Human rights groups condemn Egyptian raid on Cairo law centre

London, Feb 5, IRNA – Amnesty International has joined Human Rights Watch in calling for the immediate release of more than 30 human rights activists, lawyers and journalists arrested during a raid on a Cairo law centre in Cairo by Egyptian authorities.

“Holding human rights activists is completely unacceptable and is indicative of an increasing clampdown on freedom of expression in Egypt,” said Amnesty’s Secretary General Salil Shetty.

“We hold the Egyptian authorities responsible for the safety of all those in detention including our staff and call for their safe and immediate release,” Shetty said.

The two organisations demanded the immediate release of all those arrested during Thursday’s raid at Hisham Mubarak Center, including two of their researchers, whose whereabouts have not been revealed.

Amnesty said that local colleagues of the arrested Egyptian lawyers believe the group is being detained by the military police at Camp 75, on the outskirts of Cairo, but that army officials refused to confirm that they had any of the missing in detention.

The raid comes as foreign reporters have been seized by security forces and attacked by Mubarak supporters in a media clampdown on reporting the uprising in Egypt.

Ken Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch said Egyptian authorities must urgently clarify where they are holding its researcher and other colleagues and they should release all of them now.

“At a time when serious human rights abuses are taking place in Egypt, the raid on the offices of the Hisham Mubarak Center and detention our colleagues is deeply disturbing,” Roth said.

“It is totally unacceptable that they have given us no information about their whereabouts,” he said.