Egypt's History with Human Rights

The republic of Egypt was founded in 1952 as an Islamic state and has been totally controlled by the National Democratic Party under President Hosni Mubarak since it’s founding in 1978. Egypt has since existed as an autocratic state with an independent judiciary. This separation of powers should lead to effective control and fair trials, however with the passage of the State of Emergency Law in 1981, the government has been able to undermine the control of the judiciary. Under this law the government is allowed to hold trials for non-security related cases in the Emergency and Security Courts. The government of Egypt has always maintained complete power over the security forces within the country, so trying a person in these courts allows the government to influence the outcome of a hearing. Many people have been unjustly tried because of this loophole in the judiciary system, which has caused great concern among many human rights organizations. Additionally, the police forces in Egypt (part of the security forces, therefore controlled by the government) have been accused of committing many acts in violation of human rights codes. The police forces in Egypt have been continuously accused of torturing children, homosexuals, and women (among other groups). The most recent example of this abuse was the beginning of the Egyptian “revolution” as some are calling it. Over the past few weeks, many Egyptians have gathered in the Tahir Square in Cairo to protest the autocratic rule of the government. During these mostly peaceful protests, many journalists, activists, and protestors were arrested for seemingly unjustified reasons, having not done anything illegal. Many human rights organizations called for the release of those detained and the cease of arrests in general given that many detainees reported of being tortured by forces when they were arrested. This uprising by the people of Egypt has shown that they are ready for change and for the potential creation of a more democratic system in Egypt. However, many organizations are worried about the possibility that the Muslim Brotherhood could be the next group to come to power. This group has been described as a radical Islamic group and there are many fears about what a state would look like if it were indeed run by such a group.