The detention of lawyer Amr Nohan and seven others renewed; Lawyer Mohamed Ramadan and another defendant released; AFTE submits a report to the Public Prosecutor regarding assault on Ahmed Douma
Criminal Courts
24 July hearings:
The Cairo Criminal Court renewed the detention of Nour Fayez for 45 days in connection with Case No. 2993 of 2021 (Supreme State Security).
Fayez was arrested against the backdrop of creating a group on Facebook to discuss the divine religions. He faces charges of leading a terrorist group and disdaining the divine religions.
The Cairo Criminal Court (The Terrorism Circuit) renewed the detention of Mahmoud Hanafy Mohamed for 45 days, in connection with case No. 93 of 2022 (Supreme State Security Prosecution), in which he’s charged with spreading false news, joining a terrorist group, and using an account on social media to commit a crime.
The Criminal Court also renewed the detention of Wessam Salah for 45 days in connection with Case No. 93 of 2022 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Salah was arrested on 20 January on charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and using a social media account to spread false news and statements.
On 26 July, the Criminal Court renewed the detention of lawyer Amr Nohan for 45 days in connection with Case No. 741 of 2019 (Supreme State Security Prosecution). Nohan has been behind bars for more than three years on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
27 July hearings:
The Criminal Court renewed the detention of lawyer Mohamed Elsayed Abdel-Fattah, who suffers from leukemia, for 45 days in connection with Case No. 627 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Abdel-Fattah was arrested from his house in Alexandria in early March 2021. He appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution 12 days later, facing charges of joining a terrorist group.
In a similar context, the Criminal Court renewed the detention of Alaa Mohamed Shafie for 45 days in connection with Case No. 2467 of 2021 (State Security). Shafie faces charges of joining a terrorist group.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution
24 July hearings:
The Supreme State Security Prosecution released Mahmoud Mostafa Mahmoud, under the guarantee of his place of residence, in connection with Case No. 65 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution). Mahmoud faced charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and using an account on social media to spread false news.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution also renewed the detention of El-Hussaini Farghaly for 15 days in connection with Case No. 330 of 2022 (State Security). He was arrested after posting videos about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. He faces charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and inciting a terrorist act.
On 26 July, the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of the 29-year-old lawyer Ashraf Ashry for 15 days in connection with Case No. 440 of 2022 (Supreme State Security). Ashry faces charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
On 25 July, the Supreme State Security Prosecution released lawyer Mohamed Ramadan, under the guarantee of his place of residence, in connection with Case No. 910 of 2021 (Supreme State Security). This came after Ramadan spent almost four years in pretrial detention.
Ramadan was arrested in December 2018 after posting a photo of himself announcing his solidarity with the yellow vest protests in France back then. He was charged with joining a terrorist group.
On 25 July, the Association for Freedom of Thoughts and Expression (AFTE) submitted a report to Public Prosecutor Hamada El-Sawy against the deputy warden and the head of the investigation unit at Tora Prison, as well as officer Ahmed Elwakeel, regarding the assault on activist Ahmed Douma and depriving him of necessary medical care.
On 19 July, the deputy warden of Tora Prison and officer Ahmed Elwakeel tied the hands and feet of Douma – who is serving a 15-year jail term in the case known in local media as the Cabinet incidents – using handcuffs. They assaulted him with their shoes, causing injuries and bruises in various parts of Douma’s body. The prison administration also prevented Douma from reporting the assault incident. AFTE requested an urgent investigation into the incident, calling for brining those responsible for the incident to account, and providing Douma with the necessary medical care.
District Courts
On 25 July, the Zagazig Court (The Circuit of Terrorism Misdemeanour Appeal) acquitted the engineering student at Misr University for Science and Technology, Abdel-Rahman Magdy Mohamed El-Attar, and annulled the previous one-year prison sentence issued against him, in connection with Case No. 3886 of 2022 (Mashtool El Souk misdemeanour).
El-Attar was arrested on 25 April on charges of joining a terrorist group and possessing publications that promote its ideas.
University Disciplinary Councils
On 27 July, the Disciplinary Board of the Teaching Staff at the Higher Technological Institute in the 10th of Ramadan City decided to punish Manar Al-Tantawy with a 15-day deduction from her salary, in the disciplinary lawsuit filed against her No. 18 of 2021.
Al-Tantawy faces charges of insulting the Higher Technological Institute in the 10th of Ramadan City and its dean via social media and some anti-government satellite channels. This came after the institute’s dean refused Al-Tantawy’s return to her official position as the head of the Mechanical Engineering Department, the same position she previously occupied but abdicated temporarily in October 2020 for health reasons.
