Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) condemned the arbitrary arrest of Ghada Naguib on Monday, October 2, 2017, at the hands of the Turkish authorities.
Naguib was arrested from her home in Istanbul without being informed of any charges against her, and was transferred to a detention centre in Malatya city, 1100 kilometres away from her home.
The political activities Naguib carried out on social media against the current Egyptian regime does not justify her detention, whether in Turkish or international laws.
The Turkish authorities must protect human rights and freedom of expression as basic rights, rather than becoming an oppressive regime like the Egyptian regime which terrorises and abuses its opponents.
Naguib came to Turkey with her husband, the Egyptian actor Hisham Abdullah, after fleeing terrorism and oppression at the hands of the Egyptian regime, which continues arresting their family members in Egypt. The Egyptian regime has issued a decision to revoke Naguib’s Egyptian citizenship, and persecute her in every possible way, including her recent detention, which was based on a security code issued against her by the Egyptian regime.
The moral positions taken by the Turkish state in providing legal protection to thousands of victims of oppressive regimes around the world should not be followed by prioritising geopolitical interests over human rights, especially as the Egyptian regime’s crimes and violations of human rights are crystal clear.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian regime has attacked Turkey in particular and accused it of supporting terrorism simply for its adherence to international law in protecting the right to freedom of opinion and expression for those living in Turkey.
Given Turkey’s obligations under the international laws and the European Convention on Human Rights, AOHR UK demands ending the arbitrary detention of the Egyptian activist Ghada Naguib, and calls for her immediate release. Naguib’s release would be a triumph for human rights, justice and equality in Turkey and would reflect Turkey’s commitment to international human rights standards, which it had always preached other countries to respect.
