Last week the US Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on the current human rights situation in Egypt. Republican Congressman Randy Hultgren chaired the hearing and opened the session by discussing a wide range of human rights violations. He highlighted Ola and Hosam’s situation as a case that has special interest to the Commission among cases of prisoners of conscious across the world.
Congressman Hultgren explained that Ola and Hosam’s most basic human rights have been denied. He further emphasized the strong ties that Ola and Hosam have to the United States and
“While the state-run media claims that they have been charged with crimes, their lawyer has been given no information in writing of any kind and the Egyptian government has declined repeated requests to address these great violations,” said Congressman Hultgren. (Watch video – https://youtu.be/Cg9QKh2USG0)
Amy Hawthorne (Project on the Middle East) and Michele Dunne (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) both testified on the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt. HRW’s Deputy Director on the Middle East, Joe Stork, also participated and spoke about the arrest, torture, disappearances, and prison conditions in Egypt. He raised a number of cases including Ola and Hosam.
“They are in solitary confinement, in separate prisons, denied visits by family and lawyers in violation of Egyptian law,” said Joe Stork. (Watch video – https://youtu.be/YEz0T_MF54Q)
Aayah, Ola and Hosam’s eldest daughter, spent a week in Washington DC meeting with members of Congress and the Senate to brief them on the case and was received with support and concern about the conditions Ola and Hosam are being subjected to.
International Human Rights Day
December 10th marked 163 days of solitary confinement for Ola and Hosam. Egypt is a party to the he Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
During Aayah’s visit to Washington she attended a UN event in the US Congress and met the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein.
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