A coalition of 17 Egyptian human rights groups has rejected the travel ban decision that was issued by an investigator against advocates of democracy and human rights in the NGO foreign funding case, acorrding to the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights in a Thursday statement. ECESR is one of the signatories of the .
They said the ban was issued without clarifying a reason.They also called for providing a pluralistic climate that allows civil society organizations to work freely.
On 5 December 2014 Hossam Eddin Ali, chairman of the Egyptian Democratic Institute, and his deputy Ahmed Ghoneim were surprised to know that they were banned from travel. They were at Cairo Airport on their way to attend international conferences on human rights and democratization. The ban was based on investigations carried out in the NGO foreign funding case that dates back to 2011.
The same happened to activist Israa Abdel Fattah, who used to work for the institute and works now at the Al-Youm Al-Sabea newspaper.
The joint statement said such decisions represent a fierce crackdown by state agencies on civil society, especially after the Ministry of Social Solidarity gave the ultimatum of 10 November for NGOs to register themselves in accordance with the repressive Law 84 of 2002 or face closure.
Although civil society organizations are still working and were not closed down, the statement said that state agencies still suppress civil society with such decisions, which it considered a punishment without a court ruling.
The statement also said that such decisions violate the Constitution, as Article 62 necessitates that travel bans should be justified and only for a specific period of time, and Article 54 protects citizens from encroachment by state authorities, including the judiciary.
It added that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had in 2011 accused civil society organizations of treason and of receiving foreign funds to spread chaos. Police stormed the offices of several local and international organizations and referred 43 Egyptian and foreign employees to a court that issued sentences of five years in prison and a suspended sentence one year.
It went on to say that on 24 March 2013 the former assistant to the Justice Minister told the Shura Council that the foreign funding case has not yet been completed, and that investigations are still underway.
Among the signatories of the statement are the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence.
