The first session of Haneen Hossam’s retrial to be held on 14 November, and the pretrial detention of nine defendants was renewed
The Legal Bulletin covers the lawsuits in which AFTE provides the necessary legal aid, in accordance with AFTE’s action framework.
Criminal Courts
The Criminal Court decided on 1 November to adjourn to 7 November the hearing on the detention of lawyer Mohamed Ramadan, as it was not possible to transfer him from his prison cell to the court. Ramadan is detained in connection with Case No. 910 of 2021 (Supreme State Security), in which he faces charges of joining a terrorist group.
Ramadan suffers from several health problems, most notably coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and persistent pain in the knees. He was arrested on 10 December 2018 after he posted a photo of himself on Facebook featuring him wearing a yellow vest in solidarity with the “Yellow Vest” protests at the time. Since then, he has been detained in connection with new cases after being released in other cases.
On 2 November, the Criminal Court renewed the detention of researcher and translator Kholoud Saied Amer for 45 days pending investigation into Case No. 1017 of 2020 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Security forces stormed Amer’s house on 21 April 2020. She was subjected to enforced disappearance for several days. Later, she appeared before the prosecution in connection with Case No. 558 of 2020. On 13 December 2020, a decision to release her was issued, but it wasn’t executed. Rather, the Supreme State Security Prosecution charged her with joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
In the same case, the Criminal Court renewed the detention of journalist Amer Abdel-Moneim for 45 days. Abdel-Moneim, 57, suffers from several health problems, most notably diabetes. He also underwent two eye surgeries less than two months before his arrest.
On 18 December 2020, a police force arrested Abdel-Moneim from his house in Al-Haram district. Two days later, he was brought before the State Security Prosecution on charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and using social media to commit a crime.
In a similar context, the Criminal Court decided to renew the detention of professor at the National Research Centre Hamed Sedeek for 45 days in connection with Case No. 1356 of 2019 (Supreme State Security), in which he faces charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
The Criminal Court also decided to renew the detention of accountant Alaa Essam for 45 days in connection with Case No. 930 of 2019 (Supreme State Security), known in local media as the “Alliance of Hope” case.
Essam was arrested from his house in Suez on 28 June 2018. He appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution the next day, facing charges of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its purposes and spreading false news and statements.
Regarding Case No. 855 of 2020 (Supreme State Security), the Criminal Court renewed the detention of Mohamed Oxygen and Sameh Ramadan Saudi for 45 days, on charges of joining a terrorist group. The court also renewed the detention of Mohamed Salah and Ahmed Yousry Ghaly, who are facing charges of joining and financing a terrorist group and spreading false news on social media.
The Criminal Court renewed the detention of Mohamed Mamdouh Abdel Halim for 45 days, on charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
On 3 November, the Criminal Court decided to renew the precautionary measures imposed on Islam Ali Mohamed for 45 days in connection with Case No. 1898 of 2019 (Supreme State Security), in which he faces charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and misusing social media. The precautionary measures imposed on Mohamed required him to hand himself over to the police station in his neighborhood twice a week for three hours.
The Criminal Court, meanwhile, rejected the appeal submitted by Ahmed Hassanein Mohamed Moussa’s defense lawyers and decided to renew his detention in connection with Case No. 1475 of 2019 (Supreme State Security). Moussa faces several charges, mainly joining a terrorist group, committing a financing crime, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
Courts of Cassation
On 31 October, the Cairo Court of Appeal set 14 November as a date for the Criminal Court to hold the first session of Haneen Hossam’s retrial, in Case No. 4917 of 2020 (Sahel Felonies), which is registered under No. 2106 of 2020 (North Cairo). The case is known in local media as the “human trafficking” case.
The first retrial session was scheduled to be held on 4 November before the Criminal Court (Circuit 5, South Cairo). However, the Court of Appeal issued a decision to retry the content creator. On 21 June, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Hossam in absentia to 10 years in prison and ordered her to pay a fine of 200,000 pounds.
Article 395 of the Criminal Procedures Law allows those convicted in absentia to request a retrial before the expiration of their sentence due to the lapse of its term.
Emergency State Security Courts
For the second time, the Emergency State Security Court decided on 1 November to adjourn the trial of blogger Mohamed Radwan Mohamed Ibrahim, aka Oxygen, to 8 November in order to allow the defense lawyers to review the papers of Case No. 1228 of 2021 (The Fifth Settlement Emergency State Security Misdemeanor).
Oxygen faces charges of spreading false news domestically and abroad. He used to publish his opinions and reports on news coverage in Egypt on his web blog “Oxygen Egypt”.
