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December 2016 – Betty Purcell from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Comission campaigns for the release of Ibrahim Halawa in Dublin's city centre, where family members and supporters held an awareness day as he celebrates his 21st Birthday behind bars in Egypt. Niall Carson/PA Wire/PA Images. All rights reserved.US President Trump’s
effusive and unequivocal endorsement of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
following their bilateral meeting on April 3 in Washington D.C. sounded the
alarm that concerns over Egypt’s continued persecution of human rights
activists have taken a back-seat in terms of the new administration’s foreign
policy priorities.

This comes at the worst possible time for Egyptian activists
whose voice and activities are being stifled by travel bans, asset freezes, closures
and the looming threat of long prison sentences for spurious and vague charges
such as receiving foreign funding “with the aim of pursuing acts harmful to
national interests or destabilizing the general peace or the country’s
independence and its unity.”

The case of Mozn Hassan is
illustrative. Just one year ago, Mozn, Egypt’s leading contemporary feminist,
was first summoned for questioning in connection with a judicial investigation
scrutinising over thirty leading Egyptian rights organisations for receiving
foreign funding in contravention of a Mubarak-era law regulating NGOs.

This
investigation has not only limited Mozn’s personal freedoms – she has been
unable to travel internationally since March 2016 – but also, through a recent
freeze on her assets, and those of Nazra for Feminist Studies – the
organisation that she leads – imperilled their crucial work to promote women’s
political participation and provide legal, medical and psychosocial services to
women survivors of violence.

Yet, on March 25, 2017, there was a palpable sense
of celebration and joy in the air as Mozn received her Right
Livelihood Award, popularly known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize” in
Cairo at a ceremony attended by over 150 activists, journalists, politicians,
diplomats and Egypt’s embattled civil society leaders.

Mozn had been unable to
receive the Award in Stockholm in November 2016 despite three UN experts opining that
the travel ban against her was in violation of international law. If travel
bans have become a frequently used tool by governments keen to prevent an
exchange of ideas between local activists and the wider world, the ceremony in
Cairo exposed its limits.

International civil society representatives and
parliamentarians from Ireland, Germany and Sweden travelled to Egypt to both
honour Mozn’s important contributions to the cause of women’s rights and call
for the unfair sanctions against her to be lifted without delay.

The aphorism that justice
delayed is justice denied is true for Mozn and many others in Egypt, like Irish
citizen Ibrahim Halawa.  Ibrahim was just
17 when arrested and has spent over 1300 days in prison and his mass trial has
been postponed 21 times.

While Mozn has not been brought to trial even after a
year of being investigated, her work is being seriously impeded owing to the
sanctions imposed against her. The investigation’s slow pace violates
international fair trial principles, and the harsh pre-trial sanctions make a
mockery of the presumption of innocence.

In her speech marking the
occasion, Mozn made it clear that having the Award ceremony in Cairo meant that
“appreciation and solidarity can reach you despite travel bans” and that the
work of Egyptian feminists “is seen and valued by different actors around the
world.”

It was evident that the powerful solidarity and human bonds between
individuals, and the institutions that they represent, was felt not just by
Mozn that night, but by all members of Egypt’s civil society who were present.

For
Egyptian activists facing an uncertain future, the event underlined that the
international community was not abandoning them, but were instead emphasising
that their hard won achievements – such as the enshrining of women’s rights in
Egypt’s constitution, which Mozn and a coalition of women’s rights groups
achieved – were worth celebrating.

The presence of eminent international
dignitaries at the ceremony represented the best possible counter-narrative to
the argument that civil society bring Egypt to disrepute abroad. It highlighted that these women and men are
respected and admired internationally for being Egyptians who have demonstrated
an unwavering commitment to contributing to the development of their country
and its institutions.

This experience demonstrates that governments,
parliamentarians, philanthropists and international organisations who care
about human rights in Egypt need to do more. Now is not the time to stop
investing in Egyptian civil society organizations, cancel a planned solidarity
visit, or stop advocating and engaging at every level with the Egyptian
government.

By standing shoulder to shoulder with Egypt’s courageous,
compelling and vibrant civil society activists and honouring them, we convey to
them a powerful message of solidarity, and an equally unambiguous message to
their government – that Egypt’s activists should be celebrated, not
criminalised.