URGENT ACTION

LAWYER DETAINED IN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION

On 15 January 2019, Hoda Abdelmoniem appeared before the prosecution for investigation, and her pre-trial detention was renewed for 15 days. Hoda told her daughter that she is being detained in an undisclosed location.
Hoda’s last appearance before the public prosecution was on 21 November 2018, after her 20 days of enforced disappearance. From 2 December 2018 until 14 January 2019, Hoda’s lawyer and family could not find her in any prison and did not know about her fate and whereabouts.

TAKE ACTION: WRITE AN APPEAL IN YOUR OWN WORDS OR USE THIS MODEL LETTER

Mr. Nabil Sadek   
Public Prosecutor
Office of the Public Prosecutor, 
Dar al-Qada al-Ali, Down Town 
Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt  
Fax: +202 2577 4716 
Twitter: @EgyptJustice

Dear Counsellor,

On 15 January 2019, Hoda Abdelmoniem appeared before the prosecution for investigation, and her pre-trial detention was extended for 15 days. Hoda told her daughter that she does not know where she is being detained. The security forces took her blindfolded to an unknown location after the investigation.
On 21 November 2018, after being forcibly disappeared, she was seen at the Public Prosecution. On 22 November her family was able to meet her and reported that she was wearing the same clothes, was afraid and shaking and could not talk about what happened to her. She was then taken to the state security. Her family met her again on 24 and 28 November, and since 2 December 2018 they were unable to locate her until 14 January when they were informed that she will appear before the prosecution. 
Hoda’s daughter who saw her on 15 January reported that she was very thin due to the insufficient and poor quality of food.

We therefore urge you to reveal Hoda Abdelmoniem’s fate and whereabouts and to release her from arbitrary detention. We also call on you to ensure that Hoda Abdelmoniem has adequate and regular access to qualified health professionals and to prescribed medication, in compliance with international standards and medical ethics, including the principles of confidentiality.

Yours sincerely,

Additional information

On 1 November 2018, State Security forces broke into the house of Hoda Abdelmoniem in Cairo at 1:30 am, ransacked it, and took her blindfolded to her mother’s house. While the Security forces searched her mother’s house, she was left blindfolded in a police vehicle. Hoda was then forcibly taken to an unknown destination. Hoda’s daughter witnessed her arrest. The officers confirmed to Hoda’s daughter that they belong to the State Security forces, but did not show an arrest warrant, or mention the reason for her arrest or the destination where she was being taken. Hoda was not allowed to take any medicines or personal belongings with her. She has a blood clot in her leg and high blood pressure, resulting in repeated instances of imbalance. Hoda’s lawyers have been asking about her fate and whereabouts in different police stations but have been unable to locate her. The authorities denied the fact that Hoda has been arrested and said that they do not know her whereabouts. Amnesty International believes that Hoda Abdelmoniem had been forcibly disappeared.
Hoda Abdelmoniem is a 60-year-old human rights lawyer who volunteers as a consultant for the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), a prominent human rights organization. In the last five years, Hoda has been documenting human rights violations, including cases of enforced disappearances. She is also a lawyer at the Egyptian Cassation and Supreme Constitutional Courts, as well as a former member of the National Council for Human Rights and of the Egyptian Bar Association. Amnesty International believes that Hoda’s activism, as well as her being a member of the defence team in several human rights cases, are the reasons behind her arrest. The arrest of Hoda Abdelmoniem falls within a new wave of arrests that started on 1 November 2018, targeting prominent human rights defenders and lawyers, such as Mohamed Abu Horaira, ECRF’s former spokesmen.
Hoda Abdelmoniem had been banned from travelling outside of Egypt since late 2013. She had not been charged with any offence. 
On 1 November 2018, the day she was arrested, the Egyptian authorities launched a series of raids, arresting at least 31 human rights defenders and lawyers; 10 women and 21 men.
The ECRF, which documents enforced disappearances and the expanding use of the death penalty, and provides legal aid to victims of state violations, has been particularly targeted by the crackdown, as many of its members were arrested. In a statement published on 1 November announcing the suspension of its human rights work, ECRF cited the current situation in Egypt as incompatible with human rights work and demanded the UN Human Rights Council to intervene.

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. HIS EXCELLENCY MR NASSER AHMED KAMEL ALI, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, 26 South Street W1K 1DW, 020 7499 3304/2401, Fax 020 7491 1542, eg.emb_london@mfa.gov.eg and etembuk@hotmail.com 
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: Arabic or English
You can also write in your own language.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 28 February 2019. 
Please check with the Amnesty office in your country if you wish to send appeals after the deadline.

NAME AND PREFERRED PRONOUN: Hoda Abdelmoniem (she/her)

LINK TO PREVIOUS UA: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde12/9365/2018/en/