GENEVA: The United Nations human rights chief has demanded Egypt immediately cease its practice of prolonged arbitrary detention against government critics.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned Egypt’s common procedure of bringing new charges against individuals nearing completion of their prison sentences or maximum pretrial detention periods.
“The Egyptian government must immediately stop this practice of ‘rotation’ and release all those who have been subjected to it,“ Turk stated in his official declaration.
He emphasised that this method appears designed to circumvent fundamental rights to liberty, due process and equality before the law.
Turk clarified that the new alleged offences typically involve baseless counter-terrorism charges similar to previous convictions.
“Most of those targeted by ‘rotation’ should not have been detained or jailed in the first place,“ he asserted regarding charges related to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The High Commissioner described this practice as a governmental tool for repressing individuals perceived as critical of or opposed to official policies.
Turk specifically referenced poet Galal El-Behairy’s case, detained after completing a prison term in July 2021 for writing government-critical songs and poetry.
The poet has since faced similar charges in two separate cases under counter-terrorism legislation and the penal code.
The UN rights office noted this practice extends to other prominent cases including Egyptian-British writer and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
It highlighted how insufficient transparency complicates comprehensive assessment of the problem’s full scale.
“All those arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms or defending human rights must be released immediately,“ Turk concluded. – AFP
