Detention renewals
1st of October hearings:
The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed the detention of Doctor Hany Soliman for 45 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 508 of 2023 (Supreme State Security Prosecution). The 67-year-old Soliman was arrested on March 27 from his house against the grounds of publishing opinion articles on his Facebook profile, where he expresses his political opinions. After the interrogations, the Supreme State Security Prosecution accused Soliman of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and using a social media account to spread the false news.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of Amir Sayed Mohamed and Reyad Mohamed Abdel Rahaman for 15 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 744 of 2023 (Supreme State Security). Security forces arrested Amir and Reyad on May 3 from DownTown Cairo; they were illegally detained in an unknown location for eight days till they appeared before the investigations authorities, which accused them of joining a terrorist group (Ultras Ahlawy), and spreading false news and information that would harm public security and public order.
Also, Cairo Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed the detention of journalist Karim Ebrahim for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 569 of 2020 (Supreme State Security Prosecution). Security forces arrested Ebrahim in April 2022. He did not appear before the prosecution until October of the same year, after six months of illegal detention, and his family has not been able to visit him during this period until now. Ebrahim is accused of joining a terrorist group.
Cairo Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed the detention of Moataz Bellah Hasab Elnaby for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 965 of 2021 (Supreme State Security).
Hasab Elnaby was arrested from a street on July 12, 2021, the following day; the prosecution interrogated him on the next day with several Facebook posts published on an account attributed to him, despite Hasab Elnaby’s denial of the ownership of the account. The prosecution accused him of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its purposes, spreading false news and information that would harm security, public order, and the interests of citizens, and using a social media account to spread false news and statements.
On October 2, The Criminal Court (First Circuit) decided to renew the detention of the former TV presenter at Maspero, Hala Fahmy, for an extra 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 441 of 2022 (Supreme State Security).
Fahmy’s expression of her political and economic views was the reason for her arrest, as Fahmy posted several videos on her Facebook account on the crisis of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Emirati investments in Egypt. Several days later, Fahmy posted a live video stating she was pursued by security forces in civilian clothes. On April 24, the security forces arrested her, and the Prosecution interrogated her on the same day without a lawyer and accused her of joining a terrorist group, inciting to commit a crime, and spreading false news domestically and abroad.
On October 4, The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of Mohamed Ibrahim Abdo for 15 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 2064 of 2023 (Supreme State Security).
Security forces arrested the 31-year-old Abdo from his house in Monufia Governorate on August 21 because he published video clips criticizing the current president’s policies and appeared before the prosecution a week after his arrest. The prosecution accused Abdo of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and using an internet account to commit a crime.
In continuation of the series of violations against members of the campaign of the potential presidential candidate, Ahmed Al-Tantawy, The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed Khaled Abdel Wahed Amin’s detention, the member of the campaign of the potential candidate Ahmed Al Tantawy, for 15 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 191 of 2023 (Supreme State Security).
Amin was arrested from his house on August 27 and presented before the prosecution on the same day. The Public Prosecution interrogated him about posts on his personal Facebook account sharing his political and economic views. Afterward, the prosecution accused him of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and information that would harm public peace and order, and using a social media account to spread false news and information.
The Supreme State Security also renewed the detention of one of the members of Ahmed Al-Tantawy’s presidential campaign, Adel Ahmed Selim, for 15 days, pending investigations into lawsuit No. 2123 of 2023. He was arrested last month from his house over signing a request to join Al-Tantawy’s presidential campaign and sharing posts that support Al-Tantawy on social media. The prosecution accused Selim of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its aims, spreading false news and statements that would harm public security and order, and using a social media account to spread false news.
