Arrest of conscientious objector Maikel Nabil Sanad
Use this form to send the letter below to the relevant authority (Minister of Defense Mohamed Hussein Tantawi). You can add your own notes in a separate box after the standard text, if you wish. You must include a name, address, and email address; a copy will be sent to you with a cc to the WRI office (so we have a record of how many email letters have been sent out for this particular case).
Note: War Resisters' International is glad to inform that Egypt conscientious objector Maikel Nabil Sanad has been released and exempted from military service earlier today. See http://wri-irg.org/node/11673·
Dear Mr Mohamed Hussein Tantawi,
I am writing to you about Egyptian conscientious objector Maikel Nabil Sanad. He has been called up to report for military service on 22 October 2010, although he repeatedly wrote to the military authorities claiming his human right to conscientious objection to military service. I have been informed that he was arrested by military intelligence on 12 November 2010 at 10pm local time, and is presently being held.
As a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Egypt is under an obligation to provide for conscientious objection to military service as a legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Not to provide for the right to conscientious objection would be a violation of article 18 of the Covenant.
I urge you to recognise Maikel Nabil Sanad's conscientious objection to military service, and to immediately release him, and to exempt him from military service for reasons of conscience. I urge you to respect human rights.
Sincerely yours,
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