Corrado Augias, an Italian journalist and writer, has returned the French Legion of Honor he received in 2007 in protest of the same award being given recently to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Augias, in a letter written to the French ambassador in Rome, refused to share the same recognition with an “accomplice to atrocious crimes" [in Italian] and dedicated this gesture to Giulio Regeni, an Italian doctoral student killed in Cairo in strange circumstances in 2016.
President Macron received al-Sisi on a state visit and discussed human rights issues, on which they greatly disagree; however, France wishes to maintain a strategic partnership with Egypt, a purported key ally in the fight against terrorism. Activists and human rights groups—led by Human Rights Watch—though, have heavily criticised Egypt, claiming that the state “is abusively using counter-terrorist legislation to eradicate the legitimate work in favor of human rights and suppress all peaceful dissent in the country”.
HUMAN RIGHTS CONTEXT IN EGYPT
The Egyptian government is responsible for enforced disappearances (2,723 since 2015), mass arrests, torture, excessive use of force, extensive use of exceptional courts resulting in unfair trials, and, in some cases, the death penalty, according to Amnesty International's annual report. In October and November, at least 57 men and women were executed, 15 of them in cases involving unfair trials, forced confessions, and other serious human rights violations.
Egyptian citizens’ right to freedom of expression has been restricted due to the mass closure of websites, including news and human rights organisations. The British BBC and Alhurra, an Arabic American news channel, have also recently been blocked. In addition, at least 20 journalists have been imprisoned for peacefully expressing their opinions.
The Egyptian government also curbs the freedom of association of human rights organisations and political parties and has granted its authorities the power to dissolve independent human rights groups and to criminalise legitimate NGO activities. This makes Egypt hostile territory for human rights activists and defenders. The latest case to reach the media is the arrest of the director and key staff of one of the few independent institutions still reporting on repression by the Egyptian authorities, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). Although they were released this month after being held captive for several weeks, the criminal charges against them have not been dropped.
THE CASE OF GIULIO REGENI
The details of the torture and murder of the student Giulio Regeni have been revealed by the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office after years of investigation with little collaboration from the Egyptian authorities. In February 2016, Amnesty International launched a campaign to demand the truth about his death and prevent the case from remaining unresolved. Finally, four members of Egypt's security forces have been accused of kidnapping, torturing, and killing the young man, who was investigating independent trade unions in the country.
Regeni's case, unfortunately, is not the only one. Patrick Zaki, an Egyptian student at the University of Bologna, was arrested during a visit to his parents. He has been held captive since February 2020 for an alleged series of Facebook postings inciting protests and terrorism, which the defense has denied. Zaki, who faces 25 years in prison, is one of the 60,000 prisoners of conscience and political opponents imprisoned under the al-Sisi government.
THE SYMBOLIC GESTURE OF AUGIAS
After Augias, other illustrious Italian figures who were also awarded the French Legion of Honor such as Sergio Cofferati, Luciana Castellina, and Giovanna Melandri, have announced that they will follow his steps and return the award. This award is the highest honor the French Republic can give; it was initially granted for extraordinary merits in the military field and is currently also given to ambassadors, artists, members of the government, and heads of state of foreign countries
“I know enough about the mechanisms of business and diplomacy—but I also know that there is a measure (…) I believe that in this case the measure of fairness has been exceeded, indeed outraged,” declared Augias. This gesture symbolises the public's rejection of France's failure to condemn the crimes committed by Egypt and reminds the international community that human rights cannot be relegated to a secondary role.
Silvia has a degree in Law from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and a Master's in Human Rights from the Open University of Catalonia. She is passionate about the rights of vulnerable groups and would like to devote her professional career to raising awareness about human rights violations around the world.