{"id":17530,"date":"2025-06-04T16:22:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T14:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=17530"},"modified":"2026-10-24T15:05:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T13:05:38","slug":"doctors-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/doctors-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Pay, Emigration and the Constitution: Why Was a Doctors\u2019 Representative Questioned?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, 29 May, the Public Prosecution released Dr Khaled Amin, Assistant Secretary-General of the Doctors Syndicate and a member of its board, on guarantee of his place of residence, following his questioning in investigations held over an official complaint filed by the Minister of Health and Population, Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar. This is the first time an Egyptian health minister has filed a complaint against an elected member of the Doctors Syndicate’s board, which provoked wide reactions in medical and syndicate circles and was regarded by some observers as a development raising concern about the future of syndicate freedoms in Egypt, particularly in light of the guarantees the constitution provides for the independence of professional syndicates.<\/p>\n

The complaint submitted by the Ministry of Health to the Public Prosecution was based on media statements made by Dr Khaled Amin about the rising rates of emigration among Egyptian doctors, low wages and the deteriorating work environment within the government health sector. Amin was summoned for questioning before the October Plenary Prosecution, where he faced charges relating to “spreading false news liable to provoke panic and confusion within the medical community” over those statements.<\/p>\n

For his part, Mahmoud Ismail, the legal representative of the Doctors Syndicate, stresses that syndicate work is not a crime but a fundamental constitutional right guaranteed by law, which must be respected and protected. In his statements to Zawia3<\/em>, he considers that holding a syndicate representative to account over his statements or positions, which aim to defend doctors’ rights and improve the health system, is unacceptable in both form and substance, and represents a dangerous precedent that strikes at the core of free syndicate work.<\/p>\n

Evidence Refuting the Accusations<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Ismail explains that Dr Khaled Amin, a member of the syndicate’s board, submitted during the interrogation session official, documented papers refuting all of the accusations levelled against him in the complaint submitted by the Ministry of Health, which was based on Article 188 of the Penal Code and accused him of spreading false news liable to cause confusion within the medical community and among public opinion.<\/p>\n

According to Ismail, the evidence submitted by Dr Amin included records issued by the Doctors Syndicate showing that the number of doctors who registered themselves as free-practice doctors during 2024 was equivalent to 12 doctors a day, which are documented and certified data. He also relied on statistics published on the syndicate’s official page, which revealed that 2022 recorded the highest rate of doctors’ resignations from the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n

He adds that Dr Khaled Amin’s statements about the Medical Liability Law came in the context of the Doctors Syndicate’s rejection of the first version of the draft law, after the syndicate observed a state of widespread anger among doctors, which appeared in many comments on social media platforms in which doctors expressed their intention to stop practising the profession if the law were passed in its initial form.<\/p>\n

Ismail points out that Dr Amin also supported his statements with the results of a study conducted in 2020 with the participation of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Higher Education, the World Health Organization and the Doctors Syndicate, which concluded that the proportion of doctors actually working at the Ministry of Health does not exceed 38% of the total number of doctors in Egypt. The study also revealed that the local rate stands at 8.6 doctors per 10,000 citizens, compared with a global rate of 24 doctors per 10,000, which reflects the acute gap in human resources within the government sector.<\/p>\n

Regarding wage levels, Ismail affirms that Dr Amin explained during the interrogation that the average salary of newly graduated doctors or those holding a master’s degree does not exceed EGP 6,000 a month, figures based on documented complaints the syndicate received from workers in government hospitals. He also notes that the syndicate is in the process of submitting official salary breakdowns from government institutions to support these figures before the relevant authorities.<\/p>\n

Ismail also reveals that Dr Amin pointed out during the interrogation that there is a law issued in 2014 obliging the Ministry of Health to bear the costs of doctors’ postgraduate studies, but it has not been activated to this day, despite a ministerial decree issued in 2023 providing for this. He affirms that the syndicate has sent several official letters to the ministry on this matter, the latest of them in 2024, and is still seeking to activate this entitlement as a professional and humanitarian obligation that has not yet been fulfilled.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Article 188 <\/span><\/a>of the Egyptian Penal Code stipulates that “anyone who, in bad faith, publishes false news, statements or rumours, or fabricated or forged papers or papers falsely attributed to others, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine of not less than EGP 5,000 and not more than EGP 20,000, or by either of these two penalties, if this is liable to disturb public peace, spread panic among people or cause harm to the public interest.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Doctors Syndicate had revealed in a <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> it published on the syndicate’s official website that the number of male and female doctors who submitted official requests during 2022 to end their service in the government health sector and obtain “free-practice doctor” certificates (which mean that the doctor is not tied to any government body) reached 4,261 doctors, at a daily rate of 12 doctors. When official holidays are excluded, the rate rises to 13.5 doctors a day, which is the highest figure in the past seven years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Medical<\/figure>\n

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The syndicate attributed the rise in the resignation rate to several reasons, including: (low wages, as newly graduated doctors receive salaries that are not commensurate with the requirements of living; a poor work environment, including a shortage of medical resources and equipment; in addition to the absence of a fair medical liability law, which exposes doctors to legal accountability without adequate protection; and repeated assaults on doctors inside hospitals; as well as administrative red tape and obstacles to licensing private medical facilities).<\/span><\/p>\n

In a parallel context, Dr Iman Salama, rapporteur of the Social Committee at the Doctors Syndicate, <\/span>stated<\/span><\/a> that during 2022 the syndicate received requests for the disbursement of financial dues from 1,453 families of male and female doctors who have passed away, another indicator of the heavy pressures doctors are subjected to, whether in their professional or their social lives. In addition, there is a large number of doctors who did not take up work in the government sector or did not obtain end-of-service decisions, which means that the official figures may be lower than the reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: The Repercussions of Abolishing Doctors’ Mandatory Assignment in Egypt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Constitutional Violation? <\/b><\/h1>\n

For his part, lawyer Yasser Saad believes that expressing an opinion, whether through press statements, posts on personal pages or even public conversations, is a constitutional right guaranteed to all citizens, including when these opinions contain inaccurate information, as long as they are not used to incite hatred or to incite against a particular group, and do not involve defamation or intentional offence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Saad adds, speaking to Zawia3, that the matter acquires greater sensitivity when the statements come from a specialist speaking within the framework of his profession or his syndicate position, such as members of the Doctors Syndicate’s board, which gives these statements greater legitimacy and does not justify holding those who make them accountable disciplinarily or criminally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Saad criticises the Ministry of Health’s filing of a complaint against Doctors Syndicate board member Dr Khaled Amin, and considers it an unjustified exploitation of the state’s executive and judicial tools with the aim of intimidating critical professional voices. He says: “When an executive body resorts to the judicial authorities to pursue someone who expresses his opinion, this is not only a violation of freedom of expression, but also constitutes an overlapping of jurisdictions, and may lead to infringing on individual and collective rights guaranteed by the constitution.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Saad stresses that filing complaints is not in itself a violation, as every citizen has the right to resort to the judiciary, including senior officials, “but the substance and content of the complaint is what determines whether we are facing a legitimate legal practice or a tool of political or syndicate intimidation”, as he puts it.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this context, MP Dr Freddy El-Bayadi, a member of the House of Representatives and deputy head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, submitted an urgent briefing request addressed to the Minister of Health and Population, over the ministry’s filing of a complaint against Dr Khaled Amin, Assistant Secretary-General of the Doctors Syndicate, over his statements connected to his syndicate role, which resulted in his being summoned for questioning before the Public Prosecution.<\/span><\/p>\n

El-Bayadi described what happened as a flagrant attack on the freedom and independence of syndicate work, warning that this step constitutes a serious setback in the course of partnership between the state and professional syndicates, and is in violation of Article (76) of the Egyptian Constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n

El-Bayadi demanded that the Minister of Health provide an urgent explanation of the justifications for filing this complaint, and of the measures taken to ensure respect for syndicate rights, calling for an end to the use of state tools to pursue professional voices. The MP stressed that summoning one of the syndicate’s leaders merely for exercising his right to express a syndicate position constitutes a clear violation of the constitution and an infringement of the independence of professional syndicates, and threatens to deprive them of their basic role as a partner in developing public policies, especially in a vital sector such as health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Article 76 of the <\/span>Egyptian Constitution<\/span><\/a>, as amended in 2019, stipulates that: “Establishing syndicates and unions on a democratic basis is a right guaranteed by law… The law guarantees the independence of syndicates and unions, and the authorities may not dissolve their boards of directors except by a court ruling.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Article 77 of the Constitution also stipulates that: “The law regulates the establishment and management of professional syndicates on a democratic basis, guarantees their independence and specifies their resources, the method of registering their members, and holding them accountable for their conduct in practising their professional activity, in accordance with ethical and professional codes of honour. Only one syndicate shall be established to regulate a profession. Sequestration may not be imposed on it, nor may administrative bodies interfere in its affairs, and its board of directors may not be dissolved except by a court ruling. Its opinion is taken on draft laws relating to it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommended reading: From Burnout to Emigration: Why Are Psychiatrists Leaving Egypt?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Similar Incidents and the Threat to Syndicate Freedom <\/strong><\/h1>\n

The complaint filed by the Minister of Health is a precedent, the first of its kind, but the investigation of Dr Khaled Amin, Assistant Secretary-General of the Doctors Syndicate, is not an isolated precedent, as the prosecution has previously summoned and questioned a number of members of the Doctors Syndicate’s board in similar incidents relating to the performance of their syndicate duties.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, Dr Mona Mina, the former deputy head of the syndicate, was subjected to official <\/span>investigations<\/span><\/a> after a complaint filed by the then Minister of Health, over her statements about the reuse of syringes inside government hospitals as a result of a shortage of medical supplies, which caused a wide uproar in the medical community and among public opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n

In August 2017, the Military Prosecution also summoned Dr Ehab El-Taher, the syndicate’s former Secretary-General, <\/span>for questioning<\/span><\/a> over the publication, on the syndicate’s official website, of an official letter the syndicate had addressed to the Military Medical Academy to enquire about the details of what became known as the “Military Medical Board”. The prosecution charged him with publishing without obtaining prior permission from the Ministry of Defence, before deciding to release him on guarantee of his place of work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mohamed Badawi, a former member of the Dentists Syndicate’s board, says that summoning syndicate leaders over statements related to their syndicate work constitutes flagrant interference in the affairs of syndicates and explicitly violates the provisions of the Egyptian Constitution, particularly Articles (76) and (77), which guarantee the independence of syndicates and their freedom to exercise their role without administrative interference.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He points out, speaking to Zawia3, that holding a syndicate leader to account for statements connected to professional matters concerning the members of the general assembly constitutes a direct violation of syndicate freedom, and undermines the role entrusted to syndicates in defending the rights of their members.<\/span><\/p>\n

He explains that the laws and legislation regulating syndicate work, foremost among them the bylaws of the statute of the Doctors Syndicate, issued in 1962 by a decree of the Minister of Health and published in the Official Gazette, clearly stipulate that no board member may be held accountable because of his syndicate activity, which makes investigating members of the syndicate’s board (for reasons connected to professional matters) illegal and worrying.<\/span><\/p>\n

Badawi points out that the statements over which the investigation was conducted dealt with fundamental issues such as doctors’ low salaries and the rising numbers of resignations and emigration from the government sector, which are facts documented by official data. He explains that these figures are not secrets, but were published as part of a joint study in which the Supreme Council of Universities, the Ministry of Health, the Doctors Syndicate and the World Health Organization all took part, and which concluded that the proportion of doctors actually working in Ministry of Health hospitals does not exceed 38% of all doctors in Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Badawi affirms that the Doctors Syndicate relies, in its assessment of the situation, on official statistics drawn from the number of “free practice of the profession” certificates it issues to members wishing to leave the government sector, which accurately reflects the scale of the doctors’ emigration crisis. Badawi points to the prosecution’s insistence, during the questioning of the Doctors Syndicate board member, on the submission of a salary breakdown worth EGP 6,000, so that it would match his statements about doctors’ low wages; although the board member submitted salary breakdowns that did not exceed the threshold of EGP 6,800, the prosecution did not recognise them and considered them inconsistent with the accuracy of the statements.<\/span><\/p>\n

The former Dentists Syndicate board member criticises what he describes as “syndicate intimidation”, saying: “It would have been more appropriate to open a serious discussion about the reasons that push doctors to emigrate or resign, instead of investigating a member of the Doctors Syndicate’s board for talking about the crises facing the profession.”<\/span><\/p>\n

He stresses that improving the health system can only be achieved by opening the discussion to critical opinions and enabling syndicates to perform their role in expressing doctors’ needs and problems, not by pursuing those who express them, affirming that “the Doctors Syndicate represents the most important body in defending the rights of workers in the medical sector. Intimidating it means undermining any serious effort to reform the health system in Egypt.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The case of the summoning of Dr Khaled Amin, a member of the Doctors Syndicate’s board, highlights the urgent need to reconsider the relationship between the state and professional syndicates. Open and continuous dialogue with syndicates should be the only way to achieve the required balance between doctors’ rights and society’s needs. Improving the health system in Egypt also requires the effective participation of doctors, and without this commitment the health crisis will continue to grow more complicated, and the medical sector will lose opportunities for reform and development befitting the interests of citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Editorial correction: The first version of the report cited the text of Article 188 of the Penal Code as including the phrase “or tendentious, or broadcasting provocative propaganda”, whereas the article in fact stipulates “or fabricated or forged papers or papers falsely attributed to others”, according to its published text.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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