CAIRO: Local and international human rights organizations and NGOs decried the punishment of 1,500 lashes handed down to two Egyptian doctors in Saudi Arabia in a memo they will send to the United Nations Human Rights Council next month.
Raouf Amin and Shawky Abd Rabbou have been held in Saudi Arabia since October 2008, and were handed 20-year and 15-year jail sentences respectively, as well as 1,500 lashes each.
Over 40 organizations, among which are the French National Academy of Medicine, the Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organization (EUHRO) and Doctors Without Borders, condemned the punishment, calling it a violation of human rights as per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
According to Naguib Gobrael, head of the EUHRO, the memo calls for an international investigation into the doctors’ cases under United Nation’s supervision, as well as a lobby for their release.
“The punishment [of lashes] is an outright violation of basic human rights, which is what made it the object of international criticism, Gobrael told Daily News Egypt.
Fathia Shihata, Amin’s wife, accused the Egyptian foreign ministry of “abandoning her husband, saying they are yet to fulfill their promise of resolving the matter with the Saudi authorities.
Last week, she met with foreign ministry officials who told her that negotiations with Saudi officials are still ongoing, she told Daily News Egypt.
With regards to the international pressure posed by the aforementioned NGOs, Shihata is skeptical of the outcome, explaining it might lead to “more persistence on the Saudi authorities’ part.
“The attention the case received from the media has so far only had a negative effect, with Saudi authorities remaining adamant about their decisions, she said.
