Detention renewals
On October 7, The Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed the detention of the Vice-President of the Strong Egypt Political Party, Mohamed Al-Qassas, for 45 days against accusations of being a part of a terrorist group with knowledge of this group’s aims and spreading and publishing false news and information. Pending lawsuit No. 786 of 2020.
Al-Qassas has been detained since 2017 for his political work at the party, several of whose workers were arrested at similar times. He was first accused in a lawsuit known in the media as “Makamalin 2,” in which he spent 22 months in pretrial detention until the prosecution decided to release him. Still, it accused him again days later in a new case with the same charges.
Once again, the Criminal Court decided to replace Al-Qassas’ pretrial detention with precautionary measures in August 2020, but the decision was not implemented, and for the third time Al-Qassas was included in a third lawsuit with the same accusations, which is the current lawsuit, and in 2021, the State Security Prosecution decided to include Al-Qassas in a fourth lawsuit, No. 440 of 2018. It later referred this lawsuit to the Emergency State Security Court, which sentenced Al-Qassas to 10 years in heavy prison and police observation for five years as soon as the prison sentence ends.
On October 8, the Criminal Court (First Circuit) renewed the detention of employee Mohamed Mahmoud Abou Mandour for 45 days, pending lawsuit No. 2216 of 2022 (State Security). Abou Mandour faces accusations of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its aims, committing the crime of financing terrorism, inciting to commit a terrorist act, spreading false news and information that would disturb public peace and order, and using an account on social media to commit a terrorist crime against sharing political posts on social media.
Police forces arrested Abou Mandour on November 10, and he was subjected to physical torture for two weeks. His hands were tied behind his back, and he was electrocuted.
On October 9, The Criminal Court (First Circuit) decided to renew the detention of Ahmed Shaker Abou Elrous and Ali Othman Ali for 45 days, pending lawsuit No. 508 of 2023 (Supreme State Security).
The security forces arrested Abou Elrous and Ali from Cairo International Stadium on April 5 after they attended a football match between Al-Ahly and Ghazal El-Mahala, and referred them to Nasr City Prosecution, which accused them of rioting and assaulting the security forces; the prosecution later decided to release them on bail after two days.
Later, the security forces transferred them to the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which accused them of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its aims, committing the crime of financing a terrorist group, spreading false news and statements that would harm public security and order, using an account on social media to spread the false news and information for a terrorist purpose.
The Egyptian authorities continued to target Al-Ahly club fans, and in the same month, they arrested more fans.
The Criminal Court also renewed Hamed Sedeek’s detention for 45 extra days, pending lawsuit No. 2207 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution). Despite that Sedeek exceeded four years in pretrial detention against accusations of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and information, and misusing social media.
Last April, the security forces at Badr prison assaulted the 63 years old Sedeek by beating him with a stick and stomping his face with shoes when he refused to attend his detention order hearing as he was in a poor mental state because his wife passed away and for being rotated in another lawsuit after exceeding the legal period of pretrial detention. His fellow inmates at the prison ward, lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer, political activist Ahmed Doma, and Journalist Mohamed Oxygen, tried to defend him. They were all severely beaten, and the prison warden ordered to transfer them to the disciplinary ward wearing nothing but their underwear as they remained all day without food, drink, or medications till the following day. They were later detained in separate solitary cells without their belongings and deprived of exercise as punishment.
On October 10, the Criminal Court of North Cairo (5th Circuit) renewed Khaled Galal Helmy’s detention for 45 days, pending lawsuit N. 935 of 2023 (Rod Elfarag misdemeanor). The security forces arrested Helmy on February 8
