A/HRC/WGAD/2021/42 their arrest. It recalls that, in line with the United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on Remedies and Procedures on the Right of Anyone Deprived of Their Liberty to Bring Proceedings Before a Court, the right to challenge the lawfulness of detention before a court is a self-standing human right essential to the preservation of legality in a democratic society. Its absence constitutes a human rights violation. This right, which is in fact a peremptory norm of international law, applies to all forms and situations of deprivation of liberty. Judicial oversight of the deprivation of liberty is a fundamental safeguard of personal liberty and is essential in ensuring that detention has a legal basis. 60. The Working Group observes that Mr. Gharib and Mr. Elsayed were not afforded the right to take proceedings before a court so that it could decide without delay on the lawfulness of their detention, in accordance with articles 3, 8 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 9 of the Covenant and principles 11, 32, 37 and 38 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. The Working Group finds that, in the present case, these rights and principles have been violated. 61. The Working Group has also asserted that holding persons at secret and undisclosed locations violates the right to effectively challenge the legality of the detention before a court or tribunal, enshrined in article 9 (4) of the Covenant. Mr. Gharib and Mr. Elsayed have in fact been prevented from challenging their detentions before a court. Consequently, their right to an effective remedy, set out in article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 2 (3) of the Covenant, have been violated. They have also been placed outside the protection of the law, in violation of the right to be recognized as persons before the law, enshrined in article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 16 of the Covenant. 62. Both Mr. Gharib and Mr. Elsayed have been held at locations unknown to their families and lawyers for a considerable period of time. The Working Group considers that any deprivation of liberty that entails the wilful refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned or to acknowledge their detention lacks any valid legal basis under any circumstance. In the present context, the enforced disappearances to which the two men have been subjected are considered to violate numerous substantive and procedural provisions of the Covenant and constitute a particularly aggravated form of arbitrary detention.5 They are also intrinsically arbitrary, as they have placed the two men outside the protection of the law, in violation of article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Government’s failure to notify the men’s families of the arrests and the locations of detention also violated principle 16 (1) of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. 63. Consequently, the Working Group finds that the Government has failed to establish a legal basis for the detentions of Mr. Gharib and Mr. Elsayed and that the detentions are thus arbitrary under category I. Category II 64. The source claims that the detentions of Mr. Gharib and Mr. Elsayed are arbitrary under category II, as they are a consequence of their profession as journalists and were carried out as part of a crackdown on freedom of expression in Egypt. According to the source, journalists in Egypt have been targeted for detention and sentencing under terrorism-related charges. These practices allegedly constitute violations of international law, in relation to the protection and promotion of the right to freedom of expression, according to article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 19 of the Covenant. Any restrictions on this right should only be such as are provided by law and necessary on the grounds set out in article 19 (3) of the Covenant. 65. The Working Group considers that the conduct of Mr. Gharib and Mr. Elsayed, as well as their work as journalists, is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant, both of which recognize that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, 5 8 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 35 (2014), para. 17.