We, the undersigned scholars and human rights advocates, express our deep concern at the escalating crackdown that Egyptian authorities have launched against civil society organizations in recent days. In an unprecedented move, on November 15 security forces arrested Mr. Mohamed Basheer, the administrative manager of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), one of the most prominent and reputable civil society organizations in Egypt. Despite strong international condemnation of that action, on November 18 authorities arrested Mr. Karim Ennarah, the director of the criminal justice unit at EIPR, while launching a vicious campaign against EIPR in state-owned media and leveling false accusations against its personnel. A day later, authorities arrested EIPR Executive Director Mr. Gasser Abdel-Razek. They also leveled terrorism related charges against Mr. Ennarah and Mr. Basheer, adding their names to a legal case that includes numerous human rights advocates.
 
Most concerning is that this escalation comes after EIPR hosted senior diplomats from 14 countries, including Canada, the UK, Norway, several EU countries, and the European commission to discuss the implications of the outcome of the US elections for the human rights situation in Egypt. We call on the Egyptian government to immediately release EIPR's personnel and halt all politically motivated investigations against civil society organizations in the country.

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