The detention of eight defendants renewed; AFTE and EIPR submit two requests to the prosecution to investigate Ayman Hadhoud’s death
Criminal Courts
9 May hearings:
The Criminal Court renewed the detention of Nour Al-Din Shaker for 45 days in connection with Case No. 65 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Shaker was arrested from his home in Assiut on 23 June 2020 for joining the banned Ultras Zamalkawy group. He faces charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and using a social media account to spread false news.
The Criminal Court released Mohamed Safani Kobeisy under the guarantee of his residence. It renewed the detention of both Hussein Ali Hussein and Mahmoud Mostafa Mahmoud for 45 days in connection with Case No. 65 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
The three defendants face charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and using social media accounts to spread false news.
15 May hearings:
The Criminal Court renewed the detention of Belal Abdel Razek for 45 days in connection with Case No. 488 of 2019 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Abdel Razek faces charges of joining a terrorist group and promoting its goals, spreading false news, and using social media to achieve that goal.
The Criminal Court also renewed the detention of Hamed Sedeek for 45 days in connection with Case No. 1356 of 2019 (Supreme State Security), in which he is charged with joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
The court’s decision to renew the detention of both defendants came despite the fact that they have exceeded the maximum period of pretrial detention according to the Code of Criminal Procedures.
16 May hearings:
The Criminal Court renewed the detention of lawyer Mohamed Ramdan for 45 days in connection with Case No. 910 of 2021 (Supreme State Security). This is the third case in which Ramadan has been involved since his arrest in 2018 after posting a photo of himself on Facebook featuring him wearing a yellow vest in solidarity with the yellow vest protests in France at the time.
Ramadan faces charges of joining a terrorist group.
The Criminal Court also renewed the detention of Ahmed Hassanein Mohamed Moussa for 45 days in connection with Case No. 1475 of 2019 (Supreme State Security).
Moussa faces several charges, most notably joining a terrorist group, committing a financing crime, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
Police Stations
On 15 May, the Zagazig police station finalized procedures for the release of Gamal Abdel-Hakim, after he served his jail term in connection with Case No. 1692 of 2017 (South Zagazig).
In November 2017, the Zagazig Criminal Court sentenced Abdel-Hakim to five years in prison in connection with Case No. 1692 of 2017 (South Zagazig), in which he was charged with promoting the ideas of terrorist groups verbally and in writing via social media and inciting against state institutions, against the backdrop of his student activity.
Supreme State Security Prosecution
On 17 May, the Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to detain Gamal Mohamed Salama for 15 days pending investigation into Case No. 440 of 2022.
Salama was arrested on 26 April after he posted a video on TikTok parodying a sarcastic song about price hikes. The prosecution summoned him and questioned him about the video after it searched his Facebook and TikTok accounts. Salama faces charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
Public Prosecution
On 19 May, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) submitted two requests to the Second Nasr City prosecution to resume its investigation into case No. 738 of 2022, regarding economic researcher Ayman Hadhoud’s death inside the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital.
The first request asked to obtain footage from surveillance cameras in several locations mentioned in the Interior Ministry statements and in the testimony of Hadhoud’s brother. The two organizations asked for footage from surveillance cameras at Maraashly Street in Zamalek from 10:30 pm on 5 February until the morning of 6 February, the period during which Omar Hodhoud reported his brother’s disappearance. They asked for footage specifically from the cameras installed in the entrance of building 15A where Hodhoud was arrested for allegedly attempting to rob an apartment, according to the Interior Ministry statement.
The two organizations further asked for footage from the cameras installed inside and outside the Qasr al-Nil and Amiriya police stations between 6 and 7 February, in addition to the cameras installed inside the men’s detention place and the detainees’ waiting room. They also asked for footage from the cameras installed inside and outside the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital, especially inside the men’s ward and outside the gate and fence of the hospital’s forensic medicine unit, from 13 February till 5 March 2020.
The second request demanded that the files of Case No. 672 of 2022 (Qasr El-Nil Misdemeanors) regarding accusing Hadhoud of attempting to rob an apartment in building 15A in Zamalek, in which Hodhoud was hospitalized at the Abbasiya Mental Health Hospital, be added to Case No. 738 of 2022 (Second Nasr City Administrative), as both cases share facts related to the same person.
