The modern human rights movement in Egypt began in the mid-1980s by students, former government officials, and political revolutionaries, and was met with repressive actions by the government.  Opposition parties, human rights activists, journalists, professionals, and scholars - as well as non-governmental organizations - are subject to various means of government pressure as a means of managing political opinion.

Political Opposition

Egypt's 1971 constitution established by President Sadat had ushered in a new democratic political life with increased freedom and a modified electoral system, which has been preserved by President Mubarak.  However, while further reforms in the 2005 presidential elections began allowing more than one appointed candidate to run for office, the National Democratic Party remains uncontested and opposition continues to be widely suppressed.  The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest nonviolent resistance group in Egypt, supporting the Palestinian cause and opposing Egypt's relations with Israel, is banned from forming a political party.  Their independent candidates form the principal opposition group in government, winning 88 seats in the 2005 parliamentary elections. Described by many as a "state within a state," the Muslim Brotherhood is Mubarak's greatest challenge.

Protestors from a range of pro-democracy groups demonstrate against alleged sexual attacks on women during an October 2006  Islamic holiday, and the government's failure to investigate them, in downtown Cairo, Egypt Nov. 9, 2006. About 100 men and women of all ages massed on the steps of Cairo's journalism syndicate, holding colourful banners in Arabic and English and chanting slogans against President Hosni Mubarak, the police, and what they said was a recent and alarming escalation in violence against women. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Human Rights First have expressed concern about Egypt's treatment of members of the Muslim Brotherhood.  Between March and October of 2006, HRW collected the names of 792 members of the group who were detained by Egyptian authorities. Many of them remain in detention per Egypt's Emergency Law, which gives the government uncontested authority to detain persons without charge, trial, or legal recourse.  Based on HRW World Report 2007 and on Egyptian human rights organizations, an estimated 10,000 detainees remain in custody without charge under the provisions of this law.

Freedom of Expression

Based on Human Rights Watch 2007 report on Egypt, the Law on Political Rights, created in 1956 and amended in 2005, authorizes the government to penalize journalists and publishers accused of reporting "false information" proposing to affect election outcomes. Equally, under Press Law, amended in 2006, journalists are subject to prison sentences for criticizing public authorities in the media.

Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, a blogger under the name "Kareem Amer" and a former law student at Al-Azhar University, was expelled in 2006 and sentenced to four years in prison in February 2007 for insulting the academic institution, Islam, and the president and for accusing them of censorship.   The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights expressed concern, while Amnesty International, who considers Suleiman a prisoner of conscience and a representative of a common political trend, deems the sentence a setback to freedom of expression in Egypt.

Security and Liberty

Egypt has been in a state of emergency since 1981. The Emergency Law, first created in 1958, was recently renewed in April 2006 as a means of curtailing terrorism. Mass arbitrary arrests, beatings, and torture of protesters, scholars, and human rights activists have been reported by human rights organizations.  Based on reports by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch, over 3,300 protesters, suspects, and dissidents were arbitrarily detained following a series of explosions in a number of the Sinai Peninsula's resort towns between 2004 and 2006. Based on Mubarak's terms, emergency rule is expected to remain in place until the government drafts an official anti-terrorism regulation to replace the existing one.

Nongovernmental Organizations

Click Here for Larger Image >> Egyptian activist from Muslim Brotherhood and members of the pro-democracy Kifaya movement, protest against the military trial of 40 top Brotherhood figures, accused of terrorism and money laundering charges, in downtown Cairo, Egypt, June 2, 2007.  Arabic slogans read as " No civilians at military trials", " They stole Brotherhood's money". (AP Photo/Mohamed al Sehety)

Since the early 1990s, the Egyptian government has become increasingly hostile to nongovernmental organizations, deeming them illegal unless registered and regularly scrutinized by national authorities. The Law of Associations prohibits independent NGOs, while rigid registration requirements and arbitrary government interference limit their work. Many such organizations, namely those advocating human rights, are viewed as a threat to national interest, as terrorist organizations endorsing Islamic radicals, or as illegitimate groups if they proceed to work independently. Additionally, foreign funding to NGOs is prohibited, hence many organizations have been prosecuted or forced to terminate their activities due to lack of financial support. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and Saad Ibrahim's Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies (ICDS) were indicted for unproven allegations of having received foreign funds to conduct educational activities advocating human rights in Egypt. Both Saad Ibrahim, founder of ICDS, and Hafez Abu Sa'ada, its former secretary-general, were prosecuted and detained for denigrating the reputation of Egypt abroad.

The work of Human Rights Defenders is often stifled by the series of restrictive laws concerning political freedoms, NGO independence, and political party registration, including the Political Parties Law, used for decades by the Egyptian government as a means of deterring independent candidates from running in elections.  Among many, Ayman Nour and Saad Ibrahim are notable examples of human rights defenders who have faced the consequences of their activities.

Ayman Nour, a former presidential candidate and opposition leader, has been incarcerated and denied parliamentary immunity since January 2005 for allegedly forging powers of attorney signatures to set up his Ghad Party during the 2005 presidential elections against Hosni Mubarak. Viewed as a politically motivated act and a major set-back to democracy in Egypt, Nour's imprisonment has brought international human rights organizations as well as the U.S. government to his defense. Nour, a diabetic with major heart conditions, remains in prison today in a state of deteriorating health.

Saad Eddin Ibrahim, an avid human rights defender and bold critic of the regime, was incarcerated in June 2000 for two years on charges of insulting and tarnishing the reputation of the state and for accepting funds from the European Union for his Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies without government authorization. Ibrahim was finally acquitted in March of 2003 and cleared of all charges against him. He continues to advocate democracy and human rights in the Middle East and abroad.

U.S. Policy

Since the 1978 Camp David agreement between the United States, Israel, and Egypt, relations between these nations have remained peaceful. In fact, U.S. financial aid per capita to Egypt since 1975 has surpassed that of Europe during the post-World War II Marshall Plan. Diplomatically, Egypt has been receptive to U.S. influence on its domestic and regional affairs, while the United States. views Egypt as a major player in Middle Eastern affairs.

Some argue that U.S. policy toward Egypt is marked by many contradictions. On one hand, the current administration expresses grave concerns about democracy and freedom in Egypt; on the other hand, it struggles with the rise of anti-American sentiment and the potential loss of stability in the region.  With the increase in leftist tendencies after the 2005 elections in Egypt and those of 2006 in Palestine, U.S. pressure on the Egyptian government to reform has declined. 

As a pivotal diplomatic player in the peace process and the Iraq war, Egypt remains an important U.S. ally and a major power in the Middle East.

Sources for this Article include the following Organizations

Local

Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies
Sawaris Foundation for Social Development
The Arab Network for NGOs
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights