Zyad Elelaimy, a human rights lawyer and former parliamentarian in Egypt, was sentenced to one year in prison and fined for "insulting the president" in a 2017 BBC interview. The organizations argue the sentence is politically motivated retaliation for his advocacy of free expression and democracy in Egypt. Zyad has been detained since 2019 on separate charges related to forming a secular political coalition. The organizations condemn Zyad's detention and demand his unconditional release, as his case is part of Egypt's campaign against political opponents through enforced disappearance, torture, and fabrication of charges to prolong detention.

1. Egypt: Prison sentence against human rights
defender Zyad Elelaimy represents politically-
motivated vengeance
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The undersigned rights organizations denounce the one-year prison
sentence of human rights lawyer Zyad Elelaimy, and demand his
unconditional release and the dropping of all charges against him. The
sentence represents a continuation of the Egyptian government’s politically-
motivated prosecution of Zyad in retaliation for his peaceful rights advocacy
for free expression and democratic political participation in Egypt.
Zyad Elelaimy, a former parliamentarian, was charged in case no. 694 of
2020 with “insulting the president” for a 2017 BBC television interview.
The sentence was issued on March 10th by the Mokattam Misdemeanor
Court, and included a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds.
Zyad was transferred from Tora Prison on February 11 to attend the first
investigation session of case no. 694 of 2020. Although he had already been
detained since June of 2019 in connection with another case (no. 930 of
2019), neither he nor his lawyer were notified of the pending investigation
this new case. During the March 3rd session, Zyad presented his legal
defense, stating that the case was groundless due to fabricated charges,
tampered evidence, and flaws and inconsistencies in the investigative reports,
including an unlawful investigation report from 2017 that accused him of
“spreading false news” and “disturbing the public peace” during the interview.
Although the report is purportedly from 2017, it did not surface until 2019.
Last year, Zyad al-Elaimy was arrested in a dawn security raid in June and
detained on specious terrorism charges under Case no. 930 of 2019, known
as the Hope Case. The case was brought to smother an emerging secular and
civil coalition that Zyad and others were forming to participate in the 2020
parliamentary elections, representing the Egyptian government’s alarming
forfeiture of peaceful and lawful participation in the political process.

2. Zyad was intentionally denied healthcare during his detainment, and
suffers from unstable blood pressure, asthma, and a rare autoimmune
disease while being held in poor and unsanitary conditions at Tora
Prison. He was also recently diagnosed with infiltrative cardiomyopathy,
a set of cardiovascular diseases and disorders. Despite his direly
deteriorating health, and his family’s lawsuit demanding that he be
transferred to an external hospital at his own expense for urgent testing
and treatment, the lawsuit remains pending. The prison administration
refuses to hand over a detailed statement of Zyad’s current health status
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3. to his family, despite local and international campaigns and demands.
The signatory organizations hold the Egyptian authorities responsible
for Zyad Elelaimy›s life and health, and denounce the prolongation of
his detention pending the two cases. These two cases against Zyad are
part of the Egyptian government’s unprecedented retributive campaign
against political opponents, with the security authorities in Egypt flouting
the nation’s constitution and law, as well as international agreements and
standards.
Enforced disappearance and torture have become pervasive and
systematic practices, while pretrial detention has been distorted from
a precautionary measure to a punitive measure; all with the aim of
eliminating any and all political opposition. Other unlawful practices
include medical negligence, solitary confinement, and arbitrarily
renewing detention pending new cases - an unlawful practice known
as recycling cases – in which new cases are fabricated against detainees
to increase detention periods. These illegal and abusive practices are a
manifestation of the Egyptian judiciary’s role not as an arbiter of justice,
but as a tool for enforcing vengeance and intimidation, often through
torture, to deter political opponents, human rights defenders, lawyers,
journalists, and others perceived to be critical of the government of Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi.
Signatory Organizations
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Committee for Justice
Democratic Transition and Human Rights Support Center
Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms
Egyptian Front for Human Rights
Freedom Initiative
Nadeem Center
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