We have received encouraging news from Cairo regarding human rights this week.
Activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has been released from prison and rejoined his family. For several years, Abdel Fattah had been arbitrarily deprived of his liberty on multiple occasions for the legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of expression, and our Office has long advocated for his release. We call on Egypt to ensure the release of all those arbitrarily detained.
In a separate development, the President of Egypt has sent back the draft Criminal Procedures Code to Parliament for further examination. This step provides an important opportunity to ensure the draft law is brought into line with Egypt's international human rights obligations. We call on Egypt's Members of Parliament to thoroughly address the human rights concerns previously raised by our Office on the draft law, including regarding broad discretionary powers for public prosecutors on pre-trial detention, interception of communications and travel bans, as well as accountability for the conduct of law enforcement personnel.
We stand ready to continue supporting the country on all these issues.
