of intimidation and reprisals against the Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms following their cooperation with United Nations on human rights, in particular in connection to their various contributions to Egypt’s UPR. We are also deeply concerned at the allegations received indicating that torture and/or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment may have occurred during the detention of the three human rights defenders. We further wish to express our concerns over the alleged obstacles put in place preventing the human rights defenders from having sufficient meetings with their legal representation in order to mount their legal defence. We express concern about the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters and the recent wave of arrests, including of minors, which appear to be an attempt to suppress the exercise of the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. We further reiterate our serious concerns over the overall worrisome climate for civil society organisations, human rights defenders and journalists in Egypt, given the use of counterterrorism legislation to target those expressing dissent and seeking to promote and protect human rights. While we do not wish to prejudge the accuracy of these allegations, we would like to draw the attention of your Excellency’s Government to the relevant international norms and standards that are applicable to the issues brought forth by the situation described above. Without expressing at this stage an opinion on the facts of the case and on whether the detention of Mr. Abdel Fattah, Mr. El-Baqer and Ms. Abdel Fattah was arbitrary or not, we would like to appeal to your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee their right not to be deprived arbitrarily of their liberty and to fair proceedings before an independent and impartial tribunal, in accordance with articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified by Egypt on 14 January 1982. Further, the right to have access to a lawyer is also enshrined in the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers as well as the Basic Principles and Guidelines on Remedies and Procedures on the Right of Anyone Deprived of His or Her Liberty by Arrest or Detention to Bring Proceedings Before Court (Principle 9 and Guideline 8). We would like to remind your Excellency’s Government of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as codified in articles 2 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), which Egypt ratified on 25 June 1986. Moreover, Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Egypt is a party, provides that “[n]o one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Concerning allegations received as relevant to the conditions of detention in which the human rights defenders have been held, we would 6