August 31, 2020
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Office of the President
Al Ittihadia Palace
Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt
Fax: +202 2391 1441
Email: p.spokesman@op.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 for Dr. Ahmed Safwat, Hany Bakr, and Patrick Zaki, three Egyptian scholars who have been jailed for exercising their basic human right to freedom of expression.
Dr. Ahmed Safwat is an Intensive Care Unit doctor, and Hany Bakr is an ophthalmologist. Both are among several medical professionals and journalists who have been arrested for comments posted to Facebook that were critical of your government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Safwat, who is a member of Egypt’s medical union was arrested on June 28, during a time when he, himself, was exhibiting symptoms of the disease. He faces charges of spreading false news, joining a group established in violation of the law and misusing social media. Hany Bakr was taken from his home after criticizing your government for sending aid to other countries while Egypt is short of medical supplies for its own practitioners. He reportedly faces terrorism related charges.
Patrick Zaki is a 27-year-old student at the University of Bologna in Italy, and also conducts research in Egypt on gender and human rights issues for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. He, too, has been detained for comments he made on Facebook that are alleged to amount to sedition, promotion of terrorism and disruption of public order. He was arrested on February 7, 2020, reportedly subjected to beatings and electrocutions, and he remains detained in a jail in Mansura as hearings in his case have been continually rescheduled.
Patrick Zaki suffers from asthma and his continued incarceration, as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, puts his health and life at serious risk.
In each one of these cases, there does not appear to have been a legitimate crime committed; all three men are locked up for exercising their fundamental right to freely express their beliefs. This right is protected by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which your government ratified in 1982.
We urge you to respect and protect the rights of Dr. Ahmed Safwat, Hany Bakr, and Patrick Zaki, to freely and peacefully express their opinions, including their opinions about your government. These men should be released immediately and unconditionally and their charges dismissed.
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:
Ahmed Ihab Gamal-Eldin
Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Human Rights
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Corniche el-Nile, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +202 2574 9713
Email: contact.us@mfa.gov.eg
Twitter: @MfaEgypt
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: embassy@egyptembassy.net