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17/07/19: Malak has been released from prison in Egypt, thank you to the 15,000 people who took action for her. This action is now closed.

 

Malak al-Kashef is a 19-year-old transgender woman being held in an all-male prison in Egypt. She’s been detained solely for supporting a peaceful protest.

As a woman in an all-male prison, Malak is vulnerable to sexual harassment, assault and rape by the detaining authorities and other inmates.

The authorities arrested Malak in March and are holding her on the baseless charges of “aiding a terrorist organization” and “misusing social media to commit a crime punishable by law.” 

According to her lawyer, she is one of 35 people arrested after being involved in protests about a fatal train wreck that killed 25 people.

Days after her arrest, Malak was subjected to a forced anal examination at a government hospital. 

When torture and harassment like this happens, Amnesty supporters act. After hundreds of thousands of people spoke up, in 2015 Egypt released Australian journalist Peter Greste. Earlier this year photojournalist Shawkan also walked free from an Egyptian prison cell.

Call on Egypt’s Public Prosecutor to immediately free Malak and drop all the charges brought against her.

Sign the petition

  Our Petition

 

Public Prosecutor

Nabil Sadek

Dear Counsellor,

Malak al-Kashef is a 19-year-old transgender woman currently detained in solitary confinement at the all-male Mazra’at Tora Prison. Amnesty International is deeply concerned that Malak’s continued detention in an all-male facility renders her vulnerable to further sexual harassment, assault and rape by the detaining authorities and other inmates.

On 10 March, Malak was subjected to a forced anal examination at a government hospital, where she was also subjected to other forms of sexual assault by medical staff, according to her lawyer. These acts constitute a form of torture and other ill-treatment, which violate the United Nations Convention against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Convention on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Egypt is a party to all three treaties.

Malak is facing the trumped-up charges of “aiding a terrorist organization” and “misusing social media to commit a crime punishable by law” in case 1739/2018.
I urge you to drop all the charges brought against Malak al-Kashef, and to immediately and unconditionally release her as she is a prisoner of conscience solely detained for peacefully exercising her rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
Pending her release, I urge you to ensure that Malak is protected from torture and other forms of ill-treatment, including sexual violence, and that her detention conditions are in line with international standards.
I call on you to end medical examinations to determine whether a suspect has engaged in anal sex, as such examinations constitute torture.
Yours Sincerely,