“The continued detention of Maikel Nabil Sanad is a scandal. Maikel Nabil, Alaa Abd El Fattah and the many others detained because they expressed their opinion freely must be released immediately. Egypt needs to respect human rights, also during the current transitional phase. It is unacceptable for the military to prevent the Egyptian people from exercising the right to express their views unhindered.
The military tribunals must finally stop trying civilians. No-one should be handed a court sentence for invoking their human rights. Egypt has entered into international commitments to respect those rights. The news reaching us about the military’s crackdown is very disturbing.
The Egyptian people took to the streets for dignity, human rights and democracy. All those in positions of responsibility are called upon to respect those demands and to push ahead with Egypt’s development towards a democratic state based on the rule of law.”