Amnesty urges Egypt to lift travel bans on human rights lawyers

Amnesty International (AI) has called for Egypt to immediately lift travel bans imposed on prominent human rights lawyers Nasser Amin and Hoda Abdelwahab. Despite the closure of the long-standing Case 173/2011, commonly referred to as the “foreign funding” case, the travel restrictions on the lawyers remain in place.

The Egyptian authorities announced the end of Case 173 on 20 March, following 13 years of investigations. The case involved asset freezes and travel bans on numerous NGO workers. While travel bans on 29 out of 31 human rights defenders have been lifted, Amin and Abdelwahab, co-founders of the Arab Centre for Independence of Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP), remain restricted.

Egypt: Lift Travel Bans Imposed on Two Human Rights Lawyers

Mahmoud Shalaby, Egypt Researcher at @Amnesty, said ⬇️https://t.co/WQmQFB75Pb

— Amnesty International USA (@amnestyusa) July 9, 2024

The decision to close the case came shortly after Egypt and the EU agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic and comprehensive partnership. Despite this, AI points out that the bans on the pair persist.

“The Egyptian authorities claim to have ended the sham Case 173 against NGOs, yet Nasser Amin and Hoda Abdelwahab continue to be arbitrarily banned from travel in connection to criminal investigations against NGOs,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Egypt researcher at AI.

“Their bans must be immediately lifted along with all other arbitrary travel bans imposed on NGO workers and former detainees in relation to separate politically motivated cases,” he added.

“This long overdue step must be accompanied by genuine measures to allow civil society organisations to operate freely and without fear of intimidation or prosecution.”

ACIJLP was subjected to raids and asset freezes starting in 2011, with the travel bans on Amin and Abdelwahab imposed in 2016. Despite multiple appeals and lack of substantial evidence, Amnesty notes that these bans have not been lifted, and no official communication regarding their current status has been received.

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