“I am glad to hear a court of appeal has revoked the judgement of the court of first instance in the case of Maikel Nabil. The Egyptian authorities are taking a step in the right direction by recognizing that a judgement passed in a trial in which the accused was not protected by law must not be considered valid.
However, this recognition now needs to be followed by a due process of law in a civil court, and until that is concluded, it is essential that Mr Nabil, whose state of health is extremely worrying, be released.
The large number of demonstrators and activists being tried by military tribunals continues to cause great concern and does not fulfil rule of law criteria.
The people of Egypt protested on the streets to obtain more dignity, human rights and democracy. We call on all those in positions of responsibility to respect that and to do all they can to further Egypt’s development into a democratic state based on the rule of law.”