HRW: Egypt Must Free Morsi Aides Immediately

Human Rights Watch called Sunday on Egypt’s military-backed government to immediately release from detention five aides of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
The advocacy group said in a statement that the five have been held at an undisclosed destination since July 3, the day when the military ousted Morsi after millions demonstrated demanding he step down. It said the five were among nine close Morsi aides detained that day. The other four have been transferred to regular prisons and are facing criminal charges.
“What kind of road map is this where a military-backed government can brazenly disappear former presidential aides for 150 days without any explanation?” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. She was referring to the road map for a post-coup return to democracy announced by military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi when he toppled Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president. “Forcibly disappearing people for months on end doesn’t inspire confidence that this government intends to follow the rule of law,” she added. “The prolonged enforced disappearance of anyone is a crime, pure and simple. The Egyptian authorities should immediately free them unconditionally.”
According to HRW, the five still held at a secret location are: Essam El-Haddad, Morsi’s top foreign policy adviser, Ayman Ali, who advised him on the affairs of Egyptian expatriates, aide Ayman El-Serafy, media adviser Abdel-Meguid El-Meshaly and foreign affairs aide Khaled El-Qazzaz.

Source: The Associated Press