AFTE’s weekly legal bulletin (31 July – 7 August 2022)

Date : Sunday, 7 August, 2022
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The detention of TV presenter Hala Fahmy and eight others renewed; Journalist Mohamed Gomaa Mubarak released

 

Criminal Courts

1 August hearings: 

The Criminal Court renewed the detention of student at Al-Azhar University Estishhad Kamal Rezk for 45 days in connection with Case No. 680 of 2020 (Supreme State Security).

Security forces arrested Estishhad in October 2020. She was unlawfully detained for a month until she appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in November of the same year. She was charged with joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.

The Criminal Court also renewed the detention of Ahmed Hassanein Mohamed Moussa for 45 days in connection with Case No. 1475 of 2019 (Supreme State Security).

Moussa was arrested on 1 October 2019 and subjected to enforced disappearance for 48 days. He faces charges of joining a terrorist group, committing a financing crime, spreading false news, and misusing social media.

 

The Cairo Criminal Court renewed the detention of Medhat Ramadan, a journalist working for the Shababik website, for 45 days in connection with Case No. 680 of 2020 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).

Security forces arrested Ramadan from his home in Menoufia governorate on 28 May 2020 and confiscated some of his personal belongings. He was subjected to enforced disappearance for over a month till he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution which in turn charged him with joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.

 

The Supreme State Security Prosecution 

On 31 July, the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of Ahmed Mohamed Moussa Abdel Khaleq for 15 days in connection with Case No. 330 of 2020 (State Security), in which he faces charges of joining a terrorist group, inciting a terrorist act, and spreading false news.

 

2 August hearings: 

The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of student at the faculty of commerce, El-Amir Fahim Ahmed, for 15 days in connection with Case No. 440 of 2022 (State Security).

Security forces arrested the 20-year-old student on 28 June on charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and using a social media account to commit a crime.

 

The Supreme State Security Prosecution also renewed the detention of journalist at Eldyar newspaper, Mohamed Fawzy Mosaad, for 15 days, in connection with Case No. 440 of 2022 (State Security).

Mosaad was arrested from his home in mid-May, against the backdrop of sharing a post on his Facebook page. He faces charges of joining a terrorist group and inciting a terrorist act.

 

In a similar context, the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of Gamal Mohamed Salama for 15 days in connection with Case No. 440 of 2022.

Salama was arrested after he posted a video on TikTok parodying a sarcastic song about price hikes. He faces charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.

 

The Supreme State Security Prosecution also renewed the detention of high school student Eslam Nagdy for 15 days in connection with Case No. 440 of 2022.

The 18-year-old student was arrested on 4 July along with three other students, against the backdrop of participating in a parody event called “the battle of Batman in Helwan”, which included wearing a “Batman” costume and gathering in front of the Helwan metro station on 13 August to select the winner of the real Batman title. Nagdy faces charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and inciting a terrorist act.

 

The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of journalist at El-Wafd newspaper Mohamed Gomaa Mubarak for 15 days in connection with Case No. 1436 of 2022 (State Security). The Prosecution also decided to release him the next day.

 

Mubarak was arrested after he posted a video on Facebook about drug use inside Aman kiosks of the Ministry of Interior. On 22 July, he appeared in a video published by the official Facebook page of the Ministry of Interior where he admitted that he fabricated the video to gain a financial return. He was charged with joining a terrorist, spreading false news, and using a social media account to commit a crime.

 

On 3 August, the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of TV presenter Hala Fahmy for 15 days in connection with Case No. 441 of 2022 (Supreme State Security) for the eighth time since her arrest on 24 April.

Last April, Fahmy posted a live video stating that she was being chased down, after she posted videos regarding the Egyptian economy. She was arrested a few days later.

Fahmy faces charges of joining a terrorist group, inciting a terrorist crime, and spreading false news domestically and abroad.

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