Egypt: The U.N working group considers the detention of Mr. Shamia as arbitrary.

The U.N working group on arbitrary detentions stated its opinion No. 24/2007 concerning the case of Mr. Mustafa Shamia who was detained for 13 years without trial and was finally released on 23 July, 2007. Alkarama organization has appealed to the U.N working group on arbitrary detentions on July 7, 2007 to intervene urgently concerning the matter of Mr. Shamia.

Mustafa Shamia is an Egyptian citizen and was 54 years old when he was arrested on the night of 16th of Jan 1994; he was taken from his house by intelligence officers without a warrant. The intelligence department detained him for several months at its headquarters where he was abused and tortured.

Since his initial arrest, Mr. Shamia was detained at maximum-security prisons without trial or due process, and his health deteriorated until he went into a coma; at that time, he was held at Abu-Za'abal prison, and the administration had to transfer him in Feb, 2007 to the hospital of Liman Turra prison. During this last period, Alkarama called for his urgent release. In addition, the U.N working group has corresponded with the Egyptian authorities on June 14, 2007 urging them to justify the arrest and consequent detention of Mr. Shamia for such a long period without a trial.

The Egyptian Judiciary system, on the other hand, dealt positively with this case by issuing several orders to release Mr.Shamia; however, he stayed in detention under emergency law No. 163-article 3 of 1958. Moreover, through correspondence, the Egyptian authorities did not deny any information included in the statement of Alkarama; nevertheless, the authorities stated that Mr.Shamia's detention was in accordance with "preventive measures". It is clear that Mr.Shamia's only guilt is his religious convictions, which are considered fanatical by the authorities that detained him for this very long period without a charge and eventually released him 13 years later.