On January 4, 2021, the security forces arrested photojournalist Hamdy Mokhtar, known as “Hamdi the Boss” after storming his home. It was not until the 16th of the same month that he was brought before the State Security Prosecution, pending investigations, in the Supreme State Security Case 955/2020. The prosecution charged Mokhtar with joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its objectives, spreading false news, and using an account on social media with the aim of spreading false news.
On January 6, two days after his arrest, Mokhtar was transferred to an isolation hospital in Abbasiya after he had shown symptoms of the Coronavirus. The added part is: Mokhtar was tested for Coronavirus, the sample had a negative result, revealing that he was not infected with the epidemic.
On January 8, his papers were transferred to the State Security Prosecution for investigation, but he could not be transferred due to his health condition.
In January 2023, Mokhtar exceeded two years in pretrial detention in case no. 955 of 2020. This legally necessitates his release, as he has surpassed the maximum period for pretrial detention in the same case, which is set at two years according to the law. However, his release was not carried out, constituting a clear violation of the law.
On January 5, 2025, Mokhtar was referred to trial in case no. 955 of 2020, overseen by the Supreme State Security Prosecution. He remains unlawfully detained in connection with this case, which is among several cases that judicial authorities expedite before amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code are enacted, aiming to ensure the continued detention of the accused.
It is worth noting, however, that this is not the first time for the police to arrest the 42-year-old photojournalist, as he was arrested in September 2016 while he was photographing a press report and remained in pretrial detention for more than a year and a half, as the court replaced his detention with precautionary measures in April of 2018.
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