The undersigned organizations strongly condemn the escalating targeting of civil society organizations in Egypt, and in particular the targeting by the authorities of the Egyptian feminist organization Nazra for Feminist Studies, founded and led by woman human rights defender (WHRD) Mozn Hassan, who is a prominent feminist and is known for her extensive work on feminist movement building and combating sexual violence in the public sphere.

The recent summoning of WHRD Mozn Hassan to appear before the judge on Tuesday 29 March 2016 to be interrogated in the case number 173 for the year 2011, known as the "Foreign Funding case[1]" is an atrocious manifestation of the Egyptian government's crackdown on civil society, and women human rights defenders. Furthermore, the undersigned organizations are baffled by the fact that the Egyptian state is targeting a feminist organization that works on issues the authorities claim to prioritize, namely violence against women and advancement of women's rights.

The official summoning of feminist and WHRD Mozn Hassan comes after numerous steps taken to stifle her activism in the public space, including systemic smear campaigns against her and other civil society leaders, issuance of a gag order on the media for coverage of the Foreign Funding Case, in addition to the lack of transparency and non-declaration of charges directed against WHRD Mozn Hassan until now.

In subsequence, we strongly urge and call on the Egyptian government to immediately drop the Foreign Funding Case, and stop targeting civil society organizations, including Nazra for Feminist Studies. Nazra for Feminist Studies is an organization that conducts its activities with utter transparency and legality. Instead, the Egyptian state should be taking all measures necessary to acknowledge the important and pivotal work WHRD Mozn Hassan conducts in the advancement of women's rights, provision of support services for survivors of sexual violence and a feminist discourse that is against all forms of violence and extremism. It should also provide the direly needed space for WHRDs similar to Mozn Hassan to operate and provide the important input needed for the state to holistically advance women's rights, and not conduct a reprisal of WHRD Mozn Hassan for the important work she conducts in relation to shrinking spaces for feminist organizations, an important issue that is currently being discussed at length in the 60th session of the United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women.

The Undersigned Organizations:

1. African Feminist Forum.

2. AMICA e.V.- Germany.

3. Amnesty International.

4. Anti-Racism Movement - Lebanon.

5. Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID).

6. Association of War Affected Women - Sri Lanka, and New York.

7. Aswat- Palestinian Gay Women.

8. Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL).

9. Chouf - Tunisia.

10. CIVICUS.

11. Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca - México.

12. Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN).

13. Enfance Citoyenne ( ESSOR ) - Brazil

14. FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund.

15. Fundacion Arcoiris - Mexico.

16. Groupe de Recherche sur les Femmes et les Lois au Senegal (GREFELS)

17. Human Rights Organization in Syria -Maf - Syria.

18. Insan Foundation Trust - Islamabad, Pakistan.

19. Instituto De Liderazgo Simone de Beauvoir – México.

20. International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN).

21. International Network of Women's Funds (INWF)

22. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR).

23. International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific.

24. Justice for Women - Myanmar.

25. MADRE.

26. Mama Cash.

27. PAIMAN Alumni Trust - Pakistan.

28. Pari o Dispare - Italy.

29. Peace is Loud - New York, USA.

30. REDefine Mexico.

31. Royaa for Feminist Studies - Sudan.

32. Sedigheh Dolatabadi Women's Library - Iran.

33. Shirkat Gah-Women's Resource Centre - Pakistan.

34. Tha'era The Arab Women's Network for Parity and Solidarity - Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia.

35. The Association of Middle East Women's Studies (AMEWS).

36. The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).

37. Wi'am center - Palestine.

38. Witness Somalia - Somalia.

39. Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Coalition.

40. Women Living under Muslim Laws (WLUML).

41. Women Peace Network - Arakan, Myanmar.

42. Women Thrive .

43. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) -UK.

44. Women’s World Day of Prayer – German Committee.

45. Women's Action Network - Sri Lanka.

46. Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR).

47. Young Women's Leadership Institute.

48. Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights.