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A Complaint over a Steel Shipment from Alexandria to Tel Aviv, and an Official Denial<\/h1>\nIn the seventeenth monthly issue of Deleted Lines, we examine an interconnected landscape in which rights and freedoms intersect with changes in public policy and escalating professional and social crises. Amid successive judicial developments, rights-based criticism of existing policies, union action and labour protests, this issue covers criminal justice, human rights defenders and freedom of belief, as well as professional and labour challenges and the economic and social policies surrounding them.<\/p>\n
A Complaint over a Steel Shipment from Alexandria to Tel Aviv, and an Official Denial<\/h1>\nThe Lawyers\u2019 Committee to Support the Palestinian People announced<\/a> that it had submitted Complaint No. 1615387 to the public prosecutor concerning reports circulating on social media about a Panama-flagged vessel belonging to Swiss company MSC docking at Abu Qir Port in Alexandria. It was suspected of carrying military steel shipments destined for Israeli arms factories.<\/p>\n The complaint cited data published on MarineTraffic indicating that the shipment departed from Sines Port in Portugal, carrying steel manufactured in India and destined through an intermediary for IMI Systems and Elbit Systems, companies linked to ammunition production. The complainants demanded an urgent investigation, seizure of the container if the information proved accurate, prevention of its unloading and accountability for the shipping agent.<\/p>\n The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, BDS, issued<\/a> a statement saying the circulating information, as it described it, indicates that shipments of raw materials used in military industries pass through ports in the region. It called for full transparency over shipping routes and a ban on transactions that could support Israeli military industries, stressing that governments and companies must avoid involvement in supply chains linked to human rights violations.<\/p>\n The Egyptian government denied<\/a> the allegations, asserting that Egyptian ports are not used to transport or facilitate military shipments to prohibited entities. It said all ships and goods are closely monitored by the competent authorities under domestic law and international agreements. The government said the claims lacked documented evidence and urged accuracy and caution towards unverified information.<\/p>\n The Supreme State Security Prosecution summoned union leader Dr Mohamed Zahran, known as \u201cthe candidate of the poor\u201d and founder of the Independent National Teachers Union, for questioning. He was accused of spreading false news and statements inside and outside the country, according to an announcement<\/a> by human rights lawyer Khaled Ali.<\/p>\n The prosecution released him on bail of EGP 10,000 after hours of questioning, without prior disclosure of the case details. This was the second such incident: he was previously summoned<\/a> in 2023 on similar accusations while participating in National Dialogue sessions.<\/p>\n Zahran holds the rank of senior teacher and is a prominent advocate for the independence of the Teachers Syndicate and the holding of its elections. He contested the 2025 parliamentary elections before announcing his withdrawal from public life.<\/p>\n On 26 March 2026, Cairo\u2019s Hadayek El-Qobba Misdemeanour Appeals Court postponed the first hearing of lawyer and human rights defender Ali Ayoub\u2019s appeal against a three-year prison sentence and an EGP 300,000 fine in a case accusing him of insulting and defaming Culture Minister Dr Gihan Zaki. The hearing was adjourned to 2 April to enable the defence to seek the recusal of the court panel.<\/p>\n The defence submitted a formal recusal request and sought time to undertake the necessary legal procedures. Under the law, this suspends the original proceedings until the request is decided.<\/p>\n The case concerns Ayoub\u2019s publication of documents containing corruption allegations relating to Zaki\u2019s tenure at the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome. The defence argued that the publication was reporting corruption, while the court viewed it as deliberate defamation.<\/p>\n Amid a complex judicial process, the Cairo Criminal Court ordered<\/a> the release of Ahmed Abdel Moneim Abou El-Fotouh and temporarily suspended proceedings pending resolution of a dispute over jurisdiction.<\/p>\n The case followed an intertwined procedural course between emergency and criminal courts before returning to its starting point, while his father, Abdel Moneim Abou El-Fotouh, was formally placed on terrorism lists.<\/p>\n The dispute began when the prosecution referred him to an ordinary criminal court for retrial, although the original judgment came from an Emergency State Security Court. Such judgments have a special legal character: they cannot be appealed and require ratification by the military governor before enforcement.<\/p>\n In a judicial precedent, the prosecution allowed the defence to lodge a Court of Cassation appeal against the appellate court\u2019s finding of lack of jurisdiction. At the same time, a hearing was urgently scheduled for 16 March 2026 before a new criminal circuit at Badr Rehabilitation Center to retry him over the original in-absentia judgment. That hearing ended with his release, effectively treating all proceedings over the previous year as having no effect and requiring a new trial.<\/p>\n The Public Prosecution released<\/a> 31 defendants in 14 State Security cases. They included people held beyond the maximum pretrial detention period, others detained for years without trial referral, and blogger Mohamed Ibrahim, known as \u201cMohamed Oxygen\u201d, despite having served his sentence.<\/p>\n The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights welcomed<\/a> the decision as a positive step and urged a comprehensive review of pretrial detainees\u2019 circumstances and implementation of the public prosecutor\u2019s instructions to release those held beyond statutory limits.<\/p>\n Recommended reading: Twelve Years of Siege: How Was Civic Space Reshaped in Egypt?<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Security pressures on activists and rights defenders continued. Nour Khalil, executive director of Refugees Platform in Egypt, announced<\/a> that security forces had surrounded his family\u2019s home in Gharbia in an attempt to arrest his brother. He considered this pressure over his rights work. The forces later withdrew.<\/p>\n The incident drew international reactions. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, described<\/a> the reports as \u201cconcerning\u201d and said targeting Khalil\u2019s family was a response to his defence of migrants\u2019 rights, work that had previously forced him to leave Egypt.<\/p>\n Human rights lawyer Halim Hanish, the platform\u2019s legal adviser, says the incident forms part of an intimidation campaign against rights workers abroad, targeting relatives, involving them in cases and threatening them to silence their voices. He tells Zawia3 he is dismayed by the Interior Ministry\u2019s approach and stresses that discussing Egypt\u2019s rights problems strengthens the country. In his view, those who commit violations and breach citizens\u2019 rights and legal procedures damage Egypt\u2019s reputation, rather than those who speak about them.<\/p>\n Those reporting abuses, he adds, are defending their country\u2019s reputation by showing that, despite violations, rights defenders and lawyers work to raise awareness and pursue legal remedies.<\/p>\n Hanish says the Interior Ministry\u2019s unexplained actions and smear campaigns harm Egypt, and that \u201cthe officer who practises torture\u201d tarnishes its reputation, rather than those discussing rights.<\/p>\n A recent Refugees Platform in Egypt report revealed escalating, organised digital hate campaigns against refugees during January 2026, using fake accounts to link their presence to economic crises and crime rates. These campaigns also targeted rights organisations working in the field.<\/p>\n Cassation lawyer Amr El-Qady submitted a formal complaint<\/a>, No. 2383 of 2026, to the senior advocate general of the Mansoura Appeals Prosecution, requesting an urgent investigation into an assault on female prisoners at Mahallet Damana Police Station.<\/p>\n The complaint cited an appeal for help received by the defence on 15 March. It alleged that an officer entered the cell carrying a \u201cblack leather implement\u201d, forced the women to face the wall and whipped their backs and struck them indiscriminately as \u201ccollective punishment\u201d following a fight between two prisoners.<\/p>\n It called for a prosecution member to visit the detention facility immediately, document injuries and hear the victims. The alleged incident, it said, flagrantly violates physical integrity and human dignity protected by the Constitution and Penal Code.<\/p>\n The lawyer said such cruelty and physical assault would expose the officer to legal liability, citing suspected offences of \u201cuse of cruelty\u201d and \u201cforcible indecent assault\u201d given the degrading nature of the alleged attack.<\/p>\n The Economic Affairs Prosecution detained<\/a> political figure Tamer Sherin Shawky for four days pending investigation after he appeared in response to an official summons. He faced charges of \u201cspreading rumours and false news, stirring public opinion and insulting a public employee\u201d.<\/p>\n Ahmed El-Tantawy, head of the Hope Current party, which is under establishment, announced<\/a> full solidarity with Shawky, describing the charges as \u201crepeated and familiar to Egyptians\u201d. In a statement on his official Facebook page, he said such cases had been brought against tens of thousands of Egyptians over the past thirteen years.<\/p>\n El-Tantawy described Shawky as an example of peaceful democratic political struggle, known for respecting the Constitution and law and consistently participating positively in defence of citizens\u2019 rights and national interests.<\/p>\n Recommended reading: Wherever They Go, Repression Follows: Egyptians Abroad Surrounded by Their Consulates<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Seven UN special rapporteurs and experts expressed<\/a> deep concern about escalating arbitrary arrests and forced deportations of refugees and migrants since October 2025.<\/p>\n The statement noted collective deportations without individual assessments, contrary to Egypt\u2019s international obligations, including cases involving people registered with UNHCR or awaiting residence renewals.<\/p>\n The forced deportation<\/a> of Syrian journalist Samer Mokhtar to Syria caused widespread controversy. He was lured to the passport authority under the pretext of completing residence procedures, then detained and deported without being allowed to say goodbye to his child.<\/p>\n This coincided with a digital campaign targeting journalist Eman Adel, the child\u2019s mother, involving hate speech and incitement that led her to close her social media accounts. Rights organisations condemned the campaign as a troubling escalation in digital violence, particularly against female journalists.<\/p>\n Refugees Platform in Egypt and the Women Journalists Coalition demanded<\/a> immediate legal protection for Adel and accountability for those responsible for hate campaigns. They also called for an end to family separation policies, Mokhtar\u2019s return to reunite with his family and urgent action by social media platforms to remove inciting content.<\/p>\n The State Security Prosecution released four defendants in freedom-of-belief cases, part of a series involving dozens of people accused of offences such as \u201ccontempt of religion\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite the releases, rights reports warned of increasing targeting of people with differing religious views and a clear gap between constitutional guarantees of freedom of belief and actual practices.<\/p>\n In a statement<\/a>, the Egyptian Initiative said an \u201cunprecedented security campaign\u201d targeted around 52 people, including non-religious people, atheists and those with critical religious views from Muslim and Christian backgrounds. They faced accusations of \u201ccontempt of religion\u201d and \u201cjoining a group established in violation of the law\u201d. Dozens were remanded in custody, prison sentences against others such as Augustinos Samaan were upheld, and blogger Sherif Gaber remained detained.<\/p>\n A UN report<\/a> criticised the denial of Baha\u2019is\u2019 right to bury their dead in Egypt through refusal to allocate new cemeteries, creating recurring humanitarian crises. It identified a pattern of \u201cdenial of rights\u201d extending from life to death.<\/p>\n Baha\u2019is face a severe shortage of burial space as governorates refuse to allocate land and routinely disregard applications. The report cited Al-Azhar religious rulings and court judgments in Alexandria and Port Said in 2021\u20132022 invoking concerns that granting this right could increase \u201cdivision\u201d. The community is left with one overcrowded cemetery in Cairo, which cannot meet its needs and conflicts with religious requirements prohibiting transporting a body for more than an hour.<\/p>\n A Zawia3 report<\/a>, \u201cTexts Promise Freedom, Practices Restrict It: The Two Faces of Freedom of Belief in Egypt\u201d, revealed a sharp escalation in targeting people over differing convictions. The campaign involved enforced disappearance, psychological pressure and social stigmatisation, and a death in prison recorded in January 2026.<\/p>\n Recommended reading: Texts Promise Freedom, Practices Restrict It: The Two Faces of Freedom of Belief in Egypt<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n These problems are particularly acute for human rights defenders. Rights organisations demanded the immediate release of lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim after her health deteriorated in detention amid serious illnesses and the rejection of requests to excuse her from hearings.<\/p>\n The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders and eleven rights organisations expressed<\/a> deep dismay over the deterioration of the lawyer and defender\u2019s health at 10th of Ramadan Rehabilitation Center.<\/p>\n The statement<\/a> said the 67-year-old has been bedridden since early March 2026 because of severe knee pain and complete failure of her left kidney, alongside blood clots, pulmonary embolism and previous heart attacks. Despite her critical condition and the difficulty of transport, the terrorism circuit at Badr Prison Complex refused her request to be exempted from attending hearings and represented by her lawyer and husband instead.<\/p>\n Hoda Abdel Moneim<\/a>, a lawyer and former member of the National Council for Human Rights, was arrested in November 2018 over her rights work and included in Supreme State Security Case No. 1552 of 2018, known as the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms case. She remained in pretrial detention for more than four years until 5 March 2023. Although her sentence ended on 31 October 2023, she was not released and instead faced the same accusations in a new case, No. 730 of 2020. On 18 November 2024, her family discovered she had again appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in a third case, No. 800 of 2019, on identical charges.<\/p>\n The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression revealed<\/a> that poet Galal El-Behairy had been referred to criminal trial in two new cases while his detention continued into its eighth consecutive year since his arrest in March 2018.<\/p>\n He faces repeated accusations of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, the same charges for which he was previously detained.<\/p>\n The association said referrals were marred by obstacles to the defence accessing case files or identifying hearing dates because of delays in sending documents. It considered his continued imprisonment a violation of legal guarantees, particularly after he exceeded statutory pretrial detention limits.<\/p>\n It also criticised deteriorating detention conditions and recycling charges into new cases based on security investigations unsupported by material evidence, describing this as a pattern aimed at restricting expression and artistic creativity.<\/p>\n Four<\/a> rights organisations welcomed the government\u2019s announcement that it was preparing a new National Human Rights Strategy while expressing concern that it would repeat shortcomings of the 2021\u20132026 strategy. Their joint statement said official claims of \u201ctangible progress\u201d conflict with UN reports documenting continued impunity, expanded use of counterterrorism legislation to restrict opposition and persistent criticism of excessive pretrial detention.<\/p>\n They stressed that a rights strategy\u2019s credibility depends on measurable outcomes, not the production of documents. They criticised the previous strategy\u2019s lack of performance indicators and timetables, which widened the gap between promises and implementation. They also questioned assigning preparation to the Foreign Ministry, arguing that real reform must begin within criminal justice, through independent detention oversight and an end to recycling detainees into new cases.<\/p>\n This coincided with a presidential directive<\/a> to prepare the new strategy, to take effect after the current version ends. Lobna Darwish, a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative, tells Zawia3 that strategies\u2019 value lies in \u201can implementation plan and accountability tools\u201d, rather than issuance alone. Without these, they become \u201cpublicity documents\u201d. Limited gains, such as women\u2019s participation in the judiciary, are countered by continuing deterioration of basic freedoms.<\/p>\n Human rights lawyer Suzanne Nada agrees, describing the strategy as \u201cink on paper\u201d because it has not become practical measures. She says civil society\u2019s exclusion from drafting laws such as the Code of Criminal Procedure reflects disregard for professional voices that see current pretrial detention as \u201cdisguised punishment\u201d lacking serious investigation.<\/p>\n Rights organisations announced<\/a> plans for an independent \u201cshadow strategy\u201d with clear, measurable standards, offering an objective tool to assess the seriousness and practical effects of reform and strengthen the rule of law, rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n On Friday, the Egyptian Network for Human Rights announced the suspension<\/a> of its rights activities because of circumstances beyond its control, without specifying the reasons.<\/p>\n Its statement said challenges had prevented the organisation from continuing its mission in a way that meets its goals of supporting and promoting human rights.<\/p>\n Recommended reading: What Changed Four Years after the Launch of the National Human Rights Strategy?<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Crises are escalating across professional sectors. The Health Ministry\u2019s decision to make government placements for medical graduates \u201caccording to need\u201d sparked extensive debate, especially after acceptance rates were sharply reduced.<\/p>\n Political and union groups<\/a> condemned arrests of doctors and pharmacists who opposed the decision, describing them as violations of the rights to union activity and peaceful expression.<\/p>\n On 24 March, the State Security Prosecution renewed<\/a> the detention of dentists Mohamed Osama and Mostafa Oraby and pharmacist Ihab Sameh for 15 days in Supreme State Security Case No. 945 of 2026 on accusations of joining an unlawful group and spreading false news.<\/p>\n This followed a detention order on 9 March, amid condemnation from political, rights and union groups. They considered targeting doctors and pharmacists over peaceful opposition to the placement changes a violation of organising and expression rights and a continuation of vague charges in opinion-related cases.<\/p>\n The crisis escalated after needs-based placements replaced universal appointments, sharply reducing acceptance and angering graduates, particularly because of retroactive implementation and delays in issuing the placement allocation.<\/p>\n Professional syndicates pursued judicial challenges, while MPs submitted requests for clarification, demanding transparent and fair placement criteria, protection for graduates and education policies aligned with labour market needs.<\/p>\n Human rights lawyer Malek Adly, director of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, says security responses to professional crises may worsen them. Pharmacy and dentistry graduates\u2019 challenges to the health minister\u2019s administrative decision and demands for professional rights fall within freedom of expression and rights to organise, union activity and access to courts.<\/p>\n He tells Zawia3: \u201cResorting to pretrial detention in such cases negatively affects the union climate and freedom of expression within professional sectors. It sends intimidating messages that may obstruct public debate on health policies, at a time when the system needs open dialogue about its crises.\u201d<\/p>\n Recommended reading: Too Many Graduates or Failed Planning? Reduced Government Placements Open a New Healthcare Crisis<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Labour protests resumed<\/a> at Samanoud Textile Company, where workers began an open-ended strike over delayed wages and interrupted health insurance, amid accusations of mismanagement and restrictions by management.<\/p>\n Workers who spoke to Zawia3 described a worsening humanitarian crisis after health insurance services for about 600 men and women stopped in January. Management had failed to remit contributions despite deducting them from wages, depriving people with chronic illnesses of monthly medication. This coincided with increased security around the factory and night raids on the homes of those accused of instigating the strike.<\/p>\n The crisis at Egyptalum in Nag Hammadi escalated after around 400 workers were dismissed, a move rights organisations described as collective unfair dismissal, involving pressure to force workers to leave.<\/p>\n The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms stressed<\/a> that depriving workers of transport to their workplace constitutes \u201cdisguised dismissal\u201d and coercion to leave, directly breaching safeguards in the new Labour Law No. 14 of 2025.<\/p>\n It said these practices violate Egypt\u2019s obligations under International Labour Organization Conventions 87, 98 and 111, which prohibit retaliation for organising or striking and unjustified discrimination in rights and services among workers performing similar duties.<\/p>\n Recommended reading: Samanoud Wool: Wages Not Paid in Full, Treatment Interrupted and Working Hours Set to Rise<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n The decision to suspend government services for people refusing to pay maintenance sparked wide debate. Some saw it as a means to enforce court judgments, while others considered it an expansion of administrative penalties that may affect basic rights.<\/p>\n Human rights lawyer and former presidential candidate Khaled Ali believes the decision entrenches a punitive philosophy expanding in Egyptian legislation for years. Debate concerns not only its effectiveness, but its legal nature, social and political effects and the reinforcement of administrative penalties beyond traditional judicial enforcement.<\/p>\n He explains that the decision rests on an earlier amendment to the Penal Code under Law No. 6 of 2020. This amended Article 293 on refusal to pay maintenance, increased the penalty and allowed suspension of some government services to pressure defaulters into complying with judgments.<\/p>\n Recommended reading: Maintenance in Exchange for Services: Is the State Encouraging Fathers to Pay or Pushing Them out of the Labour Market?<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n The cabinet issued two decisions<\/a> declaring the extension of Metro Line 2 from Shubra El-Kheima to the Ring Road and the railway-axis project on Algeria Street in Cairo to be public-utility projects. This requires expropriating approximately 55 feddans of citizens\u2019 land and property as part of transport development and links between the metro and bus rapid transit.<\/p>\n Diwan Al-Omran<\/a> data indicate that about 51% of expropriation in 2025 benefited roads and bridges, involving 14 decisions covering 253.4 feddans owned by 1,690 citizens.<\/p>\n Tensions meanwhile rose<\/a> in Old Manial, where residents went to court over what they described as unregulated demolitions. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights affirmed support for secure housing and rejection of coercive measures without guaranteed compensation and resettlement.<\/p>\n An international study by the DESCA Observatory and Intersection Association found<\/a> that the gender wage gap weakens women\u2019s access to adequate housing. Economic inequality, it said, is a structural barrier to their urban rights.<\/p>\n The Alexandria tram development project has sparked extensive debate over erasing its historic character and removing old trees, alongside questions about economic viability and suspected waste of public funds.<\/p>\n Cassation lawyer Mohamed Fattouh filed a report concerning damage to public property at Victoria and El-Seyouf stations.<\/p>\n He says the lawsuit challenges the validity of the prime minister\u2019s 2021 decision<\/a> on the Raml tram development. The facility is part of the city\u2019s urban heritage and more than 160 years old, placing it under constitutional protection through Article 50<\/a> and Heritage Protection Law<\/a> No. 144 of 2006.<\/p>\n He tells Zawia3 the challenge has four main grounds: harm to heritage value; insufficient compensation allocated in 2021 given inflation; the absence of a clear environmental assessment of cutting old trees along the tram line; and the social impact of stopping services while the Abu Qir line is also being developed, placing traffic and economic burdens on residents.<\/p>\n Fattouh considers offering tram assets at auction for EGP 176 million an undervaluation raising suspicions of wasted public funds, alongside a legal defect concerning jurisdiction over the facility. Dismantling continues despite the pending lawsuit, he says.<\/p>\n Yahia Shawkat, director of the Built Environment Observatory, criticises decision-making mechanisms as demonstrating an urgent need to revive elected local councils and ensure residents participate in urban development decisions. Without that participation, solutions may not adequately reflect local needs.<\/p>\n He adds that public discussion could have produced more balanced alternatives, improving service while preserving heritage and better serving residents than the measures currently being implemented.<\/p>\n Recommended reading: Alexandria\u2019s Tram: Development Moves Faster than Court Rulings<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n The Administrative Court ordered<\/a> health insurance authorities to provide an insulin pump for a sick child, a step seen as a victory for patients\u2019 right to treatment.<\/p>\n This follows repeated demands to include insulin pumps and supplies for children with diabetes in health insurance, ensuring all affected children receive them without discrimination.<\/p>\n Challenges persist, however, with complaints of medicine and service shortages forcing patients to bear additional costs.<\/p>\n Four parliamentary requests for clarification<\/a> submitted in March by Port Said MP Ahmed Farghaly to the health and finance ministries and the head of the Universal Health Insurance financing authority described patients\u2019 suffering from the provision of cheaper drugs instead of essential original medicines.<\/p>\n The House of Representatives approved amendments to the property tax law, raising the exemption threshold to EGP 8 million and exempting a broad segment of citizens. Criticism continued concerning weak collection and the tax\u2019s limited practical impact.<\/p>\n Economic researcher Salma Hussein of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights considers property tax among the fairest taxes and least harmful to economic activity: it taxes wealth, rather than production or work. Many countries use it to reduce speculation and the storage of wealth in property and encourage vacant units onto rental markets. She criticises the amendments\u2019 limited progressivity, saying they fail to address the gap between small owners and those with multiple properties.<\/p>\n Despite its theoretical fairness, she says, property tax still has little real effect because revenues are weak. The law allocates a quarter of proceeds to local authorities, but this is not implemented, stripping the tax of its developmental and service role.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cProperty tax should be understood as a tax on wealth. Those who own more should contribute more to financing the public services they benefit from.\u201d Justice involves not only imposing tax but also distributing revenues, transparent exemptions and ensuring citizens receive tangible local services in return.<\/p>\n Recommended reading: Chaos in Egypt\u2019s Property Market: Companies Sell Units on Land Not Registered in Their Names<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n On International Women\u2019s Day, renewed waves of testimony in Egypt described women\u2019s experiences of violence and sexual assault, reflecting continuing gaps in justice and protection.<\/p>\n A feminist organisations\u2019 petition<\/a> said recurring testimonies, from collective assaults in Tahrir Square to the Fairmont case and allegations involving Ahmed Bassam, reveal the limitations of accountability and redress.<\/p>\n Complaints, it said, are often met with doubt and the burden of proof placed on survivors, turning testimonies into a means of demanding justice. It called for legal reform and alternative accountability mechanisms, stronger social solidarity and the translation of these waves into clear political and legislative demands.<\/p>\n The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights urged<\/a> the prosecution to use its powers to appeal the acquittal of the defendant accused of harassing Mariam Shawky in the \u201cbus girl\u201d case. The Moqattam Misdemeanour Court acquitted him on 24 March despite investigations establishing repeated harassment over several days. The initiative described the ruling as undermining women\u2019s and girls\u2019 rights to physically and psychologically safe public spaces.<\/p>\n Alongside the UN Commission on the Status of Women\u2019s seventieth session<\/a>, Egyptian feminist and rights organisations and initiatives issued a statement<\/a> on what they called women\u2019s \u201cincomplete access to gender justice\u201d, citing enduring political, social, economic and cultural challenges.<\/p>\n It documented unprecedented increases in killings of women in private and public spaces, alongside legislative failures to provide adequate protection and curb impunity, particularly for domestic violence.<\/p>\n The Journalists Syndicate\u2019s Women\u2019s Committee welcomed the labour minister\u2019s decision regulating workplace nurseries. Establishments employing at least 100 women must provide an internal nursery or contract with one, while smaller establishments may adopt shared solutions, aiming to support stable working conditions for women.<\/p>\n The measure also drew criticism over implementation and costs. Omaima Emad, a researcher at the New Woman Foundation, says it still makes female workers pay part of the service cost despite being an employer\u2019s legal obligation. Ambiguity over whether deductions come from basic or total pay could create significant losses, particularly under current economic pressures.<\/p>\n Emad also sees improvements over previous legislation, including more eligible children and lower contribution rates, potentially easing transport burdens and improving women\u2019s productivity. However, fundamental issues remain: limiting the service to women reinforces labour-market discrimination, and effective monitoring mechanisms are lacking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Issue 17 of Deleted Lines follows criminal justice, human rights defenders, freedom of belief, professional and labour crises, and the economic and social policies shaping rights and freedoms in Egypt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16107],"tags":[],"kateb":[710],"class_list":["post-16531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deleted-lines","kateb-zawia3-com"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/\u0633\u0637\u0648\u0631-\u0645\u062d\u0630\u0648\u0641\u0629-17-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16531"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16532,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16531\/revisions\/16532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16531"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=16531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Rights and Freedoms<\/h2>\n
Union Leader Mohamed Zahran, \u201cthe Candidate of the Poor\u201d, Summoned for Questioning<\/h1>\nDevelopments in Lawyer Ali Ayoub\u2019s Case<\/h2>\n
Abou El-Fotouh Released ahead of a Retrial<\/h2>\n
Rights Groups Welcome the Release of 31 Detainees<\/h2>\n
Expanding Repression and Targeting Activists\u2019 Families<\/h1>\nAlleged \u201cWhipping of Female Prisoners\u201d at Mahallet Damana Police Station in Dakahlia<\/h1>\nEngineer Tamer Sherin Detained on a False News Charge<\/h1>\nInternational Warnings over Escalating Security Campaigns against Refugees<\/h1>\nFreedom of Belief<\/h2>\n
Growing Concern over Expanding \u201cContempt of Religion\u201d Charges in Egypt<\/h1>\nBaha\u2019is Seek a Place to Bury Their Dead<\/h2>\n
Human Rights Defenders<\/h2>\n
Hoda Abdel Moneim and an Unending Cycle of Repression<\/h1>\nCalls to Release Galal El-Behairy after Eight Years in Detention<\/h2>\n
Rights Groups\u2019 Reservations over the National Human Rights Strategy<\/h1>\nEgyptian Network for Human Rights Suspends Its Work<\/h2>\n
Workers\u2019 Rights<\/h2>\n
Doctors Remain Detained after Opposing the End of Universal Government Placements<\/h1>\nSamanoud Workers: Delayed Wages and Interrupted Health Insurance<\/h1>\n400 Workers Face Unfair Dismissal at Egyptalum<\/h2>\n
Public Policy and Social Debate<\/h1>\n14 Expropriation Decisions Covering 253.4 Feddans Owned by 1,690 Citizens<\/h1>\nThe Raml Tram between Development and Demolition: Is Alexandria Losing Its Heritage?<\/h1>\nHealth and Social Justice<\/h1>\nEconomic and Tax Legislation<\/h1>\nGaps in Justice and Protection: Violence against Women Continues to Rise<\/h1>\nWorkplace Nurseries: Welcome and Reservations<\/h1>\n