sentenced to seven years in prison, and the third to three years.

In its August 8 report Torture in Egypt: Criminals Escaping Punishment, the EOHR reported three cases of death in custody due to torture during the first seven months of the year.

On August 12, the family of 13-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh Abdel Aziz filed a complaint with the public prosecutor that their son died as a result of torture in police custody. In late July police arrested and detained Aziz after he was accused of stealing from a shop. On August 9, when his parents attempted to pick him up from the police station, they found him badly beaten. On August 11, Aziz died in the hospital, where he had been taken by his family. His brother later told the media that burns on the boy's body appeared to have been caused by electric shocks, but the authorities asserted that Aziz's government-produced coronary examination showed he died from a pulmonary infection. At the public prosecutor's request, a tripartite committee composed of government officials reported that Aziz died due to medical negligence and asserted that the police had committed no crime. At year's end the boy's family continued to charge that three police officers, Chief of Investigations Captain Mohamed Qandil, police officer Abou el-Ezz Fathy Mansour, and detective Yasser Mekawy, tortured their son. Following the tripartite committee's report, the public prosecutor froze the investigation. On October 23, Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Dustour reported that the family's lawyer submitted a petition to lift the freeze on the case. There were no further developments at year's end.

On August 12, the EOHR reported that it received a complaint from the family of Nasser Sediq Gadallah stating that police from Al-Omraneya police station raided Nasser's brother's home and beat family members while searching for Nasser. On August 7, Nasser had submitted a complaint accusing the police of extorting a bribe. When police found Nasser, they reportedly beat Nasser in front of his wife and children and then threw him from the fourth floor of the building. The government-controlled press later reported that Nasser died trying to escape from police. The public prosecution referred the case to the Cairo Court of Appeals to investigate officer Ahmed Al-Nawawi after other police officials testified against him.

In August the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA) filed a complaint with the public prosecutor requesting an investigation into the death of taxi driver Ahmed Shawky al-Deeb in Ain Shams police station. AHRLA also requested the release of a forensic report determining the cause of al-Deeb's death. In early August police had detained al-Deeb after stopping him at a check point in Ain Shams. Despite a court order for al-Deeb's release, he remained in custody. On August 6, the head of investigations at Ain Shams station and two detectives informed al-Deeb's uncle that al-Deeb died in custody. According to AHRLA, an initial medical report confirmed that al-Deeb suffered injuries on various parts of the body.

On September 17, border police opened fire against six Eritreans attempting to illegally cross into Israel after they refused to stop, killing one of them.

There were reports of violence during the June Shura Council elections. On June 11, the EOHR reported that Ahmed Abdel Salam Ghanem died after an exchange of gunfire between supporters of the NDP and independent candidates.

On September 3, the Cairo Criminal Court acquitted State Security Investigative Service (SSIS) Captain Ashraf Mostafa Hussein Safwat of torturing detainee Mohamed Abdel Kader al-Sayed to death in 2003. Several human rights organizations noted that this was the first attempted government prosecution of an SSIS officer in at least two decades.

Several reported cases from 2005 and 2006 of killings by security forces remained unresolved. There continued to be no investigation into January 2006 reports that 19 Islamist prisoners died in captivity of unspecified causes in 2005. There were no additional developments in the case of Yousef Khamis Ibrahim, an Alexandria man whose family alleged he was killed by police in March 2006.

b. Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Article 42 of the constitution prohibits the infliction of "physical or moral harm" upon persons who have been arrested or detained. Article 126 of the penal code penalizes civil servants or public employees who order or carry out acts of torture. However, police, security personnel, and prison guards routinely tortured and abused prisoners and detainees.

Torture and authorizing torture are felonies punishable by three to 10 years' imprisonment. If death results from torture, the crime is considered intentional murder and is punishable by a life sentence. Abuse of power to inflict cruelty against persons is punishable by imprisonment and fines. Victims may bring a criminal or civil action for compensation against the responsible government agency. There is no statute of limitations in such cases. The penal code fails to account for mental or psychological abuse; abuse against persons who have not been formally accused; or abuse occurring for reasons other than securing a confession.

There were numerous, credible reports that security forces tortured and mistreated prisoners and detainees. Domestic and international human rights groups reported that the SSIS, police, and other government entities continued to employ torture to extract information or force confessions. In numerous trials, defendants alleged that police tortured them during questioning. Although the government investigated torture complaints in some criminal cases and punished some offending police officers, punishments generally did not conform to the seriousness of the offenses.

Principal methods of torture and abuse reportedly employed by the police and the SSIS included stripping and blindfolding victims; suspending victims by the wrists and ankles in contorted positions or from a ceiling or doorframe with feet just touching the floor; beating victims with fists, whips, metal rods, or other objects; using electric shocks; dousing victims with cold water; and sexual abuse, including sodomy. Victims reported being subjected to threats and being forced to sign blank papers for use against themselves or their families should they in the future lodge complaints about the torture. Some victims, including women and children, reported sexual assaults or threats of rape against themselves or family members. Human rights groups reported that the lack of written police records, as required by law, often effectively blocked investigations.

Torture occurred frequently in cases of detentions under the Emergency Law, applied almost continuously since 1967, which authorizes incommunicado detention for prolonged periods.

During the year human rights groups and the media documented numerous cases of torture. In its August 8 report on torture in the country, the EOHR stated that between 1993 and July 2007, it documented more than 567 cases of torture inside police stations, including 167 deaths that the EOHR concluded were caused by torture and mistreatment. According to the report, between January and August police officers tortured 26 individuals, resulting in three deaths.

Beginning in 2006 and continuing during the year, human rights activists called attention to more than a dozen amateur videos taken by observers with mobile phone cameras and circulated on the Internet that documented abuse and torture of detainees by security officials.

According to January press reports, 100 detainees affiliated with Islamic Jihad filed complaints with the public prosecutor alleging that police officers tortured and abused them during unspecified periods of time. The detainees reported that authorities stripped them of their clothes, beat and verbally humiliated them, and confiscated their personal belongings. The public prosecutor had not responded by year's end.

On February 1, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported a police assault on Ihab Magdy Farouk, a Giza resident, which was documented in a widely circulated video clip. Ihab accused police officers Karim Abdallah Abdel Mohsen and Ahmed Abdel Fattah of assaulting him. In late February the Imbaba Misdemeanor Court ruled that officer Abdel Mohsen was not guilty but convicted officer Fattah of cruelty and sentenced him to one year in prison.

On February 27, according to the Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, security forces detained Fawzi Hassan and his children for 17 days and subjected them to electric shocks and beatings. Police had accused one of Fawzi's sons of theft, but the court acquitted him prior to the arrests. The Nadim Center accused a number of officers, including Mohamed El-Banna, Mohamed Sarhan, Mohsen Nagib, Mohamed el-Ashmawy, Mesbah el-Kasabi, and Mohamed Shalabi, of involvement in the assault.

On March 19, Human Rights Watch (HRW) requested that the Ministry of Interior (MOI) investigate and prosecute the security official responsible for torturing and sexually assaulting blogger Mohamed Al Sharqawi, who was detained between May and July 2006. Police had arrested Sharqawi twice after he participated in demonstrations supporting judicial independence. Police charged Sharqawi with chanting slogans against the regime liable to disturb public order and social peace, insulting the president, insulting and assaulting officials in the course of performing their duties, "calling for an unlicensed assembly," and disrupting traffic. Sharqawi reported that police beat and sodomized him at Cairo's Qasr Al Nil police station. The police released Sharqawi in July 2006. By year's end, authorities had not investigated Sharqawi's complaints.

According to media reports, on July 9, Yehia Abdallah Atoum, whom Siwa police accused of petty theft, testified that police officer Alaa Mousa ordered a detective to hang, beat, and electrically shock him. Yehia alleged that on July 2, police officer Mohamed al-Khodargy poured alcohol on and ignited his body at Siwa police station. On a doctor's recommendation, police transferred him to a hospital between July 2 and 9, where he stayed for nine days before officers forcibly put him on a truck bound for Libya. He subsequently returned to Egypt.

On July 17, local media reported that prosecutors inspecting the Al-Montaza police station in Alexandria where police illegally detained 40 individuals, found whips, clubs, and a barbed wire-studded stick. The prosecutor's office ordered the release of the detainees and the confiscation of the equipment but by year's end had not conducted any further investigation.

On August 27, lawyer Ahmed Abdel Aziz accused the assistant investigations officer at Cairo's Shubra police station, Ashraf Morgan, of assaulting, beating, and injuring him. MOI officials transferred the accused police officer to the Qalyubia security department and opened an investigation into the charges. By year's end, the investigation remained pending.

In press statements, government officials asserted that torture is not systematic in prisons and that any torture occurs only in isolated instances. On June 24, according to press reports, Minister of Interior Habib al-Adly stated that torture occurs rarely, and that accusations of abuse are immediately brought to the ministry's attention and transferred to the public prosecutor's office.

In 2004 the government's Central Audit Agency directed the MOI to require any security or police officers found responsible for torture to be financially liable for any judgments levied against the ministry. During the year the press reported several incidents in which groups and individual victims of security force abuse received court-ordered financial compensation. Unlike in previous years, hundreds of other detainees were awarded compensation by the courts. According to press reports, in March a Cairo court ruled in favor of 456 detainees to receive compensation after the detainees had filed cases against the MOI alleging torture and abuse. However, by year's end, most of the detainees had not received their compensation and at least 300 other compensation cases remained pending at the State Council.

On February 6, press reports stated that the Alexandria Administrative Court ordered Minister of Interior Habib al-Adly to pay $5,263 (LE 30,000) to a citizen who was illegally detained for five months in 1999.

According to February 12 press reports, the Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners won six lawsuits in favor of political detainees who received financial compensation based on claims that they had been subjected to torture during their detention. The compensation amounts ranged from $1,228 to $4,385 (LE 7,000 to LE 25,000).

On May 8, in response to an administrative court order, the MOI began paying financial compensation to as many as 15,000 persons who had been illegally detained due to their affiliations with Islamic Jihad and Al-Jamaa'aa Al-Islamiya (Islamic Group). The compensation amounts ranged from $2,631 to $5,263 (LE 15,000 to 30,000) for each detainee.

During the year the government continued efforts to hold some security personnel accountable for torturing prisoners in custody, but courts generally sentenced officers to much less than the maximum available penalty. Human rights organizations and the press reported that at least seven police officers in four separate cases faced criminal trials or civil suits during the year. Some of the cases involved incidents that took place in previous years.

On February 20, the Agouza Misdemeanors Court charged three police officers with misuse of authority and cruelty towards Ahmed Samir al-Malah. The court convicted the three officers and sentenced them each to three months in jail.

On May 8, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced police officer Salah Saeed Awad to five years imprisonment for causing permanent injuries in 2001 to brothers Haggag Mohamed Haggag, Magdy Mohamed Haggag, and to a third brother whom the court did not name. The court also ordered Awad to pay $351 (LE 2,001) as compensation.

On November 5, the Giza Criminal Court convicted police officers Islam Nabih and Reda Fathi of assaulting and sodomizing Imad al-Kabir, a Cairo minibus driver, in January 2006. Nabih and Fathi faced up to 15 years for the crime, but the court handed down the minimum three-year sentence. Both officers, expected to appeal while remaining in detention, were removed from duty.

On May 9, the Giza Criminal Court sentenced Major Yasser Ibrahim al-Akkad, head of the criminal investigations unit in the Haram police station in Giza, to six months imprisonment for torturing actress Habiba while investigating the 1999 killing of her husband. The court ruled, however, that the sentence would not be imposed if Major Yasser avoided any misconduct for three years, and suspended Yasser from duty for one year, leaving open the possibility that Yasser could return to duty.

In 2006 the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), supported by approximately 12 other human rights NGOs, petitioned the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) to hear evidence concerning assaults on journalists and opposition demonstrators by government supporters during the 2005 referendum.

In November 2006 a state security court in Ismailiya convicted two defendants of involvement in the 2004 Taba bombings, sentencing them to death. At year's end they remained on death row.

The government did not permit a visit during the year by the UN special rapporteur on torture, who had been seeking to make an official visit since 1996.

Prison and Detention Center Conditions

Prison conditions remained poor. In September the ACHPR carried out the first public visit by an outside observer since 1981 to Cairo's Tora prison. At year's end the ACHPR had not yet released a report. During the year the government did not permit visits by any other international human rights observers.

During the year the EOHR and the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP) reported deteriorating conditions in prisons, particularly overcrowded cells, a lack of medical care, proper hygiene, food, clean water, and proper ventilation. Tuberculosis was widespread. Some prisons continued to be closed to the public.

On July 1, Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Akhbar reported that a prisoner in Al-Omraneya prison died in custody due to heat and overcrowding.

While separate prison facilities existed for men, women, and juveniles, adults were not always separated from juveniles, and abuse of minors was common. On July 31, the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) reported that sexual abuse and assault occurred in a number of prisons during the year, citing the housing of adults with juveniles as a contributing factor in these assaults. The report also attributed poor prison conditions to a lack of judicial oversight.

According to reports issued on March 16, the Human Rights Committee of the Peoples' Assembly criticized prison conditions, stating that the government had not constructed a new prison in 25 years. The committee requested the government to initiate contracts with doctors and experts to work inside prisons and strengthen respect for prisoners' rights. At year's end the government had not responded.

In April 2006 the parliament's Human Rights Committee requested that prisoners be permitted to meet with their wives as a means of preserving family ties and reducing HIV/AIDS among prisoners.

Failure to implement judicial rulings regarding the release of administrative detainees and limits on permitting prison visits remained a problem. Relatives and lawyers often were unable to obtain regular access to prisons for visits. Special restrictions were placed on the number of visits and visitors to prisoners incarcerated for political crimes or terrorism.

As required by law, the public prosecutor continued to inspect all regular prisons during the year. According to press reports, the office conducted unannounced visits to 17 prisons in seven governorates. Inspection delegations reportedly criticized a number of deficiencies including poor food, limited visits by inmates' families, weak administrative procedures, and significant overcrowding. Findings of these visits were not made public. SSIS detention centers were excluded from mandatory judicial inspection.

Lawyers were permitted to visit prisoners in their capacity as legal counsel; however, they often faced bureaucratic obstacles preventing them from meeting with their clients. The International Committee of the Red Cross and other international and domestic human rights monitors did not have access to prisons or to other places of detention, despite their repeated requests.

d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

The constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, during the year, police and security forces conducted large-scale arrests and detained hundreds of individuals without charge under the Emergency Law. Continuing a trend begun in 2005, the government arrested and detained hundreds of activists affiliated with the banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood (MB), generally for periods lasting several weeks. The government continued to use the Emergency Law under the official state of emergency to try non-security cases in the emergency courts and to restrict many other basic rights. Police also arbitrarily arrested and detained hundreds of persons involved with unlicensed demonstrations. The government also arrested, detained, and abused several Internet bloggers.

The EOHR estimated that between 12,000 and 14,000 individuals remained in prison without charges or despite receiving release orders from the courts.

On February 22, the Muharram Bey Court sentenced university student and blogger Karim Amer to four years in prison, charging him with spreading information disruptive of public order and damaging to the country's reputation, incitement to hate Islam, and defaming the president. At year's end he remained in prison.

On April 15, police detained blogger, Ikhwanweb (Muslim Brotherhood Web site) reporter, and correspondent for the Cairo-based British Hewar channel Abdel Moneim Mahmoud at the Cairo airport. On May 31, authorities released him on the orders of the high state security prosecutor.

There were varied and conflicting estimates of the number of "extraordinary detainees," (citizens held by the government, often without trial, for alleged political crimes). In 2006 credible domestic and international NGOs estimated that there were between 6,000 and 10,000 such detainees in addition to those prisoners in the ordinary criminal justice system. The government did not release any official data on detainees. In April 2006, citing a senior MOI source, leading journalist Salama A. Salama reported that there were at least 4,000 detainees. The government held a number of detainees, including many MB activists, for periods ranging from several weeks to several months. Detention periods of more than 10 years occurred in other cases, particularly in those involving Islamist extremists belonging to the Islamic Group or Islamic Jihad who were detained by the government during the 1990s.

Role of Police and Security Apparatus

Local and national law enforcement agencies fall under the jurisdiction of the MOI. Local police operate in large cities and governorates. The ministry controls the SSIS, which conducts investigations, and the Central Security Force (CSF), which maintains public order. SSIS and CSF officers are responsible for law enforcement at the national level and for providing security for infrastructure and key officials, both domestic and foreign. Single-mission law enforcement agencies, such as the Tourist and Antiquities Police and the Antinarcotics General Administration, also work at the national level. The security forces operated under a central chain of command and were considered generally effective in their efforts to combat crime and terrorism and maintain public order. However, a culture of impunity militated against systematic prosecution of security personnel who committed human rights abuses.

There was widespread petty corruption in the police force, especially below senior levels. According to government statements, it investigated corruption and other instances of police malfeasance using an internal affairs mechanism but did not publicize how this process worked. The government prosecuted such cases in the judicial system. In addition to acceptance of bribes or simple theft, security forces committed assault and murder.

Impunity was a serious problem. The government failed to investigate and punish many instances of credible allegations of mistreatment by police and security forces. However, there were at least four cases in which the government investigated and prosecuted security officers of mistreatment and abuse during the year, resulting in convictions of seven officers. Human rights monitors believed most incidents of torture went unpunished.

Working with the UN Development Program (UNDP), the government continued to provide human rights training for thousands of judicial and law enforcement officials.

By year's end the public prosecutor had not brought any action against security personnel for several unresolved incidents in 2005, including documented assaults on citizens during the parliamentary elections and violence against Sudanese asylum seekers.

Arrest and Detention

The Emergency Law allows detention of an individual without charge for up to 30 days, only after which a detainee may demand a court hearing to challenge the legality of the detention order. Detainees may resubmit a motion for a hearing at one-month intervals thereafter. There is no limit to the detention period if a judge continues to uphold the detention order or if the detainee fails to exercise his right to a hearing. Incommunicado detention is authorized for prolonged periods by internal prison regulations. Human rights groups and the UN Committee Against Torture expressed concern over the application of measures of solitary confinement.

In cases tried under the Emergency Law, the government restricted or denied access to counsel prior to the transfer of the accused to a courtroom to begin legal proceedings. Many detainees under the Emergency Law remained incommunicado in state security detention facilities without access to lawyers. After these cases are transferred to trial, the court appoints a lawyer. Under the penal code, family members have access to detainees at the discretion of the court, but the degree of access varied from case to case and was difficult to characterize.

In recent years, authorities detained thousands of persons administratively under the Emergency Law on suspicion of terrorist or political activity. Authorities convicted and sentenced several thousand others on similar charges. During the year HRAAP and other NGOs estimated that the total number of persons in administrative detention was approximately 10,000. HRAAP estimated that authorities released an additional 10,000 persons in the past three years. Government officials disputed this figure but did not provide authoritative data on detainees.

The penal code also gives the government broad detention powers. Prosecutors must bring charges within 48 hours following detention or release the suspect. However, authorities may hold a suspect for a maximum of six months while they investigate. Arrests under the penal code occurred openly and with warrants issued by a district prosecutor or judge. There was a functioning system of bail for persons detained under the penal code but none for persons detained under the Emergency Law. The Penal Code contains several provisions to combat extremist violence, which broadly defines terrorism to include the acts of "spreading panic" and "obstructing the work of authorities."

Notwithstanding the prevailing state of emergency and the government's use of the Emergency Law provisions, the government continued to rely on the Penal Code for the vast majority of criminal investigations and prosecutions. In criminal cases investigated and prosecuted under the penal code, defendants generally had access to counsel promptly after arrest.

On March 11, authorities released cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr ("Abu Omar") from detention, without trial. In 2003 authorities detained Omar under the Emergency Law and charged him with belonging to an illegal organization.

On May 29, police detained Mamdouh Ismail, a lawyer active in defending Islamist detainees, and accused him of belonging to Islamic Jihad and defaming the country's image. On July 14, he was released on court orders.

In July authorities began to release several groups of Bedouins who had been detained without charge following the October 2004 bombings in Taba. Press reports indicated that the government released at least 73 Bedouins by year's end.

In 2006 security forces detained dozens of individuals in Sinai, in connection with ongoing investigations into the terror attacks there in 2004, 2005, and April 2006. At year's end there were no reliable estimates of the total number of suspects detained in the Sinai.

As in previous years, the government arrested and detained hundreds of MB members and supporters without charge or trial. The precise number of MB activists in detention at year's end was unknown, but estimates ranged from 900 to more than 3,000. Detention periods for MB members ranged from hours to several months, pending investigative outcomes. The government held many of the detainees for relatively brief periods, but others were held for months, such as political bureau member Essam el-Erian, who authorities arrested on August 17 and held until early October.

On February 6, a military tribunal convened to try Khairat al-Shatir and 39 senior MB associates on charges of funding a banned organization and working to overthrow the government. At year's end the tribunal was ongoing; 33 individuals remained in custody, and seven others were tried in absentia.

In December 2006 several dozen Al-Azhar university students affiliated with the MB conducted a "militia-style" parade clad in black balaclavas and demonstrating martial arts exercises. Although MB leadership distanced itself from the demonstrators and reiterated its commitment to peaceful change, the government arrested several hundred MB members and sympathizers in response to the demonstration, including the organization's third-ranking official, al-Shatir, and several other businessmen who were thought to be leading financiers of the MB.

Amnesty

According to press reports in April, authorities released the last 40 detained members of Al-Jamaa'aa Al-Islamiya. This was part of the government's effort to release detainees in return for their pledging to renounce violence.

In May the MOI released 300 members of the banned Al-Takfeer wa al-Hijra (Excommunicate and Immigrate) group after they agreed to renounce violence.

The government continued to release Islamic Jihad members throughout the year. According to press reports, on June 2, authorities released 130 Islamic Jihad members from Al Fayoum prison after hundreds of Jihadists signed ideological revisions initially created by Sayed Imam, founder and leader of Islamic Jihad. The revisions primarily entailed the abandonment of violence. In July authorities released another group of 47 and in August another 300. On October 26, the press reported that 60 non-violent Salafists were released from detention. According to a November 4 press report, 400 members of the Al Takfir wa Al Hijra group were released from prison after they signed documents renouncing violence.

According to December 19 press reports, 919 prisoners were released as a result of the Eid al-Adha presidential pardon, of whom 161 were subject to some form of continued monitoring.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, but it is subject to executive influence. The president may invoke the Emergency Law to refer any criminal case to the emergency courts or military courts, in which the accused does not receive most of the constitutional protections of the civilian judicial system. The constitution provides for the independence and immunity of judges and forbids interference by other authorities in the exercise of their judicial functions. The government generally respected judicial independence in non-political cases in civilian courts. Emergency courts, however, were not independent.

The president appoints all judges upon recommendation of the Higher Judicial Council, a constitutional body composed of senior judges. Judges receive tenure, limited only by mandatory retirement at age 64. Only the Higher Judicial Council may dismiss judges for cause, such as corruption. Headed by the president of the Court of Cassation, the council regulates judicial promotions and transfers. The government included lectures on human rights and other social issues in its training courses for prosecutors and judges.

In the civil court system, there are criminal courts, civil courts, administrative courts, and the Supreme Constitutional Court. There are three levels of regular criminal courts: primary courts; appeals courts; and the Court of Cassation, which represents the final stage of criminal appeal. Civil courts hear civil cases and administrative courts hear cases contesting government actions or procedures; both systems have upper-level courts to hear appeals. The Supreme Constitutional Court hears challenges to the constitutionality of laws or verdicts in any of the courts.

According to a 1993 supreme constitutional court decision, the president may invoke the Emergency Law to refer any crime, including charges against civilians, to a military court. Military verdicts were subject to a review by other military judges and confirmation by the president, who in practice usually delegated the review function to a senior military officer. Defense attorneys claimed that they were not given sufficient time to prepare, and that military judges tended to rush cases involving a large number of defendants.

The February 6 commencement of the closed military tribunal against 40 MB defendants marked the first use of a military tribunal against civilians since those against the MB between 2001 and 2002. The tribunal commenced and continued despite four rulings by civil courts ordering the government to release the defendants and try them before civilian courts. Press and observers from human rights organizations continued to be barred from the tribunal; on occasion, defense attorneys and family members were also barred.

Judges used guidelines for sentencing, defendants had the right to counsel, and statements of the charges against defendants were made public. Observers needed government permission to attend court sessions. Human rights activists are generally able to attend trials in civilian courts but are excluded from most military trials.

Trial Procedures

The government provides a lawyer at the state's expense if the defendant does not have counsel, and defendants may appeal if denied this right. The Bar Association maintains a roster of lawyers eligible to serve as public defenders. Although defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, detainees in certain high-security prisons continued to allege that they were denied access to counsel or that such access was delayed until trial, thus denying time to prepare an adequate defense. The law provides defendants and their attorneys the right to access evidence against them and that a woman's testimony is equal to a man's in court. No juries are used.

The law provides that defendants question witnesses against them and present witnesses on their behalf.

The emergency courts share jurisdiction with military courts over crimes affecting national security. The president can appoint civilian judges to the emergency courts upon the recommendation of the minister of justice or military judges upon recommendation of the minister of defense. Sentences are subject to confirmation by the president. There is no right to appeal. The president may alter or annul a decision of an emergency court, including a decision to release a defendant.

The government has asserted that referral to emergency courts usually has been limited to terrorism or national security cases, as well as major cases of drug trafficking; however, the government also has occasionally used emergency courts to prosecute homosexuals, heterodox religious groups, and political dissidents. Government authorities ignored judicial orders in some cases. The government used the Emergency Law to try cases outside the scope of combating terrorism and grave threats to national security.

Ossama Al-Nakhlawi, Younis Alyan, and Mohamed Gayez Sabah, all facing trial before the State Security Emergency Court for involvement in the 2004 Taba terror bombings, remained on death row at year's end. In November 2006 the High State Security Emergency Court in Ismailiya announced that the Mufti of the Republic, Ali Goma'a, approved the court's conviction and death sentences in these cases. The HRW issued statements after the verdict noting that the convicts' claims of incommunicado detention, denied access to counsel, and allegations of torture and forced confession raised serious questions about the verdict, and urged the government to permit the men to be re-tried "in a trial that complies with basic standards of due process." The ACHPR, Amnesty International (AI), and other NGOs also called for a stay of execution. At year's end the three remained on death row.

On August 20, the Higher State Security Court in Cairo sentenced four persons involved in the 2005 al-Azhar and Abdul-Moneim Riyad terror bombings in Cairo to life in prison, sentenced four to between one and 10 years in prison, and ordered five released, including two female defendants. The EOHR demanded the retrial of the convicted individuals before normal courts due to the fact that State Security Courts do not allow the right to appeal.

Political Prisoners and Detainees

There were political prisoners and detainees.

On July 31, the State Council's Court of Administrative Justice rejected Ayman Nour's request for parole on health and humanitarian grounds, following a separate May 31 New Cairo Felonies Court ruling against a similar request from Public Prosecutor Abdel Mequid Mahmoud. In May 2006 the Court of Cassation, the country's highest appeals court, upheld Nour's five-year prison sentence handed down in 2005 by Adel Abdel-Salaam Gomaa of the New Cairo Felonies Court. The court convicted Nour, runner-up in the 2005 presidential election and leader of the opposition al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, of forging proxy signatures on his party's registration papers. In 2006 Nour also faced dozens of charges ranging from assault to insulting Islam. Human rights organizations and Nour's supporters charged that his detention and trial had been politically motivated and failed to meet basic international standards. His supporters reported that his health was deteriorating as a result of imprisonment and insufficient medical care. Nour, a diabetic with heart disease, remained in prison at year's end.

Some observers regarded the large number of arrested, detained, and sometimes convicted members of the MB as political prisoners and detainees.

Approximately 20 members of the banned Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party) remained in prison at year's end. In 2004 the Supreme State Security Emergency Court convicted 26 men linked to Hizb al-Tahrir for belonging to a banned organization. Several of the defendants, including three Britons, alleged they had been tortured to compel them to sign confessions.

According to the EOHR, there were between 8,000 and 10,000 persons detained without charge on suspicion of illegal terrorist or political activity. In addition, several thousand prisoners were serving sentences after being convicted of similar charges.

The government did not permit international humanitarian organizations access to political prisoners.

Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies

Human rights observers recommended that rules for pursuing judicial and administrative remedies, including standards for considering damages for victims, be established to obtain equitable redress and parity in compensation.

Property Restitution

On April 19, the Egyptian Center for Housing Rights, in cooperation with the "Nubian Follow-up Committee" in Alexandria and the Nubian Heritage Association in Aswan, organized a conference for Nubian citizens calling on President Mubarak to grant them the right to return to lands that the government had confiscated prior to the construction of the High Dam in Aswan. The Nubian activists charged that the houses built for the nearly 17,000 Nubian families who were evacuated following the construction of the High Dam in 1964 were about to collapse.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

The constitution provides for the privacy of the home, correspondence, telephone calls, and other means of communication; however, the Emergency Law suspends the constitutional provisions regarding the right to privacy, and the government used the Emergency Law to limit these rights. On March 19, the government amended Article 179 of the constitution to allow authorities in terrorism cases to disregard constitutional protections of privacy of communications and personal residences.

Under the constitution, police must obtain warrants before undertaking searches and wiretaps, and courts dismissed cases in which police obtained warrants without sufficient cause. Police officers who conducted searches without proper warrants were subject to criminal penalties, although penalties seldom were imposed. The Emergency Law empowers the government to place wiretaps, intercept mail, and search persons or places without warrants. Security agencies frequently placed political activists, suspected subversives, journalists, foreigners, and writers under surveillance, screened their correspondence (especially international mail), searched them and their homes, and confiscated personal property.

On June 10, security forces raided the house of writer and blogger Mohamed Mossad Yaqout and seized his computer and a number of papers and books, apparently due to his support for MB candidates in the Shura Council elections, as well as his anti-government writings.

A telecommunications law allows telephone wiretaps and Internet monitoring only by court order. However, some human rights observers alleged that the government routinely violated this law.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press; however, the government partially restricted these rights in practice, particularly by using the Emergency Law. Nevertheless, citizens openly expressed their views on a wide range of political and social issues, including vigorous criticism of government officials and policies and direct criticism of the president. During the year there was continued public debate about political reform, human rights, corruption, press freedom, and related issues.

During the year a number of opposition political activists, journalists, and NGOs continued to advocate political reform and openly criticized the government. A number of government actions, including wide-scale detentions of MB members, lawsuits against independent journalists, and government restrictions on civil society organizations, led many observers to charge that the government sought to curtail criticism and activism.

On July 31, the government released independent parliamentarian Talaat Sadat, nephew of former president Anwar Sadat, who was convicted in October 2006 of defaming the military and sentenced to one year of prison with hard labor and no possibility of appeal. In October 2006 police arrested Sadat after he publicly accused military commanders, including then-vice president Mubarak, of complicity in the 1981 assassination of his uncle, former president Anwar Sadat.

The penal code, Press Law, and Publications Law govern press issues. The constitution restricts ownership of newspapers to public or private legal entities, corporate bodies, and political parties. There were numerous restrictions on legal entities seeking to establish newspapers, including a limit of 10 percent ownership by any individual; however, this limit appeared to have been enforced unevenly.

The government owned stock in the three largest daily newspapers, which generally followed the government line, and the president appointed their top editors. The government also controlled the printing and distribution of newspapers, including those of the opposition parties. Opposition political parties published their own newspapers, which frequently criticized the government. They also gave greater prominence to human rights abuses than did state-run newspapers. Most opposition newspapers were weeklies, with the exception of the dailies Al-Wafd, Al-Ahrar, and Al-Ghad, first published in 2005. The daily independent Al-Masry Al-Youm, which focuses on domestic politics, continued to offer significant, independent coverage of many controversial topics.

While in recent years opposition party newspapers have published articles critical of the president and foreign heads of state without being charged or harassed, the government continued to charge journalists with libel under the portion of the press and publication law that forbids malicious and unsubstantiated reporting. Under the law, an editor-in-chief found to be negligent could be considered criminally responsible for libel contained in any portion of the newspaper.

July 2006 amendments to the penal code provide for fines of $909 to $3,636 (LE 5,000 to LE 20,000) and prison sentences for journalists who criticize foreign leaders or the president. The law specifically stipulates up to five years in prison for any journalist convicted of "vilifying" a foreign head of state and allows for detention of anyone who "affronts the president of the republic" and journalists whose work might "disturb public order."

During the year government officials and private citizens continued to bring several prominent libel cases against journalists.

In January lawyers affiliated with the ruling NDP filed suit based on Article 102 of the Criminal law alleging that on January 26, Al-Wafd newspaper published false news that damaged the reputation of the judiciary by printing an article about the justice minister's alleged public criticism of a number of judges in January.

In September the courts sentenced seven independent opposition editors on charges ranging from misquoting the justice minister to defaming the president and senior officials of the NDP. Private individuals affiliated with the ruling party sponsored the lawsuits that led to the editors' convictions. Under the law such lawsuits can result in criminal convictions. In December charges were dropped against three of the editors. At year's end the four other editors remained free on bail as they prepared to appeal the decisions against them. Ibrahim Eissa, editor of the daily independent Al-Dustur, was the target of at least eight such private lawsuits at year's end.

On September 11, a state security prosecutor charged Ibrahim Eissa with publishing reports "likely to disturb public security and damage the public interest," after Eissa published articles in August in Al-Dustur about President Mubarak's rumored health problems. Eissa faced up to three years in prison if convicted.

On September 13, in response to a lawsuit initiated by several members of the ruling party, a Cairo misdemeanor court sentenced Adel Hammouda, editor of the weekly Al-Fagr; Wael al-Ibrashy, of the weekly Sawt al-Umma; Abd al-Halim Qandil, former editor of the weekly Al-Karama; and Ibrahim Eissa to one year in prison and a $3,500 (LE 20,000) fine for violating Article 188 of the penal code, which punishes any person who makes statements "likely to disturb public order." The court also set bail at $1,750 (LE 10,000). At year's end the editors were free pending the appeal.

On September 25, Cairo's Al Warrak criminal court sentenced Anwar al-Hawari, the editor-in-chief of Al-Wafd newspaper, along with deputy chief editor Mahmoud Ghalab and politics editor Amir Salem to two years in prison, a $35 (LE 200) general fine and an additional $357 (LE 2,000) fine for publishing "untrue information which damaged the reputation of the justice system and the justice ministry." The three remained free on a $892 (LE 5,000) bail pending an appeal. In a similar case, an NDP-affiliated lawyer, Samir Al-Sheshtawy, filed a lawsuit against Mohamed al-Sayed Sa'eed, the editor-in-chief of the independent daily Al-Badeel, for "defamation" after Al-Badeel ran an editorial on September 5 describing al-Sheshtawi as "a Mubarak-loving lawyer." On October 17, the first hearing in the case took place. The case was pending at year's end.

According to media reports, security personnel arrested or detained at least three journalists/reporters during the year.

On April 15, at Cairo airport, security officers arrested Abd al-Monim Mahmoud, a MB-affiliated television correspondent and blogger, as he tried to board a plane for Sudan to cover a story. Mahmoud was a vocal critic of the government's use of torture and asserted that he was tortured by police during a 2003 detention. A prosecutor asserted that the government was investigating Mahmoud on suspicion of membership in and administration of a banned organization and funding an armed group. On May 3, the government released Mahmoud without filing formal charges.

On May 2, a Cairo criminal court sentenced Al-Jazeera journalist Huwaida Taha Mitwalli to six months in prison for a documentary she produced about torture in the country. The court convicted Mitwalli of "possessing and giving false pictures about the internal situation in Egypt that could undermine the dignity of the country." Mitwalli admitted to having staged reenactments of allegedly real torture events for the Al-Jazeera documentary. The court fined her $3,518 (LE 20,000). On January 8, security officers at Cairo airport had prevented Mitwalli from leaving the country and confiscated her videotapes and computer. On January 12, she received a summons to appear at the Supreme State Security Court where security officials held her overnight for questioning and then released her on bail. She remained free at year's end pending the appeal of her May 2 conviction.

On August 21, authorities detained Al-Badeel newspaper correspondent Mohamed Taher on charges related to his investigation of an alleged torture incident. On August 27, authorities released him without charge.

The Emergency Law authorizes censorship for public safety and national security. The Ministry of Information is empowered only to ban particular issues or editions in the interest of public order. The Ministry of Interior has the authority to stop specific issues of foreign newspapers from entering the country on the grounds of protecting public order. Under the law, the public prosecutor may issue a temporary ban on the publication of news related to national security, the length of which is based on the length of time required for the prosecution to prepare its case.

Only the cabinet can place a long-term ban on a foreign publication.

The law authorizes various ministries to ban or confiscate books, other publications, and works of art upon obtaining a court order. The cabinet may ban works that it deems offensive to public morals, detrimental to religion, or likely to cause a breach of the peace. The government has increasingly ceded confiscatory authority to Al-Azhar University and acted on its recommendations.

During the Cairo International Book Fair, January 23 through February 4, authorities confiscated copies of a book by Egyptian feminist writer and activist Nawal al-Saadawi. The book, God Resigns in the Summit Meeting, portrayed God as a genderless spirit. In March al-Saadawi departed the country after Al-Azhar officials accused her of apostasy and a lack of respect for the principles of Islam.

On February 4, the Deutsche Presse Agentur (German Press Agency) reported that publisher Mahmoud Madbouli removed all copies of the book from circulation and destroyed them. Madbouli stated that he withdrew the book after he learned it offended readers' religious sensitivities. Although Madbouli claimed his decision to remove and shred the book was not political, he also told Deutsche Presse Agentur that police witnessed the destruction of the books.

The Ministry of Interior regularly confiscated publications by Islamists and other critics of the state.

The government controlled and censored the state-owned broadcast media. The Ministry of Information owned and operated all ground-based domestic television and radio stations. Two private satellite stations, Al-Mihwar and Dream TV, operated without direct government control, although the government has a financial stake in both. The government did not block reception of foreign channels via satellite.

Internet Freedom

Approximately 10 million persons had access to the Internet, which the government actively promoted through low cost access. The government blocked access to some Web sites and monitored the Internet.

During the year the government occasionally blocked Islamist and secular opposition Web sites. While there is no specific legislation regarding blocking of Web sites, the authorities have forced Internet service providers to block sites on public safety or national security grounds. Private use of internet encryption devices is prohibited by the Telecommunications Act.

During the year, police detained several active bloggers. The detentions usually lasted for several days. In most cases the bloggers' arrests appeared to be linked primarily to participation in street protests or other activism.

On March 12, the Alexandria Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of student blogger Abdel Karim Nabil Suleiman. On February 22, the Alexandria Criminal Court convicted him of "denigrating" Islam and insulting President Mubarak through his blog entries and sentenced him to four years in prison (three for denigrating Islam and one for insulting the president). In November 2006 Alexandria security forces arrested Nabil, whose blog entries contained strongly-worded critiques of Islam and Al-Azhar's Sunni Muslim orthodoxy. In 2005 authorities detained Nabil for 18 days on account of his writings. Al-Azhar University previously expelled Nabil and reported him to the authorities for criticizing Islamic authority. At year's end Nabil remained in jail awaiting his appeal.

On May 29, authorities detained blogger Amr Gharbia for two hours in connection with allegations that he defamed Judge Abdel Fattah Mourad. Authorities released him after he paid a bail of $35 (LE 200). Gharbia stated that anonymous contributors posted the comments to which Mourad objected.

On June 20, the state's Lawsuits Commission dismissed a lawsuit by Judge Mourad, chief judge of the Alexandria Appeals Court, to close 21 human rights-related Web sites. Judge Mourad sought to block the Web sites and blogs on the grounds that they "abused the state's dignity and threatened its interests."

Academic Freedom and Cultural Events

The government did not explicitly restrict academic freedom in universities; however, the government selected deans rather than permitting the faculty to elect them. The government justified the measure as a means to combat Islamist influence on campus.

In September the government refused to grant the MB permission to hold its annual Ramadan "iftar" dinner, an event normally attended by hundreds of guests.

The Ministry of Culture must approve all scripts and final productions of plays and films. The ministry censored foreign films to be shown in theaters but was more lenient regarding the same films in videocassette or DVD format. Government censors ensured that foreign films made in the country portrayed the country in a favorable light.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Freedom of Assembly

The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, the government restricted the exercise of this right. Citizens must obtain approval from the MOI before holding public meetings, rallies, and protest marches. The MOI refused to grant permits for some political events, and the government tightly controlled public demonstrations.

In numerous incidents, authorities showed little tolerance for peaceful demonstrations by opposition groups and activists protesting government policies.

On March 17, security forces detained 21 protestors who gathered outside of the Tagammu Party headquarters. All were released within a day or two without charge.

On March 25, security forces arrested 17 individuals protesting the constitutional referendum; all were released soon after their detention.

On July 22, security forces broke up a demonstration held by Bedouin and other residents of Rafah, the town bordering Hamas-controlled Gaza, to protest a reported government plan to clear all buildings within 150 meters of the Gaza Strip border to foil smuggling. On July 30, another Bedouin protest called upon the government to register Bedouin land ownership and release Bedouin tribal members who were detained without charge. In an effort to disperse the protestors, police fired tear-gas and rubber bullets at the demonstrators resulting in the injury of 15 protesters.

Police generally responded to political demonstrations during the year with high numbers of riot police deployed by the MOI to contain both the size and effectiveness of the demonstrations. A pattern of arresting demonstrators, detaining them for at least 15 days "pending further investigation" continued, particularly in cases of unauthorized rallies. In a number of unauthorized demonstrations, police detained suspected organizers, some of whom alleged mistreatment while in detention.

The MOI selectively obstructed some meetings scheduled to be held on private property and university campuses. For example, during student elections held in October, police prevented students from meeting on campuses.

Freedom of Association

The constitution provides for freedom of association; however, the government significantly restricted the exercise of this right. The minister of insurance and social affairs has the authority to dissolve NGOs by decree. The law also requires NGOs to obtain permission from the government before accepting foreign funds. According to officials, donations from foreign governments with established development programs in the country were excluded from this requirement.

On March 29, the Chairman of the City of Naga Hamadi, General al-Sherbeery Hasheesh, ordered the closure of the city's branch of the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS). On April 10, the governor of El-Gharbiya issued a similar decision to shut down the CTUWS branch in Mahalla. In both instances, government officials alleged CTUWS was responsible for inciting labor strikes.

On July 9, in response to the closure of the CTUWS, 39 domestic NGOs launched a campaign calling for freedom of association. On August 15, the EOHR issued a statement condemning the Ministry of Social Solidarity's refusal to register CTUWS. Unable to obtain NGO registration from the government, it had registered in 1990 as a civil company under the commercial code.

On September 8, the government ordered the closure of the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA), a leading local human rights NGO, for accepting funds from foreign donors without government approval. AHRLA played a role in exposing several cases of torture by security personnel, specifically in a lawsuit against a state security officer who allegedly tortured Mohamed Abdel Kader al-Sayed to death in 2003. Several local and international NGOs, including the Cairo-based Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), and the HRW, expressed concern over the closing and urged the government to reverse the decision and allow AHRLA to resume activities.

c. Freedom of Religion

The constitution provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites; however, the government restricted the exercise of these rights. According to the constitution, Islam is the official state religion and Shari'a (Islamic law) the primary source of legislation. Religious practices that conflict with the government's interpretation of Shari'a are prohibited. Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the government generally worshiped without harassment and maintained links with coreligionists in other countries. Members of religions that are not recognized by the government, particularly the Baha'i Faith, experienced personal and collective hardship.

Approximately 90 percent of citizens are Sunni Muslims; less than 1 percent are Shi'a Muslims. Estimates of the percentage of Christians ranged from 8 to 12 percent, or between 6 and 10 million, the majority of whom belonged to the Coptic Orthodox Church. There are small numbers of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, but the government does not recognize either group. The non-Muslim, non-Coptic Orthodox communities ranged in size from several thousand to hundreds of thousands. The number of Baha'is is estimated at 2,000 persons.

The law bans Baha'i institutions and community activities and stripped Baha'is of legal recognition. The government continued to deny civil documents, including ID cards, birth certificates, and marriage licenses, to members of the Baha'i community. The MOI requires identity card applicants to self-identify as Jew, Christian, or Muslim. As a result, Baha'is face great difficulties in conducting civil transactions, including registering births, marriages and deaths, obtaining passports, enrolling children in school, opening bank accounts, and obtaining driver's licenses. During the year, Baha'is and members of other religious groups were compelled either to misrepresent themselves as Muslim, Christian or Jewish, or go without valid identity documents. Many Baha'is chose the latter course.

By September 30, all citizens had to obtain new computer identification cards or risk detention; however, the government did not enforce this requirement. In December 2006 the Supreme Administrative Court overturned a lower court ruling, deciding that Baha'is may not list their religion in the mandatory religion field on obligatory government identity cards. In May 2006 the MOI successfully appealed an administrative court ruling issued in April 2006, which supported the right of Baha'i citizens to receive ID cards and birth certificates with the Baha'i religion noted on the documents. The government issued passports, which do not indicate the holder's religion, for Baha'i citizens.

In February the EIPR filed a lawsuit on behalf of Hosni Hussein Abdel-Massih, who was suspended from the Suez Canal University's Higher Institute of Social Work due to his inability to obtain an identity card because he is a Baha'i. Students must produce a military draft postponement to complete their university education without interruption; however, one cannot obtain a military draft number without being issued a national ID number and a national ID card. The case was pending at year's end.

On September 10, the NCHR organized a workshop to discuss the issue of religious identity on ID cards. General Aly Abdel Mawla, Head of General Administration for Legal Affairs in the MOI, opposed the suggestion that the government allow the religion field to be left blank, asserting that the policy of requiring the indication of religious affiliation aims to protect freedom of religion.

In October Raouf Hindi Halim, a Baha'i convert, filed suit against the government to issue birth certificates for his twin daughters with the religion field left blank or to write (Baha'i) in the field. The case was postponed several times since it was first brought before the administrative court in 2004. Halim obtained birth certificates for the children when they were born in 1993 which recognized their Baha'i religious affiliation, but new certificates were mandatory, and the children were unable to enroll in public schools without them. The case remained pending at year's end.

During the year security forces arrested those affiliated with the Koranist movement, a small group of Muslims who rely on the Koran as the sole source for Islam, excluding the prophetic traditions ("hadith") and other sources of Islamic view. On May 29, SSIS agents arrested three Koranist men. On May 31 and June 17, the SSIS arrested two more Koranists. According to a lawyer with the EIPR, who attended some of the police interrogations of the Koranists, the interrogation of the detainees was focused on their religious views. One detainee told the EIPR and the investigating prosecutor that an SSIS investigator previously beat and threatened him with rape. On October 5, authorities released the five men.

According to a 2005 presidential decree, churches are permitted to proceed with rebuilding and repair simply by notifying the governorate administration in writing. Permits for construction of new churches remained subject to presidential decree. Despite these decrees, some local security and government officials continued to prevent churches from being renovated, often requiring an exhaustive list of documents to be submitted multiple times between administrative and security departments of governorates, in repeated attempts to preclude final authorization. As a result, congregations experienced lengthy delays--lasting for years in many cases—-waiting for new church building permits to be issued. Authorities refused to issue decrees for restoration, renovation, and expansion of churches, or failed to enforce decrees that had already been approved. Local authorities closed unlicensed buildings used as places of worship.

Government officials previously asserted that the government approves a much larger number of projects for church construction and expansion through informal arrangements between church authorities and local security and administrative officials.

On January 18, the NCHR released its third annual report. The report called for the removal of obstacles that hinder political participation, primarily by Christians and women. The NCHR reported that it had received replies from government ministries and other bodies regarding 36 of the 57 formal complaints regarding religious freedom that it had received between March and December 2006 and sent forward to relevant authorities for action.

In addition to complaints by Christian citizens to the NCHR, there were also 14 complaints from Baha'is, one of which was signed by 51 complainants who sought the right to have their religion listed on official papers.

State-run television refused to comply with a 2005 judicial ruling banning veiled anchorwomen on television programs. In March the court told anchorwomen Hala al-Malki and Ghada al-Tawil that it could do nothing to enforce its ruling. In April al-Malki and al-Tawil appealed the 2005 ruling. On June 21, before any decision on the appeal was made, Hala al-Malki anchored a program on national state television while wearing a hijab. The status of the women's formal appeal was pending at year's end.

According to March media reports, officials at the Al-Ayat Government Industrial Secondary School in Giza governorate attempted to require all female students, including Christians, to wear hijabs. The Ministry of Education quickly denied this allegation, noting that it bans wearing the hijab in primary schools and allows it only in preparatory and secondary schools upon written request from a girl's parent.

Neither the constitution nor the civil and penal codes prohibits proselytizing, but those accused of proselytizing have been harassed by police or arrested on charges of violating Article 98(F) of the penal code, which prohibits citizens from ridiculing or insulting "heavenly religions" or inciting sectarian strife.

While there are no legal restrictions on the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam, the conversion of Muslims to any other religion is prohibited by Shari'a. Converts to Christianity sometimes faced harassment. On April 28, authorities released Bahaa Al-Accad, a Christian convert, after he had spent almost 2 years in prison without being formally charged with any crime.

On April 24, the Court of Administrative Justice ruled that the MOI was not obligated to recognize reconversion back to Christianity by Christian-born converts to Islam. The court ruled that such recognition would violate the prohibition against apostasy under Islamic Shari'a and constitute a "manipulation of Islam and Muslims." This ruling was inconsistent with other court rulings in the last three years ordering the MOI to issue amended identification cards to 32 citizens who sought to reconvert to Christianity.

On August 8, police detained Adel Fawzi Faltas Hanna, a retired doctor and president of the Middle East Christian Association's (MECA) Egyptian branch, and Peter Ezzat Hanna, a photographer for MECA and the Copts United Web site. The authorities investigated the two men's activities, based on accusations that they had insulted Islam. The police also raided the Cairo homes of Hanna and Ezzat and confiscated several copies of a MECA publication ("the Persecuted"), which MECA had printed abroad and then distributed in the country. On November 4, authorities released Faltas and Ezzat following three months in detention. On November 5, authorities arrested three other MECA affiliates/activists--Wagih Yaob, Victor George, and Mamdouh Azmeh--whom authorities also investigated for denigrating Islam. On December 26, authorities released the three men without charge.

In the absence of a legal means to register their change in religious status, some converts have resorted to soliciting illicit identity papers, often by submitting fraudulent supporting documents or bribing the government clerks who process the documents. In such cases, authorities periodically charged converts with violating laws prohibiting the falsification of documents.

In August Mohamed Ahmed Hegazi and his wife, Zeinab, publicly announced that they had converted to Christianity and wished to be legally recognized as such to ensure they could raise their children as Christians. However, the Civil Registrar refused to issue Hegazi a new National ID card stating his new religion. On August 2, Hegazi sued the minister of interior. The case remained pending at year's end.

Rulings concerning marriage, divorce, alimony, child custody, and burial are based on an individual's religion. In the practice of family law, the government recognizes only the three "heavenly religions:" Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Muslim families are subject to Shari'a, Christian families to Canon law, and Jewish families to Jewish law. In cases of family law disputes involving a marriage between a Christian woman and a Muslim man, the courts apply Shari'a.

The government does not recognize the marriages of citizens adhering to faiths other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Coptic males are prevented from marrying Muslim women by both civil and religious laws. A civil marriage abroad is an option if a Christian male and a Muslim female citizen decide to marry; however, their marriage would not be legally recognized in the country. A female Muslim citizen in such a situation could be arrested and charged with apostasy, and any children from such a marriage could be taken and assigned to the physical custody of a male Muslim guardian, as determined by the government's interpretation of Shari'a. The Coptic Orthodox Church permits divorce only in specific circumstances, such as adultery or conversion of one spouse to another religion.

On September 3, the Alexandria Administrative Court ruled that the father of Mario Medhat Ramses, 11, and Andrew Medhat Ramses, 13, could convert his sons to Islam, despite their Christian mother's objections. The estranged father had previously converted from Christianity to Islam. The children's mother appealed to the Cairo Supreme Administrative Court, and the case remained pending at year's end.

There were no reports of forced religious conversion carried out by the government; however, there continued to be unsubstantiated reports of forced conversions of Coptic women and girls to Islam by Muslim men. Reports of such cases were disputed and often included allegations and denials of organized seduction, kidnapping and rape. Observers, including human rights groups, found it extremely difficult to determine whether compulsion was used, as most cases involved a Coptic female who converted to Islam when she married a Muslim man. Reports of such cases almost never appear in the local media.

On February 9, Muslim citizens set fire to Christian owned shops in the village of Armant, Qena governorate, after reports surfaced of a love affair between a Muslim woman and a Coptic Christian man. Security forces deployed in the town closed shops under a security decree and detained eight Muslims and one Copt. Some were released on February 15, and the rest were released shortly thereafter. Member of Parliament (MP) Mohamed al-Nubi and village leaders initiated a national conference on inter-religious dialogue to address the sectarian divide and reportedly brought together some 2,000 Muslims and Christians from across the country.

On September 21, rumors of a love affair between a Muslim woman and a Coptic Christian man again sparked sectarian clashes in Alexandria. Reportedly dozens of Muslims and Christians fought and hurled bricks at each following Friday evening prayers. Nine people were injured and about nine cars were destroyed in the clashes before security forces were deployed to the area and detained 25 people. The prosecution office ordered their detention for four days pending investigations. All were released without charges.

While there is no legal requirement for a Christian girl or woman to convert to Islam to marry a Muslim man, conversion to Islam has been used to circumvent the legal prohibition on marriage under the age of 16 or marriage between the ages of 16 and 21 without the approval and presence of the girl's male guardian (usually her father). The law only recognizes the willing conversion to Islam of any person over age 16. However, there are credible reports of local government authorities failing to uphold the law. Local authorities sometimes allow custody of a minor Christian female who "converts" to Islam to be transferred to a Muslim custodian, who is likely to grant approval for an underage marriage. Some Coptic activists maintain that government officials do not respond effectively to instances of alleged kidnapping. In cases of marriage between an underage Christian girl and a Muslim man, there have been credible reports that government authorities have failed to sufficiently cooperate with Christian families seeking to regain custody of their daughters.

During the year, according to Watani newspaper editor and publisher Youssef Sidhom and Christian lawyer Naguib Gabriel, the MOI ceased to require "advice and guidance sessions" in cases of Christian-born converts to Islam without any prior notice or discussion. According to Sidhom, the advice and guidance sessions repeatedly proved to be instrumental in resolving disputed conversion cases, returning many Christian girls to their original faith and families. Gabriel filed a lawsuit before the administrative court to restore these sessions, but the court had not issued any judgment by year's end.

The constitution requires elementary and secondary public schools to offer religious instruction. Public and private schools provided religious instruction according to the faith of the student.

The government occasionally prosecuted members of religious groups whose practices deviated from mainstream Islamic beliefs and whose activities were believed to jeopardize communal harmony.

In May 2006 public prosecutor Maher Abdul Wahid ordered two Azharites, Abdul Sabur al-Kashef and Mohammed Radwan, to be tried by a low-level criminal court on charges of blaspheming Islam. Kashef was prosecuted for claiming to have seen God while Radwan was prosecuted for denying the existence of heaven and hell. Al-Kashef was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment while Radwan received three years. In mid-January El-Gamaleya Misdemeanor Court of Appeals reduced Kashef's sentence to six years' imprisonment and upheld the earlier ruling of three years for Radwan.

While Jehovah's Witnesses remained without legal status, the small community in the country reported that hostile treatment from security services diminished significantly. In 2006 a delegation of Jehovah's Witnesses from Europe and the United States made several visits to meet with government officials in order to explore the prospects for the formal establishment of the faith in the country and to advocate for the human rights and religious freedom of Jehovah's Witnesses in the country.

Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Societal religious discrimination and sectarian tension continued during the year. Tradition and some aspects of the law discriminated against religious minorities, including Christians and particularly Baha'is.

The constitution provides for equal public rights and duties without discrimination based on religion or creed, and in general the government upheld these protections; however, government discrimination against non-Muslims existed.

On March 27, voters approved 34 constitutional amendments with unclear implications for religious freedom. The amended Article 1 of the constitution states that the country's political system is based on the principle of citizenship. Government supporters argued that these changes would separate religion from politics. However, some critics argued that the amendments are incompatible with Article 2, which continues to state that Shari'a is the basis for legislation.

The government continued to discriminate against Christians in public sector employment, in staff appointments to public universities, by payment of Muslim imams through public funds (Christian clergy are paid by private church funds), and by refusal to admit Christians to Al-Azhar University (a publicly-funded institution). In general, public university training programs for Arabic language teachers refuse to admit non-Muslims because the curriculum involves the study of the Koran. There have been no reports of Christian graduates since 2001.

Courts have normally not prosecuted officials suspected of causing personal injuries or damages due to sectarian-based violence. However, the government took positive steps in response to an April 2006 sectarian attack in Alexandria that led to mob violence resulting in personal injury to Copts and the burning and looting of Christian-owned shops. A parliamentary inquiry investigated the incidents, and on January 22, a police military tribunal in Cairo convicted five of the 10 accused police officers on charges of dereliction of duty for failing to appear at their respective duty stations. The court had not handed down final rulings against the remaining five officers by year's end.

On May 11, a group of Muslim citizens attacked Christians in the village of Bamha. In the ensuing violence, Muslims reportedly set fire to or looted 27 Christian shops and homes and injured 11 Christians. The police responded quickly to contain the incident and arrested approximately 60 persons whom they released soon after.

On July 15, in Fayoum, a group of young Muslims attacked the wall that surrounded the land of an Evangelical Church and destroyed and stole the brick and cement supplies that were stored on site. On July 18, a reconciliation meeting took place at which Reverend Ghattas met with Fayoum Governor Magdi Qubeissi, who promised to have the culprits punished, the wall re-built, and the church indemnified for damages. Security officials promised to compensate the church, but the church had not received any compensation by year's end.

The country's Jewish community numbered approximately 100; most were senior citizens. Anti-Semitic sentiments appeared in both the progovernment and opposition press. Anti-Semitism in the media was common but less prevalent than in recent years, but anti-Semitic editorial cartoons and articles depicting demonic images of Jews and Israeli leaders, stereotypical images of Jews along with Jewish symbols, and comparisons of Israeli leaders to Hitler and the Nazis were published throughout the year. These expressions occurred primarily in the government-sponsored daily newspaper, Al-Gumhuriyya, Akhbar Al-Yawm, and Al-Ahram, and occurred without government response.

The government advised journalists and cartoonists to avoid anti-Semitism. Government officials insisted that anti-Semitic statements in the media were a reaction to Israeli government actions against Palestinians and did not constitute anti-Semitism.

On July 22, Watani newspaper, a newspaper published by the Coptic Church, reported on a book titled "The Evidence of the Greatness of Mohamed's Message and Prophesies of it in the books of the People of the Book," written by Mohamed al-Sadat and published by the state-owned publishing house, the General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO). The book stated fundamental tenants of Islam but also attacked Christianity and Judaism and derided the concept of the Trinity. Nasser al-Ansari, the chairman of the board of GEBO, later halted its circulation.

For a more detailed discussion, see the 2007 International Religious Freedom Report.

d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons

The law provides for these rights, and the government generally respected them in practice; however, there were some notable exceptions. Citizens and foreigners were free to travel within the country, except in certain areas designated as military zones. Males who have not completed compulsory military service may not travel abroad or emigrate, although this restriction may be deferred or bypassed under special circumstances. Unmarried women under the age of 21 must have permission from their fathers to obtain passports and travel. Married women no longer legally require the same permission from their husbands; however, in practice police reportedly still required such permission in most cases. Citizens who left the country had the right to return.

On April 27, the government prevented former MB par