Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression

BRIEFING PAPER FOR AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT CONCERNS RE: PROPOSED RESOLUTION ON PROMOTION OF CO-OPERATION, DIALOGUE AND RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN RIGHTS


		The Republic of Egypt has proposed an agenda item to be discussed at the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) Summit which will be held in Kampala, Uganda from 22 to 23 July 2010. The item proposed by Egypt is titled “Promotion of Co-operation, Dialogue and Respect for Diversity in the field of Human Rights.”

Egypt: Keep Promise to Free Detainees by End of June... May 11 Emergency Law Revisions Mean No Legal Authority to Keep Hundreds of Prisoners


		The Egyptian government should keep its promise to free detainees who can no longer be held because of changes on May 11, 2010, in the scope of application for the country’s emergency law, a coalition of twelve Egyptian and international human rights organizations said today. High-level officials had promised that they would start freeing prisoners on June 1 and that the releases would be completed by the end of the month, said the coalition which includes Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Alkarama Foundation, and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

Twenty-Nine Years of Lies...And Now Two More Years


		The Egyptian government is often forced to recognize past abuses in the course of putting a pretty face on future ones, as aptly illustrated by a presidential decree issued on May 11 that extended the State of Emergency for another two years. This time, the Prime Minister and parliamentarians with the ruling party swore that the Emergency Law would only be applied in terrorism and drug cases, implicitly admitting that it has been applied much more broadly over the last 29 years, despite repeated denials by the government.

Another Victory for Freedom of Creativity ..Actor ِAcquitted of Unauthorized Practice


		The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, ANHRI, and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression , AFTE, welcomed the acquittal of the young actor, "Nasser AbdelHafeez" in the case filed against him by the acting professions union leader accusing Nasser of practicing the profession without having a work permit or being registered.

A Joint Report by a Coalition of Egyptian human rights non-governmental (NGOs) on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Egypt


		This report offers the collective testimony of the Forum for Independent Human Rights NGOs on the human rights situation in Egypt. Although the report focuses on the last four years, it relies on the products of nearly a quarter century of human rights advocacy and activism, both on the ground and in the legal arena. Since this report cannot document all the pertinent developments and abuses witnessed during the period under review

Case Of Qemany And Hanafi Adjourned Human Rights Organizations And Activists Join The Campaign In Solidarity With Intellectuals


		Human rights organizations and activists involved in the campaign in solidarity with Sayed ElQemany and Hassan Hanafi and against “Hesba” cases in Egypt, said that the administrative court decided to defer the case filed by a citizen requesting the ministry of culture to withdraw the State Merit prizes that have been awarded to both intellectuals, to 19/1/2010 , giving the lawyers and human rights organizations in support of freedom of thought and scientific research time to make proceedings of legal intervention on the side of Qemany and Hanafi.