Letter from EUP regarding the Arrest of Amr Tharwat and fourother family members

Parliamentary questions
22 June 2007    
E-3145/07
WRITTEN QUESTION
by Marco Cappato (ALDE) to the Commission

 Subject: Arrest of Mr Amr Tharwat with four other family members by Egyptian State Security forces          

On Wednesday 30 May 2007, Mr Amr Tharwat, an employee at the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, was arrested by Egyptian State Security at his family's residence in Cairo’s Matereya district. Mr Tharwat was the major organiser of the recent Shura Election monitoring as well as the Ibn Khaldun public opinion polling that was carried out earlier this year. In addition to Mr Tharwat, the Egyptian authorities arrested four other people staying at the house of Dr Ahmed Sobhy (Adellatif Mohamed Saied, Ahmed Dahmash, Abdelhamed Abdelrahman, Ahmed El Sayed) and confiscated files, books, and computers that were found on the premises.

Those arrested were originally taken to the Shubra El Khima police station, but in the seven days since their arrest nothing has been heard regarding their whereabouts or the nature of the charges filed against them. Although several human rights organisations as well as the team of lawyers working on this case have made repeated requests to the Egyptian Government regarding this issue, they have received no response until now.

1. Is the Commission aware of the above facts and has it formally requested clarification regarding this matter from the Egyptian authorities? If so, what replies have been received?

2. Does it not consider that these elements put at stake the Egyptian Government's credibility in the light of its obligations to fulfil the terms set out in Article 2 of the EU‑Egypt association agreement, concerning respect for human rights?

3. What action has it taken and/or will it take in order to induce the Egyptian authorities to immediately disclose the location of those arrested and to allow them access to legal representation?

E-3145/07EN
Answer given by Mrs Ferrero-Waldner
on behalf of the Commission
(20.7.2007)

The Commission is concerned about the increasing number of reports concerning cases of human rights violations in Egypt.

The Commission is aware of the above case and, through the Commission Delegation in Egypt and together with Member States is following its developments closely.  The EU raises individual human rights cases with the Egyptian authorities as appropriate based on verified information on a particular case.

The call for greater political reform and respect of human rights constitutes an intrinsic part of the EU’s partnership with Egypt. The Commission, together with Member States, is therefore using all the means at its disposal to encourage Egyptian authorities to progress in this area.

The EU, based notably on the provisions of Article 2 of the Association Agreement, has consistently raised the importance of respecting human rights in its contacts with the Egyptian authorities at all levels. Moreover, a formal dialogue on human rights and democracy issues is further provided for in the EU-Egypt Action Plan under the European Neighbourhood Policy through the relevant sub-committee.