Ahram Online
The work in any of the fields must be regulated by the relevant and applicable laws as well as hold accountability for those who violate them, said Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson
Egyptian Foreign Ministry headquartersEgypt’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that it "rejects" any false speculations or conclusions on the investigation of a number of employees at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) especially since the investigation has not yet come to an end.
“With regards to the reported reactions and false conclusions circulating on the media and social media platforms about the arrest of a number of employees at the EIPR, which precedes the results of the investigations conducted by the Egyptian judicial authorities, Egypt rejects any attempt to falsely influence the investigations that the public prosecution conducts with Egyptian citizens who have been charged," the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Ambassador Ahmed Hafez affirmed in the statement that the Egyptian state "respects" the principles of the rule of law and respects equality, adding that freedom of civil work is guaranteed in Egypt in accordance to the Egyptian constitution and the law.
The work in any of the fields must be regulated by the relevant and applicable laws as well as hold accountability for those who violate them, said Hafez adding that no one has an exemption or immunity for their work in a specific field.
Hafez also mentions the need to respect the principles of national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, as stipulated in the international law that governs relations between states.
Egypt’s response came following various western countries -- including France, Sweden, Germany and the US -- expressing their concerns for the arrests during the past couple of days.
Mohamed Bashir, the Executive Director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a human rights organization, was arrested on 15 November on terrorism charges according to local media.
On Wednesday, Karim Ennarah; the head of the group's criminal justice department was also reportedly arrested.
On Thursday, the Head Director of the EIPR Gasser Abdel-Razek was arrested too.
In a previous statement released on Wednesday, the Egyptian foreign ministry slammed the French foreign ministry’s condemnation for the arrest of the EIPR executive director, as the ministry said that it “regrets” how the French ministry’s statement did not respect Egyptian law and instead defended an entity “operating illegally in the civil society field.”
“The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights is registered as a company and performs activities in violation of the provisions of the law no.149 for the year 2019,” said the statement.
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