| The State Department web site below is a permanent electronic archive of information released prior to January 20, 2001. Please see www.state.gov for material released since President George W. Bush took office on that date. This site is not updated so external links may no longer function. Contact us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. |
TITLE: EGYPT HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE: FEBRUARY 1995
EGYPT
According to its Constitution, Egypt is a social democracy in
which Islam is the state religion. The President is Hosni
Mubarak, who was reelected unopposed to a third 6-year term by
the People's Assembly in 1993. The President appoints the
Cabinet which is responsible to him. His party, the National
Democratic Party (NDP), has governed since its establishment in
1978. It commands large majorities in the popularly elected
People's Assembly and the Shura (Consultative) Council. One
opposition party is represented in the People's Assembly; the
others boycotted the previous People's Assembly election in
1990 and are not represented.
There are several security services in the Ministry of
Interior, two of which are primarily involved in combating
extremist violence: the State Security Investigations Sector
(SSIS), which conducts investigations and interrogates
detainees; and the Central Security Force (CSF), which enforces
curfews, bans on public demonstrations, and conducts
paramilitary operations against terrorists.
Egypt is a developing country with a mixed economy dominated by
the public sector. Agriculture, an almost entirely private
sector, remains the largest single employer. Remittances from
approximately 2 million Egyptians working in the Gulf countries
are the largest source of foreign currency earnings. In the
past 4 years, the Government has enacted significant economic
reforms, which have reduced the budget deficit and stabilized
the exchange rate, but has made slow progress on other reforms,
including privatization.
The Constitution provides for various human rights, including a
multiparty political system, regular elections, the rule of
law, an independent judiciary, freedom of opinion, and the
right to peaceable private assembly. However, the Emergency
Law continues to restrict many basic rights.
There continued to be widespread human rights violations in
1994. The security services and terrorist groups remained
locked in a cycle of violence. Security forces committed human
rights abuses in their campaign against terrorist groups, but
frequently victimized noncombatants as well. Under the
Emergency Law, abuses included the widespread torture of
detainees in security cases, the Government's continued failure
to punish those responsible for torture, arbitrary arrest, and
detention without trial, and the use of military courts to try
suspected terrorists. The Government continued to arrest and
harass journalists and lawyers who defended accused Islamists.
Terrorists bombed banks, attacked and killed government
officials, security forces, Egyptian Christians, and foreign
tourists, and were responsible for the majority of civilian
deaths in 1994.
The ruling NDP dominates the political scene to such an extent
that, as a practical matter, the citizens do not have a
meaningful ability to change their government. The Government
continues to restrict substantially basic rights of expression
and the press. Women and Egyptian Christians face
discrimination based on tradition and some aspects of the law.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
In 1994 the state security police were implicated in several
extrajudicial killings. In virtually all cases, the Government
has not adequately investigated or explained the causes of
death. On February 1, police raided a house in Cairo, killing
7 suspected terrorists. The police maintain that a 3-hour
shootout began when one of the suspects inside the house opened
fire on the approaching police. However, witnesses later told
the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) that the
shootout lasted a matter of seconds, followed by a pause, and a
later burst of gunfire after the police had entered the house.
One policeman was wounded in the incident. The mother of one
of those killed filed a complaint against the police, alleging
that security forces had executed her son. She retracted her
complaint after the police detained her for 12 hours.
On February 14, security forces shot dead three alleged
extremists in a Cairo neighborhood. According to the Ministry
of Interior, the police acted in self-defense after the
suspects opened fire on a patrol in an alley. However,
witnesses claimed that they observed the police arrest four
suspects, place three of them into a police truck, and later
heard suspected gunfire from within the truck. Witnesses
further claimed that they observed security officers dump three
bodies from the truck onto the street and place guns and
ammunition purportedly belonging to the dead suspects near the
bodies. Local human rights monitors who inspected the scene
concluded that the traces of blood on the street were too small
to be consistent with the Government's claim that the suspects
were shot on the spot in an exchange of fire. No information
is available concerning the fourth detainee.
On April 26, officials of the state security police arrested
Islamist lawyer Abdel Hareth Madani at his office in Cairo.
Madani died in police custody at a hospital early on April 27.
The state security police did not inform Madani's family until
May 6. The police did not allow Madani's family to view the
body, which was transported in a sealed coffin to his village
for burial. The Government initially claimed that Madani had
died of an asthma attack, despite claims by morgue workers that
they observed puncture wounds and bruises on Madani's body
while preparing it for burial. In May the Ministry of Justice
announced that it would conduct an investigation of Madani's
death. At year's end, the results of the ongoing investigation
had not been made public. The Minister of Interior has
nonetheless publicly denied any police wrongdoing in Madani's
death, maintaining that Madani died of natural causes.
Also in April, local human rights monitors claim that Mohammed
Abdel Hamid Hassan died in Abu Zabaal prison near Cairo,
following beatings by a prison officer. Hassan was serving a
3-year sentence for sale of drugs; his body was allegedly
thrown from a fourth-floor window to conceal the cause of
death. The Prosecutor General's office investigated the case
and charged the officer with Hassan's death. The officer was
released on bail, pending further investigation.
In August Fateh al-Bab Abdel Manem died at a police station in
the Cairo suburb of Helwan, following his arrest on drug
charges. He was detained along with his wife and son.
According to human rights monitors, Abdel Manem died after 12
continuous hours of torture, witnessed by his son. The autopsy
report indicates cause of death as cerebral hemorrhage and
"major wounds to the body." The Prosecutor General's office
has stated it will investigate the death but at year's end had
not made public its findings.
In 1993 at least 12 persons died from injuries sustained while
in police custody, and 2 others died amid charges of inadequate
medical treatment. The Government reported that it had
referred security officials for prosecution in the cases of the
death of Sayyed Hassan Fetouh and Hassan Salah Sayyed. At
year's end, the officers had not been brought to trial. The
Government continued investigations of possible criminal
conduct in the 1993 deaths in police custody of Effat Mohammed
Ali Wali, al-Muhamdi Mohammed Mohammed Mursi, Mohammed Gomma
Abdel Sayyed, Eissa Taher Soliman, and Amre Mohammed Safwat.
The Government closed the cases of Ahmed Farouk Ahmed Ali,
Abdel Sattar Abdalrah Rashwan, Mohammed Abdel Hamid, and
Mohammed Ateya Shamardan, ruling that in the cases of Ali,
Hamid, and Shamardan, death occurred as the result of
preexisting medical disorders. The death of Rashwan was ruled
accidental electrocution. The Government claimed it had no
records of the arrests of Bahaa el-Din Abdel Raouf Mohammed,
Mohammed Hossain Mohammed, or Ahman Abdel Rahman Mohammed,
whose relatives claim they were last seen in police custody.
The Government's report on these cases left unanswered several
questions raised by the relatives of the deceased persons and
human rights groups. The Government stated that it will try to
resolve the inconsistencies and provide further information.
The press reported that at least 286 people were killed in
civil unrest in 1994 compared with 201 in 1993. In
antiextremist operations, security forces killed at least 139
suspected extremists, 5 civilian bystanders, and a fellow
policeman by friendly fire. The security forces appear to have
caused some of these deaths by the excessive use of lethal
force.
In April security forces in Assiyut opened fire on a taxi
stopped at a police roadblock, killing the driver and three
passengers, including a woman. The police maintained that one
of the passengers tried to kill an officer at the roadblock.
However, local human rights monitors believe that the shooting
broke out when a policeman's weapon accidentally misfired,
provoking others to open fire on the car.
In October security forces used lethal force in quelling a
demonstration in support of a strike by textile workers (see
Section 6.a.).
Terrorists killed at least 101 members of the security forces
and 40 civilians, including a witness in the trial of persons
indicted for the November 1993 assassination attempt on Prime
Minister Atef Sedky. In four incidents, extremists attacked
foreign tourist groups, killing five tourists and several
Egyptian bystanders.
In October a suspected terrorist stabbed Naguib Mahfouz, an
Egyptian novelist, Nobel laureate, and antifundamentalist
critic, in the neck with a knife. Mahfouz survived. As they
have in recent years, Islamic extremists targeted Egyptian
Christians, attacking churches and other properties owned by
Copts, and are believed to have murdered at least nine Copts
(see Section 5).
Extremist groups took responsibility for the following murders
of senior government and police officials: police Brigadier
General Raouf Khairat in Cairo on February 10, and the Director
of Central Security Forces in Assiyut, General Sherine Ali
Fahmi, on February 20.
b. Disappearance
Mansur Kikhya, a former Libyan Foreign Minister under Colonel
Qadhafi and a prominent exiled dissident, disappeared from
Cairo in December 1993. The Government has been unable to
account for Kikhya's disappearance. Some observers, citing
Libya's long history of antidissident campaigns, believe that
Libyan operatives abducted Kikhya. Kikhya's whereabouts are
still unknown.
In December local human rights monitors published a report on
disappearances, which claims that 11 people disappeared in 1994
after their arrests. It recounts the unsuccessful efforts by
family members and nongovernmental organizations to locate them
in the detention system. According to the report, the number
of disappearances in 1994 was "unprecedented," compared to
three disappearances in 1991 and three in 1993. At year's end,
the Government had not yet responded to the report.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
There is convincing evidence that the police and officers of
the SSIS systematically practice torture. The law does not
adequately protect citizens from physical abuse by security
forces. Article 126 of the Penal Code prohibits torture to
obtain a confession but is silent on the mistreatment of
detainees for other reasons. Punishment for offenders is
imprisonment for a maximum of 10 years. A 1-year sentence and
a modest fine may be imposed if the injury does not reach the
level of bleeding or wounding. However, Article 126 does not
address such abuses as blindfolding and prolonged interrogation
and handcuffing.
The Minister of Interior stated several times in 1994 that
torture does not exist in detention facilities. Instances may
occur, he said, but they are isolated and not official
government policy. The Minister also stated that the
authorities investigate all allegations and punish those
responsible. Government officials have accused human rights
organizations of focusing on the rights of accused terrorists,
while ignoring those of the victims of extremist attacks.
Officials argued that international human rights groups
exaggerate torture reports and that their reporting does not
take into account the extreme nature of the security threat.
However, the record indicates that the Government does not
adequately investigate torture complaints in cases involving
suspected terrorists. Since 1985, there is no evidence that
officers implicated in such cases have been prosecuted or
punished.
While the Government has investigated torture complaints in
criminal cases and punished some offending officers, the
punishments do not necessarily relate to the seriousness of the
injury. In August the press reported that a senior SSIS
officer received 6 months' imprisonment for permanently
crippling a suspect during interrogation.
Officers of the SSIS allegedly are responsible for most of the
torture used on suspected terrorist detainees. Prisoners
report that torture takes place in police stations, SSIS
headquarters in Cairo, and the governorates, and at Central
Security Force camps. Torture is used to extract information,
coerce the victims to end their antigovernment activities, and
deter others from such activities. Torture victims are usually
taken to a state security office where they are handcuffed,
blindfolded, and questioned about their associations, religious
beliefs, and political views. Victims have reported the
following torture methods: detainees are frequently stripped
to their underwear; hung by their wrists with their feet
touching the floor or forced to stand for prolonged periods;
doused with hot and cold water; beaten; forced to stand
outdoors in cold weather; and subjected to electric shocks.
Some victims, including female detainees, report they have been
raped or threatened with rape; others report that security
officers have inserted solid objects, including electric
devices, into their anuses.
Written records of detainees' whereabouts are not kept while
they are in the custody of the state security police, a period
which may last 10 days or longer. Records are maintained only
after security forces deliver the detainee to a prison. The
absence of such a record in the early days of detention invites
abuse and effectively blocks the investigation of torture
complaints. The security forces also transfer detainees from
prisons to other facilities where they are interrogated,
tortured, and then returned to prison. No written records are
kept on such transfers.
To pressure male fugitives to surrender, security forces have
taken into custody their relatives, including minors and female
family members. An undetermined number of such detainees have
been subjected to physical abuse.
According to government sources, the prisons have a 400-percent
occupancy rate, resulting in unhealthy living conditions,
severe overcrowding, and occasional outbreaks of disease. Many
of the country's 31 prisons were constructed during the Ottoman
era. Prisoners report cells are poorly ventilated, and food is
inadequate in quantity and nutritional value.
Prison officials occasionally levy collective punishment on
inmates, suspending visits and delivery of food to inmates by
their families. According to official prison sources, in
Qanater women's prison, the prison doctor was prosecuted for
sexually molesting 12 female prisoners during examinations.
Prisoners reported that prison guards beat a number of women in
the aftermath of the scandal, and a sweep of the prison
facilities resulted in the confiscation and destruction of many
prisoners' clothes and personal belongings.
As many as 28 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have
reportedly been detained in the Assiyut General Prison, a
facility for adults. The charges against the adolescents
reportedly include membership in the illegal Islamic Group,
monitoring the movements of the police, and attempting to break
into a mosque. The adolescents allege that they were
blindfolded and tortured at the state security police
headquarters in Assiyut or at local police stations in southern
Egypt. Torture methods reportedly included suspension,
electric shocks, and beatings with sticks. In some cases,
electricity was reportedly applied to the penis and tongue.
Some of the adolescents have been detained for prolonged
periods without trial, in one case since 1993.
Prison officials impose particularly harsh living conditions on
some categories of prisoners such as Islamic activists.
Al-Aqrab prison, which houses security suspects, has been
closed to all visitors, including lawyers, since January,
despite an administrative court order in April annulling the
Ministry of Interior's ban.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Arbitrary arrest and detention are commonly used against
suspected terrorists and others suspected of threatening
national security. However, according to local human rights
groups, in some mass security operations, security forces have
subjected entire villages to collective punishments, such as
curfews and mass arrests. Frequently, the police have taken
into custody nonviolent Islamists and persons with no
association with extremist groups. Such arrests and detentions
are conducted under the State of Emergency which has been in
effect since President Sadat's assassination in 1981.
In April the People's Assembly renewed the Emergency Law until
May 31, 1997. Government supporters claim that the Emergency
Law is a temporary measure used only to fight terrorism or drug
trafficking. However, the Emergency Law has been in force so
long that it has become an important characteristic of the
political and legal system and is an impediment to the
improvement of the human rights situation. Under the Emergency
Law, there is a continuous flow of new arrests and releases
from detention. Mass arrests continued in 1994, despite the
Minister of Interior's stated intention in 1993 to deemphasize
these arrests.
Under the Emergency Law, the Interior Minister may detain an
individual without indictment for 90 days. Detention orders
are issued by public prosecutors who have limited powers to
commit individuals to confinement. Some detainees are not
allowed to inform their relatives of their detention, and
access to legal counsel is frequently delayed. In theory,
those arrested under the Emergency Law should be released after
90 days. In practice, the Government rearrests detainees who
have been released by court order. The procedure in effect
detains them without due process for prolonged periods.
Under the Penal Code, arrested persons are charged with
violations of specific laws, have the right to a judicial
determination of the legality of arrest, and should be formally
charged within 48 hours of arrest or be released. Arrests
under this procedure occur openly and with warrants issued by a
district prosecutor or a judge. There is a system of bail.
The Penal Code also gives the State wide detention powers.
State prosecutors may obtain court orders to detain individuals
for 45 days and to confine them for up to 6 months to complete
investigations. Detainees are often released without
explanation or acknowledgment that charges have been dropped.
The Penal Code contains several provisions to combat extremist
violence. These provisions broadly define terrorism to include
the acts of "spreading panic" and "obstructing the work of
authorities," allow the police to hold suspects for 24 hours
before obtaining arrest warrants, and prescribe the death
penalty for persons found guilty of terrorism and life
imprisonment for membership in a terrorist group.
Human rights observers report that the security forces maintain
an unauthorized permanent presence in prisons. This practice
purportedly violates Article 40 of the Criminal Procedures Code
which prohibits contact between intelligence officers and
prisoners. SSIS officers reportedly frequently remove
prisoners from their cells and take them to other locations for
questioning.
Official sources estimate the total prison population at
14,000, of which 5,000 are security cases. They note that
approximately 4,000 detainees are held without charge. These
numbers do not include the undetermined number of persons who
are in detention prior to their entrance in the prison system
(see Section 1.c.).
In May the Government detained 41 lawyers following a
demonstration at the Bar Association building in Cairo by
lawyers protesting the death in police custody of Abdel Hareth
Madani (see Section 1.b.). Some of the detained lawyers were
charged with demonstrating illegally and threatening public
order, while others, acting as their defense attorneys, were
accused of incitement. Some were detained without charge.
None was tried. All but one, Montasser Al-Zayyat, were
released after 3 to 4 weeks in detention. Al-Zayyat is the
self-declared spokesman for the Islamic Group, as well as a
well-known attorney who has defended accused extremists,
including Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman. State prosecutors ordered
his release from detention on December 6; he still faces
possible trial on charges of his association with an illegal
terrorist organization and contact with terrorists.
In other cases, security forces continue to detain at least 150
former defendants who have been acquitted in court. Some have
been held for as long as 3 or 4 years.
In September the police reportedly arrested hundreds of people
to prevent any disruption of the U.N. International Conference
on Population and Development, which was held in Cairo. The
police targeted extremists who were reportedly planning to
attack the conference.
In October the police arrested hundreds of persons in Cairo and
Hurghada in a security sweep. The arrests followed the
September 27 killing at a Red Sea resort town of a German
tourist and two Egyptian citizens by suspected terrorists.
Human rights observers estimate that 20 Palestinians are in
detention. In September the Government released 34
Palestinians at the request of a Palestinian human rights group
and expelled them to Gaza. Some Palestinians who are still in
detention entered Egypt illegally, while others are legal
residents and are under investigation for alleged political
activities. Some Palestinian detainees have reportedly been
tortured. One Palestinian was executed in 1994 after
conviction for involvement in terrorist offenses.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Although the judiciary in recent years has exercised
considerable independence, the Government continued to
circumvent the regular court system by trying accused
terrorists in military courts, in which they do not receive
fair trials.
There are three levels of civilian criminal courts: primary
courts, appeals courts, and the Court of Cassation, the final
stage of criminal appeal. There is also a Supreme
Constitutional Court, but its jurisdiction is limited to
constitutional challenges. It does not hear criminal appeals.
The judicial system is based on the Napoleonic tradition, hence
there are no juries. Criminal cases are heard by panels of
three judges. Most trials are public.
In the civilian court system, the President appoints all judges
based on nominations from the Higher Judicial Council, a
constitutional body designed to ensure the independence of the
judiciary. The Council is composed of senior judges, lawyers,
and law professors and is chaired by the President of the Court
of Cassation. It regulates judicial promotions, salaries,
transfers, and disciplinary actions. In practice, however, the
Minister of Justice, an executive branch officer, has
considerable influence over judicial appointments and
transfers. Judges may be appointed as prosecutors, and vice
versa.
There are three special courts for crimes considered to touch
upon national security: state security courts, courts of
ethics, and military courts. The state security courts have
jurisdiction over serious offenses, such as armed
insurrection. They are divided into upper and lower
divisions. Trials are heard by three judges, but two military
officers may be added by presidential decree to the upper
division. Defendants before a state security court may be
indicted under the Penal Code or the Emergency Law. When an
indictment is handed down under the Emergency Law, the court is
designated an Emergency State Security Court.
A defendant has no judicial appeal from an Emergency State
Security Court. However, he may file an appeal for clemency
from the President, or the Prime Minister acting for the
President, who is empowered to amend, commute, or cancel a
sentence, or order a retrial. These powers imply that an
acquittal may be canceled and the defendant retried for the
same offense.
The Court of Ethics hears cases prosecuted under Law 95 of 1980
which makes illegal such activities as "endangering the public
safety," inciting youth "to depart from religious values and
loyalty to the fatherland," and denying the three "heavenly
religions." It has an upper and lower division. In recent
years, the ethics courts have been used relatively infrequently
to try "economic crimes," such as corruption and drug
trafficking. An ethics court conviction denies the defendant
the right to engage in certain occupations or activities.
A person may be tried in a state security court and an ethics
court on similar indictments: in the former for criminal
offenses and in the latter for the financial gains associated
with those offenses. Ethics courts have confiscated financial
gains obtained under indictable offenses and may add prison
terms to those meted out by state security courts. If the
ethics and state security courts reach different verdicts, the
defendant may appeal to the President for a pardon.
As part of their independence from the Government, judges have
ordered inquests into torture cases; acquitted defendants in
cases in which confessions were extracted by torture;
challenged the ban on workers' strikes; defended the right to
nonviolent ideological opinion; overturned bans on prohibited
political parties; and overturned an election law that
discriminated against independent candidates and ordered
dissolved the People's Assembly elected thereunder.
Nonetheless, the judiciary is still subject to considerable
outside influence. The ethics courts allow nonjurists to try
cases. The President may appoint military judges to try cases
in the security courts. The executive branch does not always
enforce court orders. Detainees may be rearrested under the
Emergency Law without formal charge, even if previously
released by a court. In 1994, in contrast to previous years,
no defendants in terrorism trials were acquitted on the basis
of torture, although, according to Egyptian human rights
monitors, the majority of such defendants claimed they had been
tortured.
Since 1992 the Government has tried at least 543 civilian
defendants in military courts for terrorist acts or membership
in subversive organizations. Defendants have been tried in
groups as few as 8 and as many as 32. The Government claims
that civilian trials are too lengthy and civilian judges too
susceptible to intimidation to warrant their use in terrorist
cases. In 1994 the Government referred for trial in military
courts at least 97 civilians for terrorist acts or membership
in subversive organizations. Through September, these courts
sentenced 22 defendants to death, 42 to prison, and acquitted 3.
Each military court comprises three military officers. The
presiding judge usually has general officer rank. In January
1993, the Supreme Constitutional Court upheld the use of
military courts to try civilian cases. It ruled that the
President, acting under powers in the Emergency Law, is
authorized to refer "any crime" to a military court.
The Government maintains that civilian defendants receive fair
trials in the military courts. It argues that all military
judges have the same legal training as judges in the civilian
courts; defense attorneys are accorded sufficient time to
review the prosecution's files and inspect the State's
evidence; trials are conducted under the same procedures used
in civilian courts; defense attorneys have the right to
cross-examine and to call any witness; military judges apply
only the Penal Code in trying cases involving civilian
defendants--no civilian defendant is subject to military law or
military punishments; there are adequate safeguards against the
admission of confessions obtained under duress; defense
attorneys are appointed by the Bar Association at state expense
for indigent defendants; verdicts are reviewed by two panels of
military judges, who examine the trial procedures before they
forward the verdicts to the President for ratification; and all
defendants have a constitutional right to appeal to the
President for clemency.
However, the military courts do not guarantee the defendants
due process before an independent tribunal. Both judges and
prosecutors are part of the State's executive authority. The
charge of membership in a broadly defined terrorist group is
frequently vague. Defense attorneys have complained that they
have not been given sufficient time to prepare defenses.
Judges tend to rush cases with many defendants, so that most
trials are completed within 6 weeks or less. Moreover,
military judges do not appear skilled in the rules of evidence;
they have refused to hear witnesses or admit evidence deemed
unimportant, and they do not treat torture complaints with
sufficient seriousness. Defendants have no right of appeal;
their sentences are reviewed by the President of the Republic.
There are no reliable statistics on the number of political
prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
In 1994 there continued to be substantial abridgment, under the
Emergency Law, of constitutional provisions regarding the right
to privacy. Under the Constitution, homes, correspondence,
telephone calls, and other means of communication "shall have
their own sanctity, and their secrecy shall be guaranteed."
Police must obtain warrants before undertaking searches and
wiretaps. Courts have dismissed cases in which warrants were
issued without sufficient cause. Police officials who conduct
searches without proper warrants are subject to criminal
penalties, although these are seldom imposed.
The Emergency Law empowers the State to search persons or
places without warrants. Security agencies frequently place
political activists, suspected subversives, journalists, and
writers under surveillance, screen their correspondence
(especially international mail), search them and their homes,
and confiscate personal property.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press.
Egyptians openly express their views on a wide range of
political and social issues, including vigorous criticism of
the Government, without fear of retribution. Nonetheless,
there are substantial limitations on the freedom of the press.
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are often targets of
criticism, but the press law stipulates fines or imprisonment
for criticism of the President or a foreign head of state.
However, in recent years, opposition journalists have, within
limits, criticized the President without harassment, although
he may not be satirized in cartoons.
The Government owns most major dailies, and the President
appoints their editors in chief. These newspapers generally
follow the government line. Nevertheless, criticisms of
government policies are frequently found in the
government-owned press.
The opposition newspapers are associated with political
parties. Most are weeklies, except the centrist daily Al-Wafd
and the smaller Islamist semiweekly Al-Shaab. All have small
circulations. Opposition newspapers frequently publish tough
criticisms of the Government, inspiring rejoinders from the
government-owned press. They also give greater prominence to
human rights abuses than the state-run newspapers. Most of the
opposition press receives foreign funding as well as government
subsidies and is printed and distributed by a government-owned
publishing house.
The Government restricts the press in a number of ways. It
controls the right to publish through its power to license
newspapers. The Higher Press Council, chaired by the Speaker
of the Shura Council, has the power to approve applications for
new publications. Most members of the Higher Press Council are
close to the ruling National Democratic Party and are inclined
to follow the government line. In a potentially serious move
against the freedom of the press, the Higher Press Council in
September issued new regulations for licensing new newspapers,
requiring applicants to provide detailed information on sources
of financing, editorial structure, and, in the case of a
political party paper, the party's ideology and platform. The
regulations may be applied retroactively to existing newspapers
and represent a significant tightening of the Government's
control over the opposition press.
Opposition party papers may be called to account for publishing
articles deemed inconsistent with their official ideologies.
In the past, the Government has refused to license new parties
whose stated platforms "duplicate" those of existing parties
(see Section 3).
As in past years, the Government continued to interfere with
freedom of expression, arresting and harassing Egyptian and
foreign journalists, and confiscating printed material from the
marketplace. In general, the Government harassed some
journalists who wrote stories about corruption, portrayed Egypt
in an unfavorable light, explored human rights and military
issues, or who were associated with Islamist opposition
elements. The Government has used such harassment to indicate
that there are limits to criticism of the Government.
In March state security officials interrogated journalist
Moustafa Bakry for his article in Al-Shaab newspaper in which
he critized the security forces' use of violence against
demonstrators protesting the massacre at the Hebron mosque in
February. Also interrogated were Adel Hussein, the Chairman of
the Socialist Labor Party (SLP), and Magdy Hussein, Al-Shaab's
editor in chief. The three reported they had been accused of
publishing articles that threatened state security, social
order, and national unity. The Government did not file charges.
In the spring, state prosecutors repeatedly interrogated Magdy
Hussein and the leadership of the SLP in connection with libel
suits filed against them by senior government officials for
articles on official corruption. As of late September, two of
the four cases had been dropped against them.
In April a court sentenced another reporter for Al-Shaab, Abdel
Sattar Abu Hussein, to 1 year in prison for publishing state
secrets in an article on U.S.-Egyptian military exercises. Abu
Hussein claimed his article was derived from open sources. He
also claimed that after he was arrested, he was held
incommunicado for 3 days and questioned about another one of
his stories on alleged corruption in the military industry. In
July the Minister of Defense commuted Abu Hussein's sentence to
3 months, after Al-Shaab retracted Abu Hussein's stories.
Also in April, Mohammed Zaky of Al-Wafd newspaper was detained
for questioning about the source of an article he wrote on a
reported police success in uncovering a new terrorist group.
In June the authorities detained Magdy Hussein and confiscated
his notes after he returned from a visit to Yemen. In
September security officials again interrogated Mustafa Bakry
about foreign funding of Al-Shaab and his articles in another
newspaper, Al-Ahrar, in which he detailed dissident activity in
Saudi Arabia, repeated rumors about King Fahd's health
problems, criticized the Egyptian Government for hosting the
U.N. International Conference on Population and Development,
and reported Iraqi press attacks on President Mubarak.
In December the State Security Prosecutor General remanded Adel
Hussein to 15 days' custody for interrogation into his
purported links with the Islamic Group, a terrorist
organization. Members of the press syndicate staged a hunger
strike in protest, and local human rights monitors and
opposition leaders condemned the arrest and held a series of
rallies.
In 1994 state prosecutors summoned several foreign journalists
for questioning because they believed their reporting on
internal events had damaged Egypt's international reputation.
The Government restricts news coverage on television and radio
more tightly than newspaper coverage. Criticisms of government
policies and reporting on government corruption and human
rights abuses are almost never broadcast on radio and
television. Political parties do not have access to broadcast
facilities, even during election campaigns.
Various ministries are authorized to ban or confiscate books
and other works of art upon obtaining a court order. The
Ministry of Interior regularly confiscates leaflets and other
works by Islamists. In 1994 the Ministry prevented the public
sale of audio cassette tapes by Islamic preachers whose
preachings were considered to foment sectarian strife.
The Ministry of Defense may ban works about sensitive security
issues, and plays and films must pass Ministry of Culture
censorship tests as scripts and as final productions. The
Ministry of Culture also censors foreign films but is more
lenient when these are in video format. In 1994 government
censors banned the showing of the U.S. film, "Schindler's
List," on the grounds of explicit violence, nudity, and sex.
Government censors ensure that foreign films made in Egypt
portray Egypt in a favorable light. Censors review scripts
before filming, are present during filming, and have the right
to review the film before it is sent out of Egypt.
The Ministry of Information censors television productions and
foreign news publications. On occasion in 1994, the Ministry
impounded some foreign news publications before they were
released. The Ministry does not usually inform the management
of foreign publications of the reasons for impoundments. In
1994 the Ministry banned or delayed the distribution of nine
issues of the English-language weekly, The Middle East Times.
Those issues carried stories on government corruption, human
rights violations, and the Government's security campaign
against extremists.
The Islamic Research Institute at Al-Azhar University has legal
authority to censor, but not to confiscate, all publications
dealing with the Koran and Islamic scriptural texts. In recent
years, however, the Institute has passed judgment on the
suitability of nonreligious books and artistic productions. In
February an advisory council in the judiciary issued an opinion
expanding Al-Azhar's censorship to include visual and audio
artistic works. In response, the Minister of Culture issued a
statement describing the court's decision as advisory and not
binding upon the Government. In the past, President Mubarak
has publicly approved Al-Azhar's censorship role, but in 1994
he stated that the Government would not allow confiscation of
books from the market without a court order.
As in recent years, moderate Muslims and secularist writers
have found themselves under attack by extremists. In October
suspected extremists attempted to assassinate Nagib Mahfouz,
Nobel Laureate and antifundamentalist critic, whose novel, "The
Children of the Gebelawi," has been banned from public sale by
Al-Azhar since 1959 because it is considered blasphemous.
Following the murder attempt, the press published the novel in
a show of solidarity with Mahfouz and secular intellectuals
(see Section 1.a.).
The Government does not generally restrict academic freedom at
universities. However, in May the People's Assembly amended
the Education Law to authorize university presidents to appoint
deans of faculties. Under the previous law, faculty deans were
elected by their peers. The Government justified the measure
as a means to combat Islamist influence in the school system.
In January a court ruled against Islamist lawyers who had
petitioned the court to divorce Nasr Abu Zeid, an Arabic
language professor at Cairo University, from his wife on
grounds that Abu Zeid's writings on the Koran were heretical.
The petitioners argued that, as a heretic, Abu Zeid should not
be allowed to remain married to a Muslim woman in a Muslim
country. The court found the petitioners had no standing to
file a divorce suit. The case was in appeal at year's end.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
There continue to be substantial restrictions on this freedom.
Under a 1923 law, citizens must obtain approval from the
Ministry of Interior before holding public meetings, rallies,
and protest marches. Permits are generally granted for rallies
held indoors or on university campuses.
In May security forces broke up a demonstration of lawyers
protesting the death in police custody of Abdel Hareth Madani
(see Section 1.a.). When the demonstrating lawyers attempted
to enter the street, the police moved in with tear gas and
clubs. The Government had denied the Bar Association's request
for a permit for a protest march, and thus termed the
demonstration illegal.
Under Law 32 of 1964, the Ministry of Social Affairs has
sweeping authority over all Egyptian "private organizations,"
including the right to license and dissolve them, confiscate
their properties, appoint members to their boards, and
interfere in other internal administrative matters. Licenses
may be revoked if such organizations engage in political or
religious activities. The law authorizes the Ministry to
"merge two or more associations to achieve a similar function,"
a provision that can be used to merge an undesirable
organization out of existence.
In 1994 the Ministry dissolved a nongovernmental organization
which had received unauthorized funds from a Kuwaiti group, the
Society for the Revival of the Islamic Heritage. The
Government expelled several Kuwaiti citizens associated with
the organization, asserting that the organization had
distributed funds to extremists. In August the Ministry
announced that all organizations receiving charitable funds
from abroad would be obliged to transfer the funds to the
Ministry for distribution.
Since 1985, the Government has refused under Law 32 to license
the EOHR and the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) on
grounds that they are political organizations. Both continue
to operate openly (see Section 4). Similarly, the request by
Amnesty International (AI) for legal status for its local
chapter has been pending with the Government for 4 years.
Until recently, the Government allowed AI to operate freely,
but in October it informed AI's local chapter that it would no
longer be allowed to hold meetings, pending a decision on its
request for legal status. The Government says it is still
studying that request.
Under 1993 legislation on professional associations, an
association must elect its governing board by at least 50
percent of its general membership. Failing a quorum, a second
election must be held in which at least 33 per cent of the
membership votes in the board. If such a quorum is impossible,
the judiciary may appoint a caretaker board until new elections
can be set. The law was adopted to prevent further gains in
the professional syndicates by Islamist candidates.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides freedom of belief and the practice of
religious rites. However, there are important limitations.
Islam is the state religion. Most Egyptians are Muslim, but
approximately 10 per cent of the population, 5 million people,
belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian
minority in the Middle East. There are other small Christian
denominations. The small Jewish community practices its
religion without harassment. Members of recognized religions
maintain links with coreligionists abroad. The foreign clergy
pursue their ministries without harassment, but the law
effectively bars non-Muslims from proselytizing.
Islam accepts Christian and other converts, but Muslims face
legal problems if they convert to another faith. There is no
clear legal prohibition against conversion or proselytizing,
but Article 98f of the Penal Code prohibits any person from
"degrading or disdaining any of the holy religions or any of
its religious sects" with "the intention of harming national
unity and social peace." This is interpreted as forbidding the
conversion of Muslims by non-Muslims. Conviction is punishable
by 6 months' to 5 years' imprisonment. In 1993 the authorities
twice arrested an Egyptian lay missionary for preparing
Christian missionary literature for publication. A court
ordered his release from detention in March.
In July the Minister of Education issued a decree prohibiting
local school officials from requiring schoolgirls to wear the
hegab (head scarf) without parental consent on school grounds.
A group of lawyers and parents, who favored the hegab,
challenged the decree. An administrative court ruled against
the Minister, but his decree was later upheld by an appelate
court.
The courts have upheld the principle that Muslims cannot change
their identity papers to reflect their conversion to a new
religion. As a consequence, married male converts from Islam
must register their children as Muslims, as the law considers
them to be Muslims.
In the past, state security forces have harassed and detained
for prolonged periods Egyptian Christians accused of
proselytizing Muslims. In November 1993, security forces
arrested six Coptic Christians who had sought to dissuade
another Coptic Christian, who was also arrested, from
converting to Islam. All seven persons were held in detention
without formal charge. The Supreme State Security Court
ordered their release in May.
An 1856 Ottoman decree still in force requires non-Muslims to
obtain what is now a presidential decree to build or repair a
place of worship. Coptic Christians maintain they are
frequently unable to obtain such authorization or are blocked
by the security forces from using the authorizations that have
been issued. As a result, some communities use private
buildings and apartments for religious services. From 1992 to
1994, the Government increased the number of building permits
issued to Christian communities to an average of more than 20 a
year, compared to the average of 5 permits issued annually in
the 1980's. Most permits appear to be for the repair of
existing structures and not for new construction of churches.
Christian and Muslim reformers urge the abolition of the
Ottoman decree, but Islamists defend the building restrictions.
According to human rights and legal sources, the Government in
June closed two buildings in an unzoned area near Alexandria
which had been used by Coptic Evangelical Christians since 1990
for church activities. Church lawyers are pursuing a legal
suit against the closures. The lawyers maintain that the
closures violate previous court rulings upholding the right to
conduct religious services in private buildings without prior
government approval. They also point out that the closed
buildings are located in an area were unlicensed buildings are
common. In July security forces arrested a Coptic Christian
who protested the closures in letters published in newspapers.
The police released the individual after 10 days' detention
after he signed a statement binding him not to discuss the
closures in public.
In theory, mosques must also be licensed by the Government, but
the Government reports approximately half of the estimated
70,000 mosques in Egypt are unlicensed. The Penal Code
prohibits using a place of worship for antigovernment speeches,
and the Ministry of Religious Affairs proposes themes and
monitors sermons. In practice, the Government cannot control
all sermons, especially at "unauthorized" mosques where sermons
may invoke antigovernment, anti-Christian, and anti-Western
themes. In 1994 the Government increased efforts to bring
private mosques under its administrative control as a means to
counter Islamic extremism.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Egyptians and foreigners are free to travel within Egypt except
in certain military areas. Males who have not completed
compulsory military service may not travel abroad or emigrate,
although this restriction can be circumvented. Unmarried women
under 21 must have permission from their fathers to obtain
passports and travel; married women require the same permission
from their husbands. Citizens who leave the country have the
right to return.
In recent years, the Government has denied permission to
Christian converts from Islam to travel abroad. The
deportation of citizens and aliens granted political asylum is
prohibited and not practiced.
Egypt is host to thousands of refugees, but only a few are
granted the right to resettle in Egypt. In the past, some
Ethiopians and other Africans, who seek documentation as
refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
have been detained by the police and then transported to areas
near the Libyan or Sudanese borders where they are released.
Some have returned to their countries; others have found their
way back to Egyptian cities.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) dominates the
454-seat People's Assembly, the Shura Council, local
governments, the mass media, labor, the large public sector,
and the licensing of new political parties, newspapers, and
private organizations to such an extent that, as a practical
matter, Egyptians do not have a meaningful ability to change
the national government.
In 1993 President Hosni Mubarak was elected unopposed to a
third 6-year term by the People's Assembly. In October of that
year, his reelection was approved by 96 percent of the voters
in a national referendum. The Government claimed that 86 per
cent of the electorate went to the polls although observers
judged that the actual figure was much lower. The electorate
was not presented with a choice among competing presidential
candidates; it was offered the opportunity only to vote for or
against Mubarak's reelection. Two opposition parties, the Wafd
and the Islamist-affiliated Socialist Labor Party, urged the
public to boycott the referendum, and two other parties, the
leftist Tagammu and the Nasserist Party, urged the public to
vote against President Mubarak. The other opposition parties
endorsed Mubarak's candidacy.
In June the Government convened a "national dialog" conference
of figures in politics, labor, the media, and intellectuals to
discuss the country's future priorities. Although the
Government had stated that the dialog would be open to various
views, it strictly controlled the agenda and the selection of
the delegates, who were overwhelmingly drawn from NDP members
and sympathizers. The Government invited the opposition
parties to send three representatives each. Two parties
boycotted the conference. At the conference, the Government
disallowed any discussion of constitutional reform, nor did it
address such topics as human rights.
Acting on recommendations from the dialog, President Mubarak in
October issued edicts amending or abolishing several old laws
on political party registration, candidates for public office,
and elections. However, at year's end, he has not indicated
how or when the more substantial political reforms recommended
by the dialog might be implemented.
In the 1990 People's Assembly election, NDP candidates won 383
seats of 444 elected, independents won 55, and a leftist party
won 6. Seven opposition parties boycotted the election. The
Constitution reserves 10 Assembly seats for presidential
appointees, assuring some representation for Coptic Christians
and women. Women were granted suffrage in 1956. Ten women
hold Assembly seats: 7 elected and 3 appointed. One Copt is
in the Cabinet and five Copts sit in the Assembly: one elected
and four appointed.
The Assembly debates government proposals, and members exercise
their authority to call cabinet ministers to explain policy,
but it does not have sufficient authority to challenge or
restrain the executive in the areas of security or foreign
policy. The Assembly can exercise significant influence over
economic policies, primarily by blocking governmental
initiatives. The executive initiates almost all legislation;
the Assembly may not modify the budget except with the
Government's approval, and there is little oversight of the
Interior Ministry's use of Emergency Law powers. Many
executive branch initiatives and policies are carried out by
ministerial decree without significant legislative oversight.
The military budget is prepared by the executive and not
debated publicly. Presidential appointees do not require
legislative approval. Roll-call votes in the Assembly are
rare. Votes are generally reported in aggregate terms of yeas
and nays, and thus constituents have no independent method of
checking a member's voting record.
There are 12 recognized opposition parties. The law empowers
the Government to bring felony charges against those who form a
party without a license. New parties must be approved by the
Parties Committee, a semiofficial body dominated by the ruling
National Democratic Party. Since the late 1970's, the
Committee has granted a license to only one opposition
party--the Wafd Party. Other parties have been granted
licenses by presidential decrees or by court orders. The sole
application to form a new party in 1994, from the Egyptian
Popular Democratic Party, was pending at year's end.
In January the Political Parties Court rejected the 1993
application of the Social Justice Party. In February the
Higher Administrative Court upheld a lower court ruling which
disapproved the establishment of the Peace Party.
The law prohibits political parties based on religion.
Nevertheless, Muslim Brotherhood partisans are publicly known
and openly speak their views. Some have served in the Assembly
as independents or members of other recognized parties.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
The Government refuses to license local human rights
organizations as private entities under Law 32 of 1964 (see
Section 2.b.) on the grounds that they are political
organizations. Appeals from the Egyptian Organization for
Human Rights (EOHR) and the associated Arab Organization for
Human Rights (AOHR) on the ruling on their legal status are
still before the courts. AOHR has successfully registered as a
foreign organization with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Despite its nonrecognition, the EOHR operates openly, its field
workers visit prisons and government offices, and the
Government does not interfere with its funding from foreign
human rights organizations. Other activists have successfully
registered their human rights organizations as corporations
under the commercial law, thus skirting the obstacles posed by
Law 32.
In May an EOHR staff member, who was also a defense lawyer for
persons arrested in an unauthorized demonstration at the Bar
Association headquarters (see Section 1.c.), was arrested
ostensibly on grounds of inciting public disorder and
questioned extensively about his activities at the EOHR.
In June representatives of the New York-based Human Rights
Watch complained of overt surveillance by state security
officers during one of their field trips to upper Egypt. In
September the EOHR reported that state security officers
ordered EOHR's publisher not to distribute copies of EOHR's
1993 annual report.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Women
The law provides for equality of the sexes, but aspects of the
law and many traditional practices discriminate against women.
By law women need their husbands' or fathers' permission to
obtain a passport or travel abroad (Section 2.d.). Only males
can confer citizenship. In rare cases, this means that
children born to Egyptian mothers and stateless fathers are
themselves stateless.
Laws affecting marriage and personal status generally
correspond to an individual's religion, which for most
Egyptians is Islam. A 1979 liberalization of the Family Status
Law strengthened a Muslim woman's rights to divorce and to
child custody. In 1985, however, the changes were found
unconstitutional on grounds that they conflicted with Islamic
law and were repealed.
Under Islamic law, non-Muslim males must convert to Islam to
marry Muslim women, but non-Muslim women need not convert to
marry Muslim men. Muslim female heirs receive half the amount
of a male heir's inheritance, while Christian widows of Muslims
have no inheritance rights. A sole female heir receives half
her parents' estate; the balance goes to designated male
relatives. A sole male heir inherits all his parents'
property. Male Muslim heirs have the duty to provide for all
family members who need assistance.
Egyptian women have employment opportunities in government,
medicine, law, academia, the arts, and, to a lesser degree, in
business. About 100 officers in the Egyptian diplomatic
service are women, including 3 ambassadors. There are no women
judges. Although there is no legal basis to prohibit women
judges, a woman under consideration for promotion to magistrate
was denied the promotion on the basis of gender in 1993 and is
suing the Government.
Social pressure against women pursuing a career is strong, and
some Egyptian feminists say that a resurgent Islamic
fundamentalist trend limits further gains. Women's rights
advocates also point to other discriminatory attitudes and
practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and the male
relative's role in enforcing women's compliance with
religiously prescribed codes of sexual conduct.
Family violence against women occurs and is reflected in press
accounts of specific incidents. Official or nonofficial
quantitative data do not exist. In general, the intervention
of neighbors and extended family members tends to limit the
prevalence and scope of such violence. Abuse within the family
is rarely discussed publicly, owing to the value attached to
privacy in this traditional society. Neither the government,
nongovernmental organizations, or human rights organizations
has commented publicly upon family violence.
There are at least two active women's rights groups, one
affiliated with the EOHR. The other is the Communications
Group for the Enhancement of the Status of Women, which has
published a booklet on the legal rights of Egyptian women.
Children
The Government remains committed to the protection of
children's welfare within the limits of its budgetary
resources. Many of the resources for children's welfare are
provided by international donors, especially in the field of
child immunization. Child labor is widespread, despite the
Government's commitment to eradicate it.
International health experts have condemned female genital
mutilation (FGM) as damaging to physical and mental health.
Statistics on the prevalence of FGM vary, but government and
private sources agree it is common among 70 to 80 per cent of
rural and poor urban women. The act is generally performed on
girls between the ages of 7 and 10, probably with equal
prevalence among Muslims and Coptic Christians.
A 1959 decree and subsequent amendments, which described the
practice as "psychologically harmful," limited the practice to
excision. However, the more drastic infibulation is practiced
in some parts of southern Egypt. The decree prohibited doctors
from performing the excision in government health facilities.
Current law stipulates penalties for nonmedical practitioners;
a barber was sentenced in November to a year at hard labor for
circumcising a child. However, the law does not stipulate
punishment for parents who violate the law. Following public
outcry in 1994 over foreign television airing of the
circumcision of a 9-year old girl, the Minister of Health, in
the company of religious leaders, announced the Government
would hold its first conference on FGM. The Government also
broadcast television programs condemning the practice. The
Sheikh of Al-Azhar, head of the world's oldest institution of
Islamic thought, has issued a decree declaring FGM a
religiously mandated duty. His ruling could hamper any public
educational efforts by the Government.
Religious Minorities
The approximately 5 million Coptic Christians are the objects
of occasional violent assaults by Islamic extremists and of
discrimination by the Government. In 1994 Islamic extremists
are believed to have been responsible for killing at least
eight Coptic residents of Assiyut governorate, including the
shooting of six pilgrims at a monastery. The area of Dairut,
Assiyut governorate, the scene of a massacre of 13 Coptic
residents in 1992, is reportedly still tense. Local Coptic
residents fear for their personal safety when traveling outside
their homes.
Extremists have obstructed church repairs and construction and
harassed Copt-owned businesses. Christians have complained
that the Government is lax in protecting Coptic lives and
property. Security forces arrest extremists who perpetrate
violence against Copts, but the Coptic community does not
believe the Government is vigorous in its efforts to prevent
the attacks and does little to correct nonviolent forms of
discrimination, including its own.
Government discriminatory practices include: suspected
statistical underrepresentation of the size of the Christian
population; delays in issuing church building and repair
permits and obstruction of permits obtained; the detention and
mistreatment of some Muslim converts to Christianity; laws that
prevent Muslims from changing their identity papers to reflect
their conversion to Christianity (upheld in a 1980 court
decision); anti-Christian discrimination in education,
illustrated by the requirement that public school students,
including Christians, memorize Koranic verses as part of their
Arabic studies; a public school ban on the hiring of Christian
Arabic teachers as the curriculum involves the study of the
Koran; the production of Islamic television programs, some with
anti-Christian themes; job discrimination in the public sector,
the police, the armed forces, and government agencies; reported
discrimination against Christians in admission to state medical
schools; and underrepresentation in government. There are no
Coptic governors and no Copts in the upper ranks of the
military, police, and diplomatic service.
People with Disabilities
There are approximately 5.7 million disabled persons in Egypt,
of whom 1.5 million are severely disabled. The Government
makes serious efforts to address their rights. It works
closely with United Nations agencies and other international
aid donors to design job-training programs for the disabled.
The Government also seeks to increase the public's awareness of
the capabilities of the disabled in television programming, the
print media, and in educational material in public schools. By
law, all businesses must designate 5 percent of their jobs for
the disabled, who are exempted from normal literacy
requirements. Although there is no legislation mandating
access to public accommodations and transportation, the
disabled may ride government-owned mass transit buses without
charge, are given priority in obtaining telephones, and receive
reductions on customs duty for private vehicles.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Egyptian workers may, but are not required to, join trade
unions. A union local, or worker's committee, may be formed if
50 employees express a desire to organize. Most union members,
about 25 per cent of the labor force, are employed by
state-owned enterprises. The law stipulates that "high
administrative" officials in government and the public sector
may not join unions.
There are 23 industrial unions, all required to belong to the
Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF), the sole legally
recognized labor federation. The International Labor
Organization's Committee of Experts (COE) has repeatedly
emphasized that a law requiring all trade unions to belong to a
single federation infringes on the freedom of association. The
Government has shown no sign that it intends to accept the
establishment of more than one federation. The ETUF leadership
asserts that it actively promotes worker interests and that
there is no need for another federation. ETUF officials have
close relations with the NDP, and some are members of the
People's Assembly and the Shura Council. They speak vigorously
on behalf of worker concerns, but public confrontations between
ETUF and the Government are rare. Disputes are more often
resolved by consensus behind closed doors.
Some unions within ETUF are affiliated with international trade
union organizations. Others are in the process of doing so.
The Government is in the process of drafting a new labor law
which has not yet been submitted to the People's Assembly. The
law is expected to be debated in the spring of 1995. The
proposed law provides statutory authorization for the rights to
strike and to collective bargaining. Under current labor laws
such rights are not adequately guaranteed. Even though the
right to strike is not guaranteed, strikes occur. The
Government considers strikes a form of public disturbance and
hence illegal.
In October the police used force to break up a public
demonstration in support of a strike by several thousand
textile workers at the northern town of Kafr al-Duwar. In
putting down the demonstration, the police killed at least 5
persons, including a 12-year-old child, arrested more than 100
demonstrators. Sixty demonstrators were injured.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The draft labor law provides statutory authorization for
collective bargaining. Under the current law, unions may
negotiate work contracts with public sector enterprises if the
latter agrees to such negotiations, but unions otherwise lack
collective bargaining power in the state sector. Under current
circumstances, collective bargaining does not exist in any
meaningful sense because the Government sets wages, benefits,
and job classifications by law. Larger firms in the private
sector generally adhere to such government-mandated standards.
Labor law and practice are the same in the export processing
zones as in the rest of the country.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is illegal and not practiced.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The minimum age for employment is 12. Education is compulsory
until age 15. An employee must be at least 15 to join a labor
union. The Labor Law of 1981 states that children aged 12 to
15 may work 6 hours a day but not after 7 p.m. and not in
dangerous or heavy activities. Child workers must obtain
medical certificates and work permits before they are employed.
A 1988 survey found that 1.4 million children between the ages
of 6 and 14 are employed--about 7 percent of the total work
force. A 1989 study estimated that two-thirds of child labor,
perhaps 720,000 children, work on farms. However, children
also work as apprentices in repair and craft shops, in heavier
industries such as brickmaking and textiles, and as workers in
leather factories and carpet-making, which largely supplies the
export market. While local trade unions report that the
Ministry of Labor adequately enforces the labor laws in
state-owned enterprises, enforcement in the private sector,
especially in family-owned enterprises, is lax.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
For government and public-sector employees, the minimum wage is
approximately $20 a month for a 6-day, 48-hour workweek. Base
pay is supplemented by a complex system of fringe benefits and
bonuses that may double or triple a worker's take-home pay. It
is doubtful that the average family could survive on a worker's
base pay at the minimum wage rate. The minimum wage is also
legally binding on the private sector, and larger private
companies generally observe the requirement and pay bonuses as
well. Smaller firms do not always pay the minimum wage or
bonuses. The Ministry of Labor sets worker health and safety
standards, which also apply in the export processing zones, but
enforcement and inspection are uneven.
(###)
[end of document]
Return
to 1994 Human Rights Practices report home page.
Return to DOSFAN
home page.
This is an official U.S. Government source
for information on the WWW. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links
does not imply endorsement of contents.