AFTE Obtains a Judgement that Cancels Obligatory Donations Imposed on Cairo University’s Professors and Renewing the Pre-trial Detention of 6 Defendants.
The Legal Bulletin covers the lawsuits in which AFTE provides the necessary legal aid, in accordance with AFTE’s framework.
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State Council courts
During the past week, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) achieved an important victory regarding academic freedom in Egypt, as The Fifteenth circuit of the administrative court decided to allow the appeal filed by AFTE, on the decision filed by Cairo university on 29 July 2015, and without referring to the Supreme Council of Universities, to obligate faculty members wishing to travel or work abroad to pay an amount of no less than 10,000 Egyptian pounds from the first year until the tenth year, and 20,000 Egyptian pounds From the eleventh year and over, otherwise travel procedures will be suspended, and the university will not issue approval for travel, AFTE filed the aforementioned lawsuit to appeal this decision on 28 December 2015, on behalf of a faculty member at Cairo University, and the administrative court referred the case to the State commissioners’ authority for consideration, and the commissioners report recommended that AFTE’s lawsuit was accepted and the decision was canceled on June 18, 2019. Finally the administrative court decided to cancel the university decision on 26 April 2021.
In the same context, The Sixth Circuit (Appeals Examination) of the Supreme Administrative Court, decided to reject the appeal against a Cairo University student, submitted by Cairo University No. 53915 for the judicial year 65, against the Administrative Court’s decision in a lawsuit No. 27173 for the Judicial Year 72, which states to rescission the decision of Cairo University’s president to dismiss him from Cairo University, under the pretext of demonstrating inside the university campus. The University decided to permanently dismiss this student, in addition to three other students in August 2015.
Criminal Courts
In a separate context, Cairo Criminal Court (The Third Circuit terrorism), decided to renew the detention of four defendants into case No. 855 of 2020 for 45 days, and they are “Mohamed Salah Abdel Aziz”, “Ahmed Fathy Massoud”, “Ahmed Yousry Ghaly”, and “Khaled Elsayed Elbadawy”. The activist Mohamed Salah wasn’t transferred to the hearing of renewing his detention, and while his defense team requested his presence, their request was rejected by the head of the court, and accordingly, the defense team requested to refer the case to another circuit to look into renewing his detention as the hearing was invalidated due to the defendant’s absence, which violates the provisions of Articles 136, 142 and 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Zagazig Criminal Court has decided to reject the appeal filed by AFTE’s lawyer, on behalf of the Quranist blogger “Reda Abdel-Rahman”, to uphold the decision of renewing his detention for 45 days, in case No. 3418 of 2020, State Security (Emergency) Misdemeanour.
The Cairo Criminal Court (the fifth circuit terrorism) also rejected the appeal filed by AFTE’s lawyer, on behalf of “Mohamed Al-Qassas”, and to uphold the decision of renewing his detention for 45 days, in case No. 786 of 2020, Supreme State Security.
