Arabic: مركز هشام مبارك للقانون Established: 1999 The Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC) is a human rights law firm in Cairo. It is best known for its vigorous defense of Egyptian activists, human rights workers and victims of torture. The center was founded in 1999 by Ahmed Seif el-Islam Hamad along with other attorneys and human rights workers. It has since played an active role in Egyptian civil society, particularly under the regime of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Prior to Egypt's January 25 Revolution, the HMLC defended prominent activists and persons arrested under Egypt's notorious Emergency Law, which remained in effect for Mubarak's entire presidency. The HMLC defended Gamal Eid, the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information; Mohammad Refaat, a blogger detained for “offending state institutions;” the family of murdered Suzan Tamim; as well as many of those included in the Nadim Report, which detailed systematic torture in Egypt. On February 3, 2011, during the height of the Egyptian uprising, the HMLC was raided by military officers and “thugs” who tore apart the office, stole computer equipment and files and destroyed evidence on several pending cases, all while the employees at the center were held on the ground under threat of arbitrary gunshots. Several staff members were detained and brought to a military intelligence compound where they were interrogated for three days. Since the Egyptian revolution, the HMLC has played an integral role in defending the rights of activists and advocating against military trials of civilians. The center claims that over 12,000 civilians have faced or are facing military tribunals, while only 2,000 civilians were subject to such trials under Mubarak's rule. The center also claims that many of those subjected to such adjudication are from a lower socio-economic bracket and consequently do not have the resources or influence to obtain quality legal defense.
