Egyptians denounce Bahraini activist’s deportation

This video from the USA is called Protest For Bahrain – Washington DC – Maryam Al-Khawaja – 4/15/2011.

From the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (Cairo, Egypt):

Egypt – the Banning of ‘Maryam Al-Khawaja’ to Enter Egypt Is Not By Our Name, the Lists of the Department of the State Security Must Be Removed

27 August 2012

Press release

ANHRI denounced what was done by the security authorities at Cairo International Airport yesterday, corresponding to August 27, of the repressive and unjustified act, of detaining and preventing the Bahraini activist “Mariam El-Khawaja“, from entering Egypt due to allegation that she is on the list of persons banned from entering, with exposure to many harassments during her presence at the airport before being deported to Copenhagen.

The security authorities at Cairo airport had detained the Bahraini activist “Mariam El-Khawaja” yesterday evening upon arrival on a flight of Egypt Air coming from Beirut, during a regular visit to Egypt on her way to South Africa and having examined the papers she was told that she is banned from entering the country in accordance with the instructions of the security and without reasons, then they asked her to leave the country upon her own discrete, instead of being deported to Bahrain, despite entering the country on a Danish passport as a Danish citizen as well as the security authorities’ attempt to sign a document (declaration) she does not know its content.

During her presence at the airport she was harassed many times by the airport security as she reported on her own “Twitter”, where someone told her, “We do not have demonstrations in Egypt” in a way of making fun of her work related to rights.

On April 2012 she was banned from entering the country before a number of civil society organizations organized a protest in front of the airport, then she was allowed to enter the country as a result of pressure that has been practiced on the authorities and that after few days before the detention and banning of the human rights activist “Nabeel Rajab” who was deported from the country after some failed attempts by the activists and lawyers to let him enter the country.

ANHRI said that “Banning her from entering the country in such policized way, brings us back to the days of the ousted era, SCAF and harms the image of the Egyptian revolution, … hostile to the Arab activists.”

ANHRI wonders “Is there any offense related to her in order to be banned from entering Egypt? Will her defending freedoms in her country be a reason to add her to the list of persons banned from entering Egypt?! These repressive practices are totally unacceptable and confirms that the approach of the state security department is still going on”.

Bahrain Rights Activist Denied Entry to Egypt: here.

Bahrain: UPDATE – Human rights defender Mr Nabeel Rajab acquitted of libel charges but remains in detention: here.