EGYPT: ACTIVISTS RALLY TO PROTEST CLOSURE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002799

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC STAFF FOR WATERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EAID EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT: ACTIVISTS RALLY TO PROTEST CLOSURE OF
HUMAN RIGHTS NGO

REF: A. CAIRO 2581

B. CAIRO 1283

Classified by DCM Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: Leaders of Cairo's human rights and
democracy activist community rallied on September 16 at a
downtown demonstration to protest the GOE's September 8
closure of the Association for Human Rights and Legal Aid
(AHRLA),apparently for accepting foreign funding, including
from the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy, without GOE
approval. NGO activists told diplomatic observers from the
Dutch, Canadian, German, Norwegian, British, and U.S.
embassies that they feel increasingly under threat from the
GOE, and that they are concerned that the recent GOE move
against AHRLA may presage a wider crackdown on Egyptian civil
society. End summary.


2. (SBU) Poloff and LES political specialist observed the
demonstration, which had been widely advertised via NGO
e-mail notices, on the morning of September 16. Poloffs from
several like-minded Embassies (Dutch, Canadian, German,
Norwegian, and British) also observed the demonstration.
Approximately 50 NGO activists representing at least 25
different Cairo-based NGOs held a largely silent protest,
lasting for nearly an hour, at the corner of Talaat Harb and
Marouf Streets, in Cairo's downtown. Most of the
demonstrators held small hand-lettered signs criticizing the
GOE's hostility to human rights organizations. The police
presence was relatively light: approximately 50 officers,
including a mix of uniformed and plain clothes personnel,
along with a dozen riot police. Journalists mingled freely
with the protesters, conducting interviews and taking
pictures.


3. (C) The civil society activists at the protest
represented a "Who's Who" of Egyptian democracy and human
rights leaders. In addition to Tarek Khater, the head of the
now-shuttered AHRLA, other "A-list" activists included Ahmed
Samih of the Andalus Center for Tolerance (a USAID grantee);
Negad El-Borai of the United Group (a MEPI and USAID
grantee); Hafez Abou Seada of the Egyptian Organization for
Human Rights and the National Council for Human Rights; Nehad
Aboul Qumsan of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights;
Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights;
Karam Sabr of the Land Center for Human Rights (a MEPI
grantee); and George Ishaq, the former leader of Kifaya.


4. (C) The exact reasons behind the GOE's closure of AHRLA
remain murky. Press reports indicate that the Ministry of
Social Solidarity (responsible for NGO regulation) has
alleged financial transgressions by AHRLA including
unauthorized acceptance of foreign funds. AHRLA director
Tarek Khater (protect) told us that he believes the closure
stems from AHRLA's acceptance of funding from the Canadians
(CIDA),the Swiss Fund for Development, and the U.S. National
Endowment for Democracy (NED). According to Khater, AHRLA
notified the Ministry of Social Solidarity "seven months ago"
of its plans to accept funding from these donors. MSS did
not reply to AHRLA within the legally mandated 60 day
response period, so AHRLA proceeded with its project, despite
not having explicit permission to proceed. (Note: We are
working to obtain the exact details of NED funding to AHRLA.
The NED website notes two 2005 awards to AHRLA: $25,000 for
human rights reporting and $30,000 for election reporting.
It is not clear if the closure is connected to these or
subsequent as-yet-unpublicized awards. End note.)


5. (C) Khater also told us that he suspects that AHRLA's
high profile advocacy on behalf of the family of a deceased
torture victim may have played a role in the GOE's decision
to close AHRLA. Since mid-2006, AHRLA has supported the
family of Mohamed Abdul Qader El-Sayed, a detainee who died
in police custody in 2003. AHRLA's lawyers argued that State
Security Investigations Service (SSIS) Captain Ashraf Mostafa
Hussain Safwat had tortured the detainee to death. AHRLA
also reported in late 2006 that SSIS had pressured the family
to drop the case. (Note: The Captain Safwat prosecution was
the first prosecution of a State Security official on charges
of detainee abuse since 1986. End note.) On September 3, a
Cairo Criminal Court ruled that Captain Safwat was not guilty
in the torture murder of detainee El-Sayed. The GOE
subsequently closed AHRLA on September 8.


6. (C) Khater also linked AHRLA's closure to its advocacy
on behalf of the Center for Trade Union and Workers' Services
(CTUWS),an organization registered as a civil company which
the GOE shuttered in April and May 2007 on the grounds that
CTUWS was illegally involved in political activity and labor

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rights activism. (Ref B describes the CTUWS closure.)


7. (C) Said Abdul Hafez, an NGO leader familiar with the
AHRLA matter, told us on September 16 that rumors are also
circulating that an internal AHRLA leadership conflict (NFI),
between Khater and his deputy Mahmoud Abdul Moneim, may also
have played a role in the closure.


8. (C) Comment: The significant turnout at the
demonstration by an A-list of Egyptian civil society leaders
and by diplomatic observers from like-minded Embassies is
indicative of the growing concern among NGO activists and
donor embassies about the GOE's apparent willingness to
curtail NGO activities. This concern is likely to increase
as the GOE moves towards passage of a new NGO law, which many
activists fear will be more restrictive than the current law
(Ref A).
RICCIARDONE