Condemning the Egyptian Government's Attacks on Judges and Peaceful Demonstrators

It is with great distress that we, the undersigned, have leaned about the treatment of members of the Judges Club and their supporters, at the hands of Egyptian security forces.

Between April 24 and April 27, 2006, Egyptian activists taking part in a solidarity camp downtown Cairo were attacked by thousands of riot police, resulting in the almost fifty arrests of activists from different opposition groups. The camp had been organized in solidarity with a sit-in at the Judges Club after two judges Hisham Bastawisi and Mahmoud Mekki had been subjected to disciplinary measures by the government for raising concerns about fraud in the 2005 legislative elections.

We view this as a severe escalation of scare tactics used by the state security apparatus to silence criticism of the regime, and stifle the growing demand for democratic change. Furthermore, we condemn all acts of political imprisonment carried out to crush an opposition movement that is growing in popularity.


We urge Egyptian state security to immediately release all those arrested in relation to the Judges' Club between the 24th and the 27th of April, and urge the government to take immediate and clear actions to guarantee the independence of the judiciary.

As Egyptians and non Egyptians concerned with the repression of the pro-democracy movement in Egypt, we will continue to monitor and expose these abuses and stand in support of those who are struggling for a better future for Egypt.