Hisham Mubarak Law Center

Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC)
مركز هشام مبارك للقانون
HeadquartersDowntown, Cairo Egypt
Major practice areasHuman rights
Date founded1999
WebsiteOfficial website

The Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC; مركز هشام مبارك للقانون) is an Egyptian law firm based in Cairo and Aswan which "works in the field of human rights through litigation, campaigns and legal research"[1] and is "perhaps best known for its active support of torture victims and Egyptians subject to arbitrary detention."[2] Founded by Ahmed Seif El-Islam and other human rights defenders in 1999 it has become a major player in Egyptian Human rights advocacy issues.[3]

Hisham Mubarak (هشام مبارك) was an Egyptian lawyer and human rights activist, who died in 1998 from a heart attack at age 35.[4]

The Cairo office provides space for many activist groups including the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) and is a hub and meeting space for various human rights and civil society groups in Egypt.[5]

On 3 February, the tenth day of the 2011 Egyptian protests, military police raided the Cairo offices of the HMLC and the ECESR arresting 28 Egyptian and international human rights researchers, lawyers, and journalists including both directors,[6][7] four members of the '6 April Youth' activist group including core member Amal Sharaf,[8] Amnesty International staff and Dan Williams a Human Rights Watch researcher.

International pressure for their release was led by The Secretary General of Amnesty International Salil Shetty[9] The International visitors were released around midnight on 4 February and the Egyptians on the morning of 5 February after being held without access to communication or legal advice.

  1. ^ "HMLC Official Website" Archived 31 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine 2010
  2. ^ "Love and resistance" Al-Ahram Weekly 18 April 2008 11:23
  3. ^ "Human Rights Defender in Egypt: Ahmed Seif El-Islam" Amnesty International. 9 December 2008
  4. ^ Judith Miller (15 January 1998). Hisham Mubarak Dies at 35; Rights Campaigner in Egypt (Obituary). New York Times (Retrieved 4 February 2011)
  5. ^ "Obama team working behind the scenes to free foreign activists and journalists" Foreign Policy 3 February 2011
  6. ^ "Egypt: Investigate Arrests of Activists, Journalists" UN HCR, 9 February 2011
  7. ^ Mark Leon Goldberg, [1] "Oxfam Partner Offices Attacked in Cairo"] UN Dispatch, 3 February 2011
  8. ^ "Egypt Arrests 4 Facebook Activists" Wired.com, 33 Feb 2011
  9. ^ "Amnesty: 2 activists detained by Egyptian police" CNN, 3 February 2011