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Cairo,8/2/2004
Halting a human rights activist at Cairo airport The association for Human Rights Legal Aid expresses its profound concern about the continuous harassment of human rights activists by State Security apparatuses at Cairo International Airport during their departure and arrival. Last Wednesday, February 4th, Mr. Gamal Abel Aziz Eid, a human rights activist and a member of AHRLA, was halted for about three hours at Cairo International Airport after his arrival on an Air France flight and some of his private documents were seized. Asking about the reason of these actions, Mr. Eid was threatened of prolonged halting. State Security officers kept asking him about his work in the Human Rights Watch in New York, the reason of his travel, the nature of his work, and the nationality of his wife who works as a researcher at the same organization. As Mr. Eid reported, he refused to answer any question that is not included in an official record. As a result, they halted him for three hours during which they searched his luggage and even seized some of his private documents. AHRLA raises the question "Is the possession of some books, published and distributed in Egypt by Dar El-Helal and the General Authority for Book, illegal under any circumstances?" Mr. Eid said that he had only the novel Love Map written by Ahdaf Swef and published by the General Authority for Book, and The Egyptian, a book published by Dar El-Helal, both of which are common books he intended to read during his flight. Harassing human rights activists in airports during their departure or arrival is very common. This is the eighth time Mr. Eid is halted by security apparatuses in Cairo Airport. The chairman of AHRLA had the same experience during his return from Jordon last year where he attended a training course on human rights. Away from being illegal and violating the right to liberty of movement, which is guaranteed by both the Egyptian laws and the international human rights instruments, these practices do make clear that the procedures taken by the state to improve human rights situations, such as establishing the National Council for Human Rights and the legislative amendments, are not but form without real content, and do not produce any practical change in realizing citizens' rights and liberties. AHRLA finally asserts that security apparatuses' irresponsible practices add to Egypt's disgraceful record of human rights. |