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WORLD NEWS Monday 7 deceMber 2020

Egypt court upholds asset freeze for 3 human rights workers

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian read the freeze order." The abroad.
court on Sunday upheld decision did not apparent- The court did not commu-
a prosecutors' decision to ly cover EIPR's assets as an nicate its decision, despite
freeze the assets of three entity, it said. the end of its working day,
senior staff members at one The arrests of Abdel-Razek, EIPR said.
of the country's most promi- along with EIPR's criminal In court, Zaki and his law-
nent human rights groups. justice director Karim En- yer called for his immedi-
The three rights workers narah and administrative ate release, arguing that
were freed Thursday after director Mohammed Ba- there were "no grounds" for
being arrested last month sheer, came after the orga- his continued detention,
and slapped with terror- nization hosted foreign dip- EIPR said. Zaki faces accu-
ism-related charges. Their lomats for 13 Western coun- sations of spreading fake
release came after an in- tries to discuss the human news and calling for unau-
ternational outcry over the rights situation in Egypt. The thorized protests.
government's crackdown three were released pend- Egypt under President Ab- In this 2018 file photo taken in London, Karim Ennarah and his
on one of the last rights ing an investigation into del-Fattah el-Sissi has over- now-wife Jess Kelly pose for a photo after graduating from the
groups still operating in charges of belonging to a seen the heaviest crack- School of Oriental and African Studies.
Egypt. terrorist group and spread- down on dissent in the Associated Press
The Egyptian Initiative for ing false information. country's modern history.
Personal Rights tweeted A researcher for the group Officials have targeted not groups, politicians and ce- rights groups to pressure the
Sunday that a Cairo court arrested in February, Pat- only Islamist political oppo- lebrities — including actors Egyptian leader to free the
handling terror-related rick Zaki, was awaiting the nents but also pro-democ- Emma Thompson and Scar- three and other activists.
cases ordered a tempo- court's decision Sunday on racy activists, journalists lett Johansson — called for Amnesty International
rarily freeze of "all personal an extension of his deten- and online critics. the three to be freed. slammed Sunday's court
assets and property" of the tion, said Hossam Bahgat, Egypt is a U.S. ally with deep Their release came ahead decision upholding the as-
three members, including who founded the organi- economic ties to European of a visit by el-Sissi to France, set freeze and called for the
its executive director Gas- zation 18 years ago and countries. The latest crack- a major arms provider to international community
ser Abdel-Razek. stepped back in as acting down against EIPR raised Egypt. El-Sissi arrived in Paris to keep pressuring el-Sissi's
It said the court ruling head after Abdel-Razek's an alarm in many parts of Sunday and is scheduled to government to stop what
came "without hearing any arrest. Bahgat's assets have the world. The United Na- meet Monday with French it called "the existential
oral arguments or allowing been frozen for years, and tions, some foreign govern- President Emmanuel Ma- threat to the Egyptian hu-
defense lawyers to even he's banned from traveling ments, international rights cron, who faced calls from man rights movement."q