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
