Thursday July 9th 2018
In May, EU Member of Parliament Barbara Matera, who is also the Vice Chair of the committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equity addressed Ola’s case to the European Commission. MEP Barbara Matera went on to emphasize the barbaric conditions Ola is being put in and addressed the following questions to the European Commission and Higher Representative Federica Mogherini:
- How can the VP/HR raise awareness and stand in solidarity with Ola?
- In what ways can the VP/HR encourage the Egyptian government to drop the charges and set her free?
Vice-President Mogherini on behalf of the Commission has now addressed MEP Barbara Matera questions about Ola and Hosam:
“The High Representative/Vice-President (HR/VP) and the European External Action Service (EEAS) are following closely the situation of human rights in Egypt and are aware of this specific case.
Democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms are part of the EU-Egypt Partnership Priorities(1) that were adopted during the EU-Egypt Association Council on 25 July 2017. They are crucial for achieving sustainable stability, especially in the context of the challenges that Egypt is facing.
On this basis, the HR/VP and EEAS regularly discuss the situation of human rights with their Egyptian counterparts, insisting on the need to improve the situation in the country, and to implement all the guarantees stipulated by the 2014 Constitution and Egypt’s international obligations.
The recent EU-Egypt Sub-committee on Political Matters, Human Rights and Democracy, which took place in Cairo on 10 and 11 January 2018, allowed for thorough exchanges with the Egyptian side on issues of concern, including long pre-trial detention and poor prison conditions.
The EU’s concerns in this regard were also expressed in the EU position for the above mentioned EU-Egypt Association Council of July 2017(2). The EU also continues to address these issues in multilateral fora, such as the Human Rights Council in Geneva.”
This is a positive step towards gathering the support of governments around the world to push for the release of Ola and Hosam.
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