UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls on Egypt to stop the practice of "revolving door" detention of political prisoners.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups

Arab Sea - Cairo - Follow-ups: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on the Egyptian government on Tuesday to end the practice of arbitrary detention of activists and political opponents, known as "rotation," which allows individuals to remain in detention even after their sentences have expired or they have reached the maximum period of pre-trial detention. Türk explained during a press conference that this practice mainly targets human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, and peaceful demonstrators, by bringing new charges against them near the end of their sentences or the maximum detention period, preventing their release. These charges, often brought under counter-terrorism laws, are often repetitive and weakly based. The High Commissioner pointed out that the poet Galal El-Behairy is the latest victim of this practice, as he was charged with new charges after the end of his sentence on July 31, 2021, because of his poems criticizing the government, which led to his continued detention, and the latest charges were brought against him on August 19, extending his detention for at least 15 more days. Türk affirmed that the commission is closely following similar cases including writer and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim, lawyer Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy, and political activist Mohamed Adel Fahmy Ali, stressing the need to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental rights, and to ensure that criminal laws, including counter-terrorism laws, are not used to restrict these rights. Türk said: "The Egyptian government must immediately stop this practice of 'rotation' and release all those who have been subjected to it, as it is used to circumvent individuals' rights to freedom, due process, and equality before the law."