Release Mina Thabet, a Voice of Tolerance in a Time of Extremism

 
Cairo, May 19, 2016
The Egyptian Commission for Right and Freedoms condemns the arrest of Mina Thabet, Director of the Minority and Religious Groups Program at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), and demands his immediate release. East Cairo Prosecution in Abasseya detained Mr. Thabet for four days pending investigations in case no. 10698, 2016 at the Misdemeanours Court of Ain Shams. The prosecution accused Mr. Thabet of several charges including belonging to a terrorist group, inciting violence and public assembly and spreading fabricated information for terrorist purposes.
At 3:30 AM of May 19, 2016, plainclothes police forces broke into Mr. Thabet’s house in Al- Salam city, East of Cairo. Moreover, they searched the house, destroyed family’s belongings and confiscated Mr. Thabet’s papers without showing any search or arrest warrants.
While Mr. Thabet’s family was in shock, the plain clothed police forces assaulted Mr. Thabet, blindfolded him and took him to an unknown place in a privately owned car holding plate number 8096, Alexandria. In the early morning, Mr. Thebt’s family and lawyers headed to Al- Salam police stations to search for him, but they could not find him. Police forces refused to provide any information regarding his whereabouts. Police forces arbitrary interrogated and ill-treated Mr. Thabet . Moreover, police forces did not allow his lawyers to see him until noon, in violation of the Egyptian law and constitution.
The East Cairo prosecution accused Mr. Thabet of a long list of charges, amongst them belonging to a terrorist group, inciting violence and public assembly, spreading fabricated information for terrorist purposes, inciting for attacking police stations, possession of leaflets, undermining national security, and the ruling regime. These are the same charges levied against Dr. Ahmad Abdallah, the Head of the Board of Trustees of ECRF.
In spite of the seriousness of the charges against Mr. Thabet, the evidence against him are an introductory paper about Bread and Freedom party, a notebook containing Virgin Mary pictures and papers from his work on religious minorities’ rights.
The attack on Mr. Thabet’s house is not the first of its kind, earlier on May 18, 2016, a National Security agent tried to kidnap Mr. Thabet’s younger brother; however, his mother appeared at the right time and saved her younger son, after realizing that the National Security Agent was informally interrogating Mr. Thabet’s younger brother about his older brother.
After this incident, Mr. Thabet received a phone call from his mother informing him about the incident. Consequently, Mr. Thabet speculated the danger he might face, after the interrogation of his younger brother. Accordingly, several acquaintances and colleagues advised him to stay away from his house for a while to avoid arrest. However, he refused staying away from his house, to avoid jeopardizing his mother and siblings’ security.
Since he started working as a human rights activist, five years ago, Mr. Thabet has always been fighting against violence promoting peace and other forms of intolerance. In 2011, he was one of the founders of “Masperro Youth Union”; moreover, he represented the movement during the very hard time of Masperro Massacre that took place in 2011. After June 30, 2013, Mr. Thabet conducted fieldwork all over Egypt in order to document violations against Christians during the events following June 30, 2013. This fieldwork was part of his report, which ECRF published later in the same year. Moreover, Mr. Thabet was also a founder of “The Egyptian Coalition for minorities”. Furthermore, he provided several consultation to the committee responsible for amending 2013 constitution. Mr. Thabet’s meticulous work has also been concerned with Christian workers held by ISIS in Libya. He unlimitedly defended and was in solidarity with those victims’ families. He accompanied the families, while receiving the victims’ bodies at Cairo Airport. Although those acts were not his professional duties, they came as a reflection to his principles and the message he believed in.
Mr. Thabet has never promoted violence, neither has he supported sabotaging public utilities. He has always asserted that through his writings and his television interviews. Belittling all of that, the interior ministry, which violates the law instead of enforcing it, intimidates the public instead of protecting them, fabricates accusations instead of conducting comprehensive investigations, is currently accusing Mr. Thabet with none-sense accusations along with thousands of other political prisoners.
The prosecution is charging Mr. Thabet along with other detainees from the 15 and 25 of April protests against handing over island of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. These charges are clear demonstrations of using predetermined charges without substantive evidence. As this is not an exceptional incident but a common practice by the Egyptian judiciary, there is a clear deficiency of justice in Egypt
The Kidnapping and arrest of Mr. Thabet, the minorities and marginalized groups program director, and Dr. Ahmed Abdallah the Head of Board of Trustees of ECRF, will not stop the organization from defending the rights and freedoms of Egyptian citizens without any distinction or discrimination. We call onto the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Thabet along with all the detainees, whom are held in custody without legal evidence, and to respect the Egyptian Constitutions and law and the international conventions to which Egypt is party. We also call all human rights defenders to support and stand with Mr. Thabet and other Egyptian detainees, until they restore their freedom and dignity.