Criminal Courts
May 7 hearings:
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed the pretrial detention of five defendants for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 1893 of 2022 (Supreme State Security).
The five defendants are: journalist Manal Agrama, the deputy director of the Information Technology Department at Al-Akhbar newspaper, Yehia Elsayed Othman, the nursing student at Ain Shams University, Islam Ramadan Kamel, Adel Ahmed Soliman, and Mohamed Mostafa Abdel Qader.
The defendants were arrested at separate times last November against Facebook posts criticizing the current political regime; they’re accused of joining and financing a terrorist group with their knowledge of its aims, inciting a terrorist act, promoting a terrorist act through social media, spreading false news, and participating in a criminal agreement intended to commit a terrorist act.
May 8 hearings:
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed Gaber Mohamed Badawy’s detention for 45 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 1977 of 2022 (Supreme State Security).
Security forces arrested Badawy from his house on October 24 against the backdrop of posting calls for November 11 demonstrations on Facebook. Badawy faces accusations of joining and financing a terrorist group, spreading false news, incitement to commit a terrorist act, and participating in a criminal agreement intended to commit a terrorist act.
In a similar context, the Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed agricultural engineer Ashraf Ali Elgamal’s detention for 45 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 1977 of 2022 (Supreme State Security).
Egamal was arrested on October 28, against the backdrop of posting about price hikes on social media. Elgamal faces accusations of joining a terrorist group, financing a terrorist group, spreading false news, participating in a criminal agreement to commit a terrorist act, promoting a terrorist act, and incitement to commit a terrorist act.
The Criminal Court (the Council Chamber) renewed the detention of the member of Socialist Popular Alliance Party, Wessam Salah, for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 93 of 2022 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Salah was arrested on January 20 of last year and was forcibly disappeared for nearly two months until he appeared before the prosecution against accusations of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and information, and using a social media account to spread false news and information.
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed the detention of human rights lawyer Ahmed Nazeer El-Helw, for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 1940 of 2022 (Supreme State Security).
Security forces arrested El-Helw from his house on November 7; he faces accusations of joining a terrorist group.
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed Mahmoud Hanfy Mohamed’s detention for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 93 of 2022 (Supreme State Security Prosecution). Security forces arrested Hanfy from his house in February 2020, against accusations of spreading false news, joining a terrorist group, and using an account on social media to commit a crime.
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed Mohamed Raafat Nasr Taha’s detention for 45 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 1977 of 2022 (Supreme State Security).
Nasr was arrested from Alexandria governorate on November 2, he faces accusations of joining a terrorist group, committing the crime of financing terrorism, using social media to call for a terrorist act, participating in a criminal agreement intended to commit a terrorist crime, incitement to commit a terrorist crime, and publishing and spreading false news and information.
May 9 hearings:
The Criminal Court (the Council Chamber) renewed the student at Al-Azhar University, Estshhad Kamal Rezk’s detention for 45 days in connection with lawsuit No. 680 of 2020 (Supreme State Security).
Security forces arrested Estshhad in November 2020. She faces accusations of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed Hamed Sedeek’s detention for 45 days pending investigations of his second lawsuit No. 2207 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Sedeek completes his fourth year in prison within a few months, of which he spent three years pending the first lawsuit. The Supreme State Security Prosecution accused him in the current lawsuit while he was in custody; he was also accused with the same accusations of the first lawsuit, which are joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and information, and misusing social media.
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed Ahmed Hassanein Mohamed Moussa’s detention for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 1475 of 2019 (Supreme State Security).
Police forces arrested Moussa in October 2019; he was subjected to enforced disappearance for 48 days, until he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which accused him of joining a terrorist group, committing a financing crime, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
And despite suffering from the severe inflammation of the seventh nerve and his inability to speak, the Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed Sherif El-Rouby’s detention for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 1634 of 2022 (State Security).
The Criminal Court permitted El-Rouby during the last hearing to see a specialized doctor. However, the Abu Zaabal prison administration ignored the court’s decision. AFTE’s lawyer demanded an investigation in this regard of deliberate medical negligence.
It should be noted that El-Rouby was reaccused in the current case, only three months after his release in another case. El-Rouby faces accusations of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed the detention of the assistant professor of political science at the Faculty of Economic Studies and Political Science at Alexandria University, Ahmed Al-Tohamy Abdel Hay, for 45 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 649 of 2020 (Supreme State Security).
Police forces arrested Al-Tohamy from his home on 3 June 2020. He remained under enforced disappearance for 17 days. The Supreme State Security prosecution accused him of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
The interrogations of Tohamy focused on his alleged collaboration with the US-based activist Mohamed Sultan regarding a lawsuit the latter filed in the US against former Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawy, despite Al-Tohamy denying these allegations.
Supreme State Security Prosecution
May 10 hearings:
The Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to release Mohamed Sayed Abdel Qader, the uncle of former MP and potential presidential candidate Ahmed El-Tantawy, on bail of 5 thousand Egyptian Pounds.
Abdel Qader was arrested from his house on May 2, coinciding with the arrest of El-Tantawy’s other uncle and some of his friends and supporters. The police force that arrested him claimed that it seized several exhibits, which Abdel Qader denied his connection or ownership of; the exhibits were 70 publications inciting demonstrations because it says, “prepare for Ahmed El-Tantawy’s return in Egypt, if it is not with goodness it’ll be with force,” and 20 fireworks.
Although Abdel Qader mentioned his suffering from several serious diseases, his detention continued for 8 days, and he faced accusations of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its aims, committing the crime of financing a terrorist group by funding it to carry out its purposes, and Possessing explosives before obtaining a permit.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to release Moaaz Rizk on a 3,000 Egyptian pound, pending lawsuit No. 6777 of 2022 (Borg El-Arab Administrative).
Police forces arrested Rizk after he was forced to stop to search his mobile phone at a police checkpoint in Alexandria. He faced charges of joining a terrorist group and possessing publications that promoted its ideas.
