[hr-education] Egypt: A new victory for prisoners' right to education

Cairo, April 23, 2003
For Immediate Release
PRESS RELEASE

The Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners
Acquires two new verdicts allowing two prisoners to be present for their exams.

   On April 24, 2003, the Administrative Court at the State Council, in law
suits no. 8419(57) and law suit no. 5237(57), ordered the Minister of the
Interior to provide two political detainees the opportunity to write their
exams.   According, the two will be able to be present to write the exams
for the 2002/2003 school year Amal Abed Alwahab Hassan Ebraheim, currently
being held in high security prison, has been detained since 1991.  He is a
law student in his third year at Cairo University.  Alaa Aldeen Badawy
Ahmed, detained since 1995, attends the faculty of education at Ganoub
Al-Wady University.  He was released pending the order from the court.

   The Ministry of the Interior had rejected their demand to write their
exam which is considered a negative decision in violation of their
prisoner's rights according to law and open for appeal before the
administrative court.

   The Ministry of the Interior defended its position by stating that the
date of exams has not arrived yet therefore a negative decision does not
exist.  In addition, the Minister claims there are security considerations.

   In the forbidden of the orders the court asserted that "the legislator
considers education a right for each citizen that should be provided by the
state and should not be denied due to incarceration.  The legislator also
made it imperative on the prison's administration to facilitate study for
inmates who wish to continue their education and to enable them to sit for
exam in the premises designated for the exams."

   As well, these two orders assert the right to continued education as
among the basic rights and freedoms guaranteed prisoners.  The right to
continued education is not subject to derogation by the Ministry of
Interior not can it be manipulated in an indirect means of discipline.

   The Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners hopes these
orders will act as an alarm within the Ministry of the Interior so as to
create awareness to the supportive role of the Egyptian judiciary in
upholding the rights and freedoms offered Egyptian citizens even those who
are incarcerated.  HRCAP also calls upon the Ministry of the Interior to
expedite the implementation of orders obtained by the Center law suits
against Ministry decisions that deny prisoners their basic human rights.

The Human Rights Center for the Assistance of Prisoners
Cairo, Egypt
E-mail: <mailto:hrcap@hrcap.org>hrcap@hrcap.org



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