INTERNATIONAL POLITICS EGYPT:

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPS DETAINED BY EGYPTIAN REGIME:

As part of its generalized crackdown on all independent sources of information about the present situation in that country the government of Egypt has been arresting international human rights observers as well as journalists. One of those arrested was a representative of Amnesty International. Here's the story and appeal for his release from Amnesty International USA.

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Amnesty International Staff Detained in Cairo
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, strimel@aiusa.org

(London) -- An Amnesty International representative has been detained by police in Cairo after the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre was taken over by military police this morning.

Amnesty International USA called on President Obama to immediately demand the release of the Amnesty International staff members.

The Amnesty International member of staff was taken, along with Ahmed Seif Al Islam Khaled Ali, a delegate from Human Rights Watch, and others, to an unknown location in Cairo. Amnesty International does not know their current whereabouts.

“We call for the immediate and safe release of our colleagues and others with them who should be able to monitor the human rights situation in Egypt at this crucial time without fear of harassment or detention,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

A number of other activists are still being held in the Centre, including a second Amnesty International member of staff.

Whether in a high-profile conflict or a forgotten corner of the globe, Amnesty International, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, campaigns for justice, freedom and dignity for all and seeks to mobilize public support to build a better world.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/

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THE LETTER:

Please go to the website of Amnesty International USA to send the following letter to the Egyptian regime demanding the release of the Amnesty representative.

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Thursday morning, Egyptian military police raided the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, an important source of legal aid for Egyptians, and detained a number of people, including two Amnesty International representatives, a delegate from Human Rights Watch and others at the center. We are not currently aware of their location.

We demand the immediate, unconditional and safe release of all international observers, Egyptian human rights defenders and an end to the crackdown on civil society ongoing in wake of the national protests in Egypt. We also insist that measures are taken to protect them from ill-treatment while they remain in detention. Furthermore we are concerned about several individuals who remained in detention at the Mubark center.

It is essential that the human rights observers be allowed the freedom to do their crucial work at this time of Egyptian crisis. Egypt must fulfill its obligations under international covenants to release these individuals.