MAJOR ACTIVITIES
FIELDWORK
HRAAP monitors the legal and human rights violations to which prisoners and detainees are subjected, and prepares reports on the findings. The activities of this project are not only focused on prisoners and detainees, but on their benefit (particularly lawyers). To achieve these activities HRAAP employs the following methods:
Collection of complaints:
The filing of individual complaints provides a benefit not only for the individual, but also for the system as a whole (based on the precedence set by successful cases). For this reason, fieldwork activities gather information on, and file cases on behalf of, individual complaints. This information is gathered in several ways:
Direct complaints, submitted by prisoners and/or their families.
Monitoring of complaints that receive media attention (in either print or broadcast media). These complaints are followed-up by a representative from the association, with an offer to provide assistance.
Complaints submitted by HRAAP lawyers, based on prison visits.
Complaints submitted by HRAAP lawyers, based on court attendance.
Complaints submitted to HRAAP by sympathetic court staff.
Complaints submitted to HRAAP by contacts from governorates.
Field Visits to Prisons:
HRAAP conducts visits to selected prisons to monitor violations of legal and human rights, to ascertain the veracity of these complaints. These visits are conducted by the association’s lawyers, with specific prisons selected based upon the level of complaints submitted by prisoners, their families and lawyers. Each visit takes approximately four days, generally divided as follows: one day for the prison visit and two days for visits to families and lawyers.
In order to conduct these visits, HRAAP lawyers must first secure permission from the relevant authorities. In the case of detainees, this is the mandate of the Office of the Prosecutor. According to regulations, the victim must file complaints of torture, where visits are not possible in order to obtain the necessary information, a member of the prison staff is required to take the prisoners statement, and provide it to the lawyer. For complaints filed by a family member or a lawyer (either for violations against these parties, or non-torture complaints by prisoners), a personal appointment is made with the concerned prisoners.
HRAAP lawyers make every attempt to verify the accusations, taking statements from the concerned prisoners, eyewitnesses and prison administration. Cases that cannot be verified are dismissed. Based on the information gathered, the lawyer prepares a report and recommendation for action. Where recommended, cases are pursued through the penal and judicial system.
The Association makes every effort to focus its attention on the most infamous prisons, known for their violations against both ordinary convicts and prisoners of conscience. Based on our experience, we have been able to determine the most infamous prisons, divided among three population categories (please see attached).
The complaints are further divided into three general categories according to the violations: those committed against prisoners and/or detainees, those committed against lawyers and those committed against prisoners' families.
Family Visits:
Field visits are also carried out with families, in order to ascertain and document the consequential effects on family members. These effects include the loss of income caused by the head of the householder’s imprisonment, and the increased costs incurred by the imprisonment (including the cost of caring for the prisoner, and legal fees). They also include the social stigma attached to imprisonment, in a social environment that does not differentiate between common criminals and prisoners of conscience, and the breakdown in the family structure brought on by economic and psychological pressures.
Follow Up:
Once the HRAAP lawyer has recorded the complaint, and collected all available information, (S)he prepares a report including his recommendation. If the complaint is found to be verifiable, (S)he will also file an official complaint. This complaint is sent to the relevant Prison Warden, the Prosecutor General and the Minister of the Interior. The Association allows fifteen days for response from the authorities. If they begin an investigation, the Association will follow the investigation until its conclusion. If however, no action is taken within fifteen days, the case will be filed with the Association, to be included in its general report, and for follow-up by the legal assistance team (please see below).
Reporting:
As mentioned above, all verifiable complaints for which the Association receives no response from the authorities are filed in a general report. The main objective of this report is to expose these violations to the censure of public opinion. The reports are also submitted to the relevant authorities as part of the Association's on- going campaign to draw attention to these issues. It is hoped that this campaign will mobilize public opinion and build pressure to rectify the appalling state of Egyptian Prisons.
The Association produces an average of nine reports each year, using our casework to provide supporting documentation. These reports provide a way to monitor the state of prisoners and violations against prisoners, detainees, families and lawyers. Regular reports focus on issues such as health and living conditions, prohibitions against education, visiting and torture.
Each report is prepared in Arabic and translated into English. They are then distributed (according to relevant language) among local and international media, the public and prison and governmental authorities. The Association also holds occasional discussion session to discuss the recommendations of the reports in order to bring these issues to the forefront of public discourse
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
The second major activity of the Association is the provision of legal assistance. Where fieldwork focuses on the identification and verification of complaints, this component seeks to achieve legal resolution to the problems identified by fieldwork investigations.
Types of Cases:
- Cases brought to the Association's legal assistance department come from two sources; they are either the result of referrals from the fieldwork legal team, or the self- referrals of prisoners, their lawyers and/or families. The Association files an average of 200 lawsuits per year, with the majority of the caseload being classified as follows:
- Requests for visitation by either family or lawyers.
- Requests that prisoners be allowed to sit for exams (failure to sit an exam, regardless of circumstances, has a permanent, non- reversible effect on one's education in Egypt).
- Compensation for victims of torture.
- Various other reasons including, but not limited to, request for release due to severe illness, violation to prisoners, family or lawyers during visits, lawsuits brought against prison authorities or ministry of interior employees for failure to comply with a court decision.
Procedure for lawsuits:
The Association requires the services of both external and staff lawyers (the same in-house legal team who works on the field visits). External lawyers handle about 20 cases each per year, and are responsible for court attendance. The in- house team is responsible for the coordination of the activities of these external lawyers, providing referrals and background information on each case, coordinating contact between complainants and lawyers. The Association covers the costs of each case.
As mentioned above, the Association collects all verifiable complaints, and submits them to the Warden, the Prosecutor General and the Ministry of the Interior. These authorities are given 15 days to initiate an investigation. If after the lapse of these fifteen days no serious action has been taken, the Association will refer the case to the external lawyer. The Association will provide the lawyer with all relevant information and arrange for the complainant to provide the power of attorney needed for the lawyer to present the complaint to the relevant court. The lawyer will be responsible for follow-up and court attendance until a verdict is given – a process which takes an average of one year
If the verdict is not in the complainant’s favor, the lawyer will file an appeal, according to the rules of the Egyptian legal system. If, however, the verdict is in favor of the complainant, the lawyer will attempt to see the verdict implemented. It must be noted that implementation cannot be taken for granted, since more often than not the authorities refuse to comply with the courts decision. The pursuance of implementation requires that the authorities first be notified of the verdict, and of the timeline for compliance. Once the timeline elapses, the lawyer must attempt to see the verdict implemented. If this fails, a second lawsuit is raised against the individual who refused to comply (this is usually the final step, as it is usually successful).
EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
This program offers educational services to prisoners, detainees and their families, including the payment of school and tutorial fees, buying necessary schoolbooks and stationary. Furthermore, it will encourage prisoners and detainees to continue their studies inside prisons and pay school costs, and defend the educational rights of prisoners. It should be noted that this program has been implemented previously, with a great deal of success. The program had to be stopped due to funding issues, but is in light of the overwhelming need for this service, this program is a high priority.
MEDICAL CLINIC
This program provides free medical assistance for prisoners’ families particularly women and children who suffer most due to the absence of a family supporter. Children often have to work to support the family, which has a negative impact on their physical and psychological health.
TRAINING COURSES
Program Objectives:
- Eliminating the violations done by the executive authorities of such rights and lessening them as much as possible.
- Preparing a new generation in this field.
- Creating a network of those interested in human rights generally and in the rights of prisoners generally all over Egypt.
Program Goals:
- Providing the necessary legal information regarding the rights of detainees and prisoners, the rights of their families, the rights of the lawyers, etc.
- Providing the targeted individuals with the practical experience in this field.
- Exchanging experience among the trainees.
- Creating a mechanism for collective work and coordination.