Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

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Ahmed Amin Ghazali Amin, University Student in Egypt, Held in Solitary Awaiting Appeal for Death Sentence for Membership in Muslim Brotherhood

June 20, 2017

Ahmed Amin Ghazali Amin, a student at Menoufia University, has been held for over a year in solitary confinement as he awaits the results of his appeal of a death sentence.  Amin was tried by a military court in Egypt, convicted of membership in the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Egypt, as well as possession of weapons and classified information.  UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners classifies prolonged periods in solitary as torture.  Amin was arrested in May 2015 and remained in solitary until March 2016 when a video was released of him confessing.  CCS has written the Minister of the Interior on June 14, 2017 requesting a review of Amin’s case and a release from solitary and assurance that he will be safeguarded from torture.

June 14, 2017

Minister Magdy Abde el-Ghaffar
Ministry of Interior
Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt
F: +202 2794 5529
E:  center@moi.gov.eg OR HumanRightsSector@moi.gov.eg

Your Excellency:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We write to express our concern regarding the treatment of Ahmed Amin Ghazali Amin, a student at Menoufia University who has been held in solitary confinement for a year. He is awaiting an appeal of his death sentence which was imposed by a Military Court after what appears to be a very unfair trial. He was convicted of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Egypt, as well as possessing weapons and classified information. He has filed a petition to appeal the verdict, but as far as we know it has yet to be scheduled.

According to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (known as the Nelson Mandela Rules) prolonged solitary confinement is a form of torture. We understand that Ahmed Amin Ghazali Amin began a hunger strike on March 9 and we are extremely concerned for his health and well-being.

Arrested in May 2015, Ahmed Amin Ghazali Amin was held incommunicado in military custody until July when a video of him “confessing” was made public. We are troubled that he may have been subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment in order to extract this “confession”.

We urge you to review this case and have Amin retried in a civilian court under internationally recognized fair trial standards. In the meantime, he must be removed from solitary confinement and held in humane conditions without being further subjected to torture.

Thank you for your attention to this most serious matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,

Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

cc.:
Ambassador Yasser Reda
Embassy of Egypt
3521 International Court NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 202 244 4319 OR  202 244 5131
Phone: 202 895 5400
Email: ambassador@egyptembassy.net

Filed Under: CCS Cases, Egypt Tagged With: Academic, Ahmed Amin Ghazai Amin, Menoufia University, Muslim Brotherhood, scholar

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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