Following a meeting with the European Union’s Special Human Rights Representative Eamon Gilmore who paid a three-day visit to Egypt this week, Moushira Khattab, president of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), issued a statement on 14 April saying that human rights in Egypt face challenges as well as promising opportunities.

During his 11-13 April visit to Egypt, Gilmore met with Foreign Minister and Chair of the Supreme Standing Committee of Human Rights Sameh Shoukri, Assistant Foreign Minister and head of the Technical Secretariat of the Supreme Standing Committee of Human Rights Khaled Al-Bakli and other officials.

Gilmore reported he had held intensive talks with members of the National Council for Human Rights, the National Council for Women, the National Council for Disabilities, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, civil society organisations, human rights defenders, and individuals with an interest in the Egyptian human rights environment.

While pointing that in his meetings with Egyptian officials he welcomed the publication of Egypt’s National Human Rights Strategy 2021-26, Gilmore stressed that had drawn the attention of officials to reports of the ill treatment of detainees.

“I raised individual cases of allegedly mistreated detainees, and also sought clarification on Egypt’s commitment to review the death penalty for certain crimes,” Gilmore said.

“I also held extensive discussions on the application of the NGO law and its bylaws, and received assurances that case 173 had been closed and that consequential travel bans and asset freezes are being lifted.”

In case 173 — known in Egypt as the foreign funding case — a number of international NGO workers were handed down prison sentences in 2013 ranging between 1-5 years.

Gilmore said he would provide feedback on his visit to the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel. “I also intend to follow up on the visit through further engagement with Egyptian officials, and I really appreciate the frank and constructive engagement I have had in Egypt over the past three days,” he said.

A day after Gilmore’s visit ended, the EU issued a statement voicing concern over the death of economist Ayman Hadhoud in a psychiatric hospital.

In recent days reports have emerged that Hadhoud was the victim of a forced disappearance. His family say they were only notified of his death on 9 April, a month after he had died.

Hadhoud, 48, was a co-founder of the Reform and Development Party led by political activist and Deputy Chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat. The party issued a statement on 13 April saying Hadhoud had recently exhibited “many unbalanced behavioural patterns”.

On Monday Rawya Mokhtar, a member of the parliamentary group of the Reform and Development Party, said the party had submitted “an urgent statement” asking the government for an explanation of the death of Hadhoud.

“I ask that a fact-finding committee be formed to investigate the truth about the internal conditions of psychiatric hospitals in Egypt, particularly after the mysterious death of economic researcher Ayman Hadhoud in one of these hospitals,” said Mokhtar.

Journalist and independent MP Mustafa Bakri told Al-Ahram Weekly that “despite the prosecution-general’s statement on Ayman Hadhoud’s death making it clear that he died from a heart attack while at the Abbasiya psychiatric hospital, some people have tried to portray the case to show as one of forced disappearance.”

Bakri, nonetheless, said that due to conflicting reports about Hadhoud’s death, he supported Mokhtar’s request that a fact-finding committee be formed to look into conditions in psychiatric hospitals and the circumstances of Hadhoud’s death.

According to a prosecutor-general office’s statement on Monday an “autopsy confirmed that Hadhoud died due to chronic heart disease, and the report of the Forensic Medicine Authority stated that the body of Hadhoud showed no signs of injury indicating criminal activity, violence, resistance, or any suspicious activity.”

Hadhoud’s brother Omar is reported to have said that his brother had been suffering psychological and nervous problems caused by financial troubles and the illness of his sister, but had postponed treatment. Omar added that his brother had previously suffered twice from psychological episodes like the one leading to his arrest in February.

According to a statement issued by the prosecution on 12 April, the late economic researcher was arrested on 6 February after he was reported by a building guard in Zamalek for attempting to break into an apartment. The guard said Hadhoud was displaying erratic behaviour at the time.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.