A number of international bar associations and lawyers’ organisations have come together to announce an annual “International Fair Trial Day” (IFTD) to be observed every year on 14 June. An annual Ebru Timtik Award was also introduced to recognise an individual or an organisation who has or which has made an exceptional contribution towards securing fair trial rights in the country on which the IFDT is focusing for the year in question. The focus country for the 2022 IFDT has been chosen as Egypt and an event is held on 17 and 18 June 2022 for the occasion in Palermo and is hosted by Palermo Bar Association. On this occasion, the AEA-EAL and other international associations of lawyers and bars issued the Joint Statement on the situation in Egypt. You can read the text of the Statement below and find its English and Arabic versions for download. International Fair Trial Day Joint Statement on the Situation in Egypt, the Focus Country of 2022 Today, 14 June 2022, marks the International Fair Trial Day (IFTD), which will be observed for the second time worldwide. The focus country of the IFTD this year is Egypt, a country that is and has been suffering for many years from systemic human rights violations and a serious lack of fair trial standards. On the occasion of the IFTD, drawing attention to the deteriorating situation in the country, the undersigned organisations call upon the Egyptian authorities to immediately take the necessary steps to comply with the right to a fair trial in Egypt and to create an environment in which these fundamental procedural rights can effectively be protected. The undersigned organisations also call upon the international community to increase their efforts to draw attention to the situation in Egypt, with a particular focus on compliance with the right to a fair trial. Background of the IFTD In response to the serious failure of the judicial system in Turkey to protect and respect fair trial principles, lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal began a hunger strike in January 2020. They expressed a common demand of many thousands who were subjected to arbitrary investigations, trials, arrests, detentions, and wrongful convictions. They called on the Turkish government to comply with its obligations to secure and respect the right to a fair trial and to end practices constituting systemic violations of this fundamental right. On 5 April 2020, on Lawyers’ Day in Turkey, they turned their hunger strike into a death fast to underline the vital importance of this demand. Ebru Timtik lost her life on 27 August 2020, the 238th day of her death fast, while Aytaç Ünsal ended his protest on 4 September 2020 following a temporary release order by the Supreme Court that was later withdrawn. He was returned to prison on 10 December 2020 and is still in detention. Fundamental rights and freedoms and principles of the rule of law are under attack globally. In many countries, including European countries, there are reports documenting governmental oppression and practices undermining international human rights obligations. Thus, those who carry out activities to condemn, draw attention to, and criticise these practices are under constant pressure from the state apparatus, including pressure from the judiciary, whose independence and impartiality is being seriously undermined. Attempts are being made to silence lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, opposition politicians, academics and many others raising their voices against such policies through baseless charges, prosecution and conviction e.g. under anti-terror legislation. The International Fair Trial Day was established along with the Ebru Timtik Award to advocate for the re-establishment of fair trial rights in those countries where fair trial rights are under serious threat. The occasion will be used by the international community to focus on the situation in the country chosen for that year as the focus country and to draw attention to the fair trial issues faced there. Also, an annual Ebru Timtik Award is granted to an individual and/or an organisation from the focus country that has been active in defending and or promoting the right to a fair trial in that specific country. Call to Action on Egypt Judicial independence is severely eroded in Egypt, which means that the right to an independent and impartial tribunal is violated in largely all cases involving human rights lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, opposition politicians, and those engaging in any form of independent expression. Reports confirm a wide range of systemic violations of the right to a fair trial in the country, including arbitrary detention, arrests, or prosecutions of opponents or perceived opponents. There also has been a failure to effectively prosecute and punish crimes committed by state-affiliated forces, such as unlawful or arbitrary killings – including extrajudicial killings -, forced disappearances, torture, and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Whilst this impunity amounts to a violation of the rights of the victims of these crimes and does not of itself amount to a violation of fair trial rights, it is further evidence that the police, prosecutors, and other officials are failing in their duty to carry out effective and independent investigations and uphold the rule of law. This dire situation is recognised in a number of reports from prominent human rights organisations. The country is classified as ‘not free’ by Freedom House, underlining – under the rule of law ranking – serious fair trial rights issues. Furthermore, the World Justice Project’s 2021 Rule of Law index ranks Egypt at 136 out of 139 countries. Reports indicate that the executive branch and the security sector in Egypt exert significant influence over the courts, which typically protect the interests of the government, military, and security apparatus and have often disregarded due process and other basic safeguards in cases against the government’s political opponents, lawyers who represent victims of human rights violations and others, and where there is perceived dissent. Constitutional amendments made in 2019 further strengthened the Egyptian President’s influence over the judiciary and undermined its independence. The changes allowed the President to appoint […]
