Egypt: IBAHRI calls for the immediate release of human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) urgently calls for the release of human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim, who remains arbitrarily detained in Egypt despite completing a five-year sentence in October 2023. A prominent lawyer, women’s rights advocate and former member of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights and Parliament (2012–2013), Ms Abdelmoneim has recently suffered two heart attacks in detention. She has been denied adequate treatment.

Following completion of the five-year sentence, Ms Abdelmoneim was re-detained on similar charges under the practice of ‘rotation laws’ – where authorities invoke new charges as existing sentences expire, preventing release of an individual. She currently faces two new cases (No 800/2020 and No 730/2020) that mirror the charges of her first trial.

Another victim of ‘rotation’ law is Marwa Arafa, a translator and rights activist. She is facing trial in Egypt five years after her arrest, having remained in custody for more than double the two-year maximum limit set by national criminal law.

IBAHRI Co-Chair Mark Stephens CBE commented: ‘The IBAHRI strongly condemns Egypt’s continued abuse of its so-called “rotation” laws. This practice violates Egypt’s own Criminal Procedures Code. It is a legal façade used to perpetuate arbitrary detention and silence dissent. The state’s persistent failure to investigate enforced disappearances and denial of access to counsel exposes a justice system stripped of fairness and legality. These practices are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate, systematic machinery of repression that has operated unchecked since the 2011 revolution.’

Mr Stephens reiterated Egypt’s obligations under international law, stating: ‘Egypt is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights, all of which stipulate that pre-trial detention should only be utilised as an exceptional measure. The ICCPR further states that no one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest nor detention, and that ill-treatment should be prevented. Clearly in Ms Abdelmoneim’s case, Egypt has violated these enshrined rights. We call for her immediate release.’

In November 2018, Ms Abdelmoneim was forcibly disappeared by Egypt’s National Security Agency (NSA) forces for three weeks until she was summoned at the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP). Her family saw her twice later that month, before she was again subjected to enforced disappearance between December 2018 and January 2019. It was not until 2021 that the SSSP referred Ms Abdelmoneim to trial in front of the Emergency State Security Court, sentencing her to five years’ imprisonment on charges, widely regarded as spurious, of joining, financing and supporting a ‘terrorist group’.

IBAHRI Co-Chair Hina Jilani remarked: ‘The IBAHRI urges the Egyptian authorities to release Hoda Abdelmoneim immediately, end the misuse of rotation laws and cease the harassment of lawyers and human rights defenders. Furthermore, the IBAHRI calls on the international legal community and governments to press Egypt to uphold its obligations under international law. Concerns are increasing over Egypt’s rotation laws and the state’s failure to investigate allegations of enforced disappearance, fuelling a cycle of impunity. The Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers assert governments must ensure that lawyers are able to perform their professional duties without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference. However, in Egypt, people often face pre-trial detention without access to counsel, nor the right to be informed of charges issued against them; wholly undermining the principle of legality under international law.’

Policies of harassment and intimidation against the legal profession in Egypt have been acknowledged by the United Nations-appointed Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite. In many cases, the prosecution of lawyers in Egypt is accompanied by torture or other acts constituting inhuman and degrading treatment.

IBAHRI Director Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC said: ‘We have seen these tactics of lawfare repeatedly deployed against dissidents and human rights defenders. They are designed to silence critical voices seeking accountability. International actors must do more to challenge Egypt’s unlawful prolonged captivity practices and secure the release of lawyers and political prisoners who peacefully defend human rights and the rule of law. The high-profile case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah reminds us that more can be done by the international community to secure the release of these individuals. President El-Sisi’s decision to pardon Mr Abd El-Fattah after his six-year arbitrary detention was a positive step and shows that international pressure may have an impact. That same resolve must now be applied to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Ms Abdelmoneim, whose freedom is long overdue.’