Renewing the Detention of Twelve Defendants and Release of Three Others With Precautionary Measures
The Legal Bulletin covers the lawsuits in which AFTE provides the necessary legal aid, in accordance with AFTE’s framework.
—
Criminal Courts
The Third Circuit (Criminal/Terrorism) had renewed the pretrial detention of four member of Al Destour party in Sharqia governorate, pending case No. 1956 of 2020, Hamdy Zaky, Ahmed Saber Ghandour, Maher Abdel Hakim and Mohamed Abu Samra, they had been arrested by security forces in Damietta city in December 2019, and appeared at various times at the supreme state security prosecution office for investigations, after days of disappearance. Al-Destour party requested on many occasions to release prisoners of conscience, particularly the party members, and to stop chasing them.
And pending the same case, The council chamber of the criminal court, renewed the detention of Akram Mostafa Farouk, Mohammad Abd Ellah Mokhaimer, Mohammad Ahmed Mansour, and lawyer Walid El-Sayed Elgendy who was arrested from his home in Alexandria governorate, for 45 days, while it decided to release the defendant Ahmed Mohamed Ali with precautionary measures, and the third circuit terrorism had followed suit, as it replaced the pretrial detention with precautionary measures for defendant Tarek Youssef.
In the same context, the third circuit terrorism considered the renewal of the detention order of Dr. Ahmed AlTohamy AbdelHay, who is working as an assistant professor of political science at the Faculty of Economic Studies and Political Science at Alexandria University since, and is in pretrial detention pending case No. 649 of 2020, for almost one year, as he was arrested in the 3rd of june last year, and was subjected to enforced disappearance for more than 2 weeks, and he was investigated in a case related to the activist Mohamed Sultan, and AFTE released a statement that demands his release, it also considered the renewal of the detention of dentist Waleed Shawky, who has been held in pretrial detention since 2018, first pending case No. 621 of 2018, and a decision was issued to replace his pretrial detention with precautionary measure on September 24, 2020 but the decision was not implemented. Instead, in October 6, 2020, he was recharged into a new case No. 880 of 2020, and was arrested from his clinic in El-Sayeda Zeinab, by security forces dressed in civilian clothing and official uniforms, and was detained in El-Sayeda Zeinab police station, in a room that does not exceed four meters in size, and the third circuit terroism renewed the detention of both of them for 45 days.
The council chamber of the criminal court, also renewed the detention of Ahmed Hassanein Mohamed Moussa, it should be noted that he was arrested in October 2019, and was detained for 47 days, until he was brought before the prosecution in November of the same year, and was investigated into case No. 1475 of 2019 Supreme State Security.
Supreme State Security Prosecution
After his pretrial detention exceeded 100 days unlawfully, the supreme state security prosecution renewed the detention of researcher Ahmed Samir Santawy for 15 days, after security forces raided his home in the Fifth settlement in 23 January, and requested his presence to the national security department, and then he was subjected to enforced disappearance, AFTE issued a statement to urge the Ministry of Interior to reveal his whereabouts, till he appeared in the 5th settlement police station, where he was held by national security forces, with a permission from the supreme state security prosecution, and he was charged with joining and financing a terrorist group with knowledge of its aims, spreading false news, and using an account on social media to spread these news, pending case No. 65 of 2021 supreme state security.
AFTE, and many local and foreign human rights organizations, released several statements (1) (2) urging the Egyptian government to release Santawy, and to stop violating academic rights.
In another context, the supreme state security prosecution decided to replace the pretrial detention with precautionary measures for defendant Khaled Elsayed Elbadawy, who was being held pending case No. 855 of 2020 supreme state security, on Monday, May10, 2021, Khaled is charged with joining and financing a terrorist group, spreading false news using an account on social media.
