Call on Egypt’s international partners to take action on repression of EIPR

24 Egyptian and international NGOs, including FairSquare, have today written to European and North American governments calling on them to take action on the ongoing repression of staff of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. It is two years since EIPR staff were arrested following a meeting with western diplomats.

In the open letter to 14 embassies, plus the EU delegation, in Cairo, the organisations called on Egypt’s international partners to “take action to end the restrictive and arbitrary measures imposed on members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights [including] travel bans, asset freezes and unreasonably prolonged judicial investigations.”

In July this year, FairSquare and Human Rights Watch published research on the devastating impact of travel bans on members of Egyptian civil society, including EIPR. The bans, which authorities usually do not formally announce and provide no clear way to challenge them in court, have separated families, damaged careers, and harmed the mental health of those subjected to them.