28 July Sessions
Supreme State Security Prosecution
The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed Muhammad Mahmoud Sabry Ismail’s detention for 15 days pending investigations in Case No. 95 of the 2023 Supreme State Security Prosecution.
Ismail was arrested at the airport while returning to Egypt to visit his family from the UAE, where he works.
Ismail was presented to the Supreme State Security Prosecution on May 27, 2024.
He was charged with joining a terrorist group while knowing its purposes, publishing and broadcasting false news and statements that would harm security and public order, and using an account on social media for publishing and broadcasting false news and statements.
Criminal Court
The Criminal Court (Third Circuit) renewed detention for 45 days for 2 persons:
1- Lawyer Saied Hassan Ali pending investigations of lawsuit No. 238 of 2021 (Supreme State Security), which exceeds 3 years in prison.
After his release from another, the Supreme State Security Prosecution investigated Ali in this lawsuit. The lawyer and human rights defender faces accusations of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
2- Omar Mohamed Mohamed ElDahma, pending investigations in Case No. 2469 of 2023 (Supreme State Security ), following his participation in demonstrations of solidarity with Palestine on Friday, 13 October, in Alexandria.
Security forces stopped ElDahma, a graphic designer, in front of his house in Alexandria’s Miami neighborhood.
The prosecution charged him with joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and participating in a gathering that would put public peace in danger.
29 July Sessions
Supreme State Security Prosecution
The Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to detain journalist Khaled Mamdouh Mohamed Ibrahim for 15 days, pending investigation in case number 1282 of 2024 Supreme State Security Prosecution.
On 21 July, Mamdouh was presented to the prosecution without any evidence or attachments, 6 days after raiding his home and enforcing his disappearance.
He was accused of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its objectives, financing a terrorist group, and publishing and broadcasting fake news and statements that would harm security and public order.
The prosecution seized his phone and laptop.
Last Thursday, AFTE has filed a complaint with the Attorney General, numbered 846067 for the year 2024, detailing the events of security forces raiding the home of journalist Khaled Mamdouh and taking him to an unknown place on July 16.
In the complaint, AFTE stated that a security force searched Mamdouh’s home randomly and refused to disclose their identities, their affiliation, or the reason for his arrest.
His family has been unable to determine his place of detention or communicate with him before presenting him to the prosecution.
It is worth mentioning that the arrest report of Mamdouh was dated 20 July, not the date of his actual arrest on 16 July.
Criminal Court
On 29 July, The Cairo Criminal Court (Third Circuit Terrorism) decided to renew the detention of 3 people for 45 days:
1- Muhammad Fathallah Rushdi Zayan pending investigations in Case No. 2727 of 2023, Supreme State Security.
Zayan was arrested on October 15, 2023, from his home in Beni Suef Governorate based on an arrest warrant in another case No. 2255 of 2023, Supreme State Security, the case of electoral process papers of potential candidate Ahmed Al-Tantawi. The prosecution investigated him on the same day, and he was detained pending investigations.
On October 25, 2023, the prosecution excluded him from referral to trial in the electoral process papers case and copied his papers to the case in which he is now being held in pretrial detention.
Zayan was confronted with a video clip that he posted on his Facebook account from the conference of the potential candidate at the time, Ahmed Al-Tantawi, during his visit to Beni Suef Governorate. A TV channel took that video and broadcast it on its screen.
He was charged with participating with a terrorist group in achieving its goals, publishing and broadcasting fake news and statements that would harm security and public order, and using an account on the internet for the purpose of publishing and broadcasting fake news and statements.
2- Journalist Karim Ebrahim, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 569 of 2020 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Security forces arrested the journalist at Al-Bawaba newspaper and a member of the Journalists Syndicate in April 2020; he was arrested in connection with clashes between the police forces and armed members, which took place in the Alamiria district, his residence place.
He was also unlawfully detained for a month before being brought before the investigation authorities, which accused him of joining a terrorist group.
3- Moataz Bellah Hassab Elnaby, pending the investigation of lawsuit No. 965 of 2021 (Supreme State Security), completing three years in pretrial detention.
Security forces arrested Hasab Elnaby on July 12, 2021, against the grounds of several posts published on a Facebook account attributed to him; despite the fact that Hasab Elnaby denied his ownership of the account.
3 August Sessions
Criminal Court
The Criminal Court (First Criminal and Terrorism Circuit) renewed detention for 45 days for accused in 4 cases, who are:
1- Hamed Sedeek, pending the investigation of lawsuit No. 2207 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution), the second lawsuit in which Sedeek is a defendant.
Sedeek has been in custody for four years without bringing him to trial to prove the validity of the accusations against him, the same accusation brought against political activists without concrete evidence, namely joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and information and misusing social media.
Sedeek’s arrest occurred on September 23, 2019; he was presented before the prosecution as a defendant pending the first lawsuit No. 1356 of 2019 and after three years in pretrial detention.
The prosecution decided to release him; however, it re-accused him in the second lawsuit only a few days before his release. To practice “rotation,” he had to be kept in prison for longer.
2- Ahmed Shaker Abou Elrous and Ali Othman Ali for attending a football match between Al-Ahly and Ghazal El-Mahala. This happened after exceeding one year in pretrial detention.
The security forces arrested Abou Elrous and Ali from Cairo International Stadium on April 5. They transferred them to Nasr City prosecution, which decided to release them on bail after two days; however, the prosecution’s decision didn’t pass.
On April 10, the security forces transferred them to be interrogated before the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which brought new accusations against them, namely, being a part of a terrorist organization, 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 fans. In the same month, they arrested 30 other fans after a match between Al-Ahly and Al-Ragaa. After this, Al-Ahly club fans demanded a boycott of Cairo International Stadium and burned the fan cards of the Tazkarti website in protest of these arrests. Subsequently, other fans were arrested, estimated at 39 other fans over these calls.
3- Al-Tantawy’s presidential campaign member, Khaled Abdel Wahed Amin, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 191 of 2023 (Supreme State Security) after about 1 year in prison.
The security forces arrested Amin from his house on August 27 as part of an expanded security campaign that targeted Al-Tantawy’s supporters, members of his campaign, and his relatives and friends.
He’s accused 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.
4- Mohamed Mahmoud Amer Abdel Aziz, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 1984 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Abdel Aziz is approaching his third year in prison, as he was arrested on October 15, 2021; he was subjected to enforced disappearance for 45 days in an unknown location.
The national security investigation report stated that Amer had participated in a media movement attributed to the Muslim Brotherhood “terrorist group,” the same investigation that a warrant for his arrest and summons was issued. Abdel Aziz faces accusations of joining a terrorist group.
