12 May 2026
The Cairo Criminal Court, Second Terrorism Circuit, adjourned the trial session of Mohamed Omar El-Sayed in case No. 47 of 2025 (Nozha Police Department Criminal Court) to July 25, 2026.
The court also heard today from a number of prosecution witnesses in the case, and decided to postpone the session to complete hearing the statements of the prosecution witnesses, based on the request of the defendants’ defense in the case to hear their statements in the arrest reports that they wrote against the defendants in the case.
Mohamed Omar was arrested on 17 January 2022 at his workplace in Nasr City and remained in detention for an extended period without being formally presented to the prosecution. His investigation officially began on 15 February 2022, during which he was accused of joining a terrorist group, promoting ideas inciting violence online, and spreading false news and information that could harm public security. Among the evidence seized was a mobile phone used to communicate between members of the group. Omar denied all the charges. The prosecution referred him to the criminal trial, with the first session held in July 2025—after more than three years in pretrial detention.
February 23, 2026
The Cairo Criminal Court, Second Terrorism Circuit, has postponed the trial of 39-year-old Mohamed Omar Al-Sayed to May 12, 2026, instructing the prosecution to submit an additional document in the case, which is registered under Case No. 47 of 2025, (ElNozha Felonies).
Al-Sayed was arrested on January 17, 2022, at his workplace in Nasr City and remained in detention for an extended period before formal investigations began on February 15, 2022. He faces charges of joining a terrorist group, promoting ideas inciting violence online, and publishing false news and statements that could harm public security. Authorities also confiscated a mobile phone from him, reportedly used to communicate with group members. Al-Sayed has denied all charges.
His trial sessions began in July 2025, during which the court and prosecution witnesses presented their testimonies, which were challenged by the defense. The proceedings have seen multiple postponements to allow for the completion of witness hearings and document reviews. The last adjournment, on December 28, 2025, set the session for February 23, 2026.
In today’s session, the court further postponed the trial to May 12, 2026, to complete the remaining procedural steps. The extended pretrial detention highlights the ongoing issue of prolonged custody in terrorism cases, exceeding the two-year limit stipulated by the Criminal Procedure Code.
28 December 2025: After 3 Years in Pretrial Detention; Trial of Mohamed Omar Al-Sayed Postponed to 23 February
The Cairo Criminal Court, Second Terrorism Circuit, has postponed the trial of Mohamed Omar Al-Sayed, 39, to 23 February 2026 in lawsuit no.5 of 2022 (Supreme State Security). The prosecution was instructed to submit additional documents in the lawsuit.
Mohamed Omar was arrested on 17 January 2022 at his workplace in Nasr City and remained in detention for an extended period without being formally presented to the prosecution. His investigation officially began on 15 February 2022, during which he was accused of joining a terrorist group, promoting ideas inciting violence online, and spreading false news and information that could harm public security. Among the evidence seized was a mobile phone used to communicate between members of the group. Omar denied all the charges.
His trial sessions began in July 2025, during which the court heard testimonies from prosecution witnesses, which were also examined by the defense. The proceedings saw several postponements to allow for the completion of witness testimonies and review of documents. On 28 December 2025, the court decided to postpone the continuation of the trial to 23 February 2026.
Omar has spent over three years in detention without a final judgment, highlighting the issue of prolonged pretrial detention in terrorism cases, which exceeds the two-year limit set by the Criminal Procedure Law
