Doaa Mostafa Ahmed Hassan

Egypt, CAHR, Autumn 2016

My name is Doaa Mostafa Ahmed Hassan, from Egypt, born in 1984. From an early age I was influenced by my illiterate mother who had no opportunities for education. She stressed in me the importance of education for all citizens and this to be used to help the Egyptian disadvantaged. I graduated from the Faculty of Law at University of Zagazig in Egypt.

My first job was as a Contract Lawyer but I also worked voluntary on criminal cases and on a few occasions would act as a defence lawyer for protesters. When the 2011 Revolution came, a friend of mine was killed and many people were arrested or disappeared. I volunteered for three months with the highly respected Hisham Mubarak Law Centre, which specialises in human rights cases through legal research, campaigning and litigation.

Between 2012 and 2013 I worked for the Al-Agl Al-Aray Centre for Rights and Freedoms. In 2013 I joined the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms as a volunteer in their Criminal Justice Program. In 2014 I was hired by the organisation as their Programme Director in Criminal Justice. I manage the programme at three offices: the Head Office in Cairo, one each in Upper Eygpt, Alexandria and Monsora. We are currently working on four programmes: disappearances, unfair trials, torture and extrajudicial killings. These crimes are not recognised by the government and it is therefore dangerous to work on. I am also a member of the Front of Defence for Egyptian Protestors, a group composed of activists and human rights lawyers working to protect protesters from human rights violations.

When the 2011 Revolution came, a friend of mine was killed and many people were arrested or disappeared.

I have provided legal support to many activists, minors and journalists arrested during anti-government protests, either because of their participation or because they were not protesting but innocently carrying out their work. I have won a number of court cases, particularly in the defence of the right to freedom of assembly. On 25 February 2014, for example, on the third anniversary of the 2011 revolution, I provided legal support to protesters arrested in six separate cases and was able to achieve verdicts of innocence for five of them.

I have participated in the preparation, writing and follow-up of a lawsuit related to arbitrary dismissal from work, a work injury, compensation and the payment of salaries.

In recent years I have been involved in trial monitoring, including military trials and those involving alleged terrorists. As part of my work on enforced disappearances and detention I have submitted a number of complaints to the Public Prosecutor in connection with such cases.

I am the only female lawyer to be working on enforced disappearances in Egypt, one of the most important human rights violations taking place in Egypt today. I am also the only female lawyer that goes into the prosecution offices of the National Security Agency.

In 2012 I won the Social Party Award for Best Human Rights Defenders and in 2015 won the Al-Karama Award for Best Human Rights Defenders.