9 December Sessions
Criminal Court
The Cairo Criminal Court decided to renew the detention of 3 persons for 45 days, who are:
1- Yasser Mohamed Fouad Shaheen, pending investigations in Case No. 2810 of 2024, Supreme State Security.
Shaheen was arrested on June 29 due to posts on his Facebook account. He remained unlawfully detained in an undisclosed location, unknown to his family, until he was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution on July 16, 2024.
The prosecution charged him with joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its purposes, publishing and broadcasting false news and statements that could harm security and public order, and using a social media account to disseminate false news.
The prosecution confronted Shaheen with his mobile phone and Facebook posts, which discussed the economic situation in Egypt, Egypt’s stance on supporting the Palestinian cause, and political opinions on some government decisions.
2- Ahmed Essam Abbas, pending investigations in Case No. 2810 of 2024, Supreme State Security.
Abbas was arrested on June 29, 2024, due to posts on his Facebook account that included a comparison of commodity and service prices between 2013 and 2024. He remained unlawfully detained in an undisclosed location, unknown to his family, until he was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution on July 16, 2024.
3- Mohamed Al-Qassas, vice president of the Strong Egypt Political Party, for 45 days pending his third lawsuit, No. 786 of 2020 (Supreme State Security).
Al-Qassas was arrested in February 2017, coinciding with an extensive arrest campaign launched by the security forces against members and leaders of the Strong Egypt Political Party. He was involved as a defendant in his first lawsuit, No. 977 of 2017, known in the media as the “Mekamleen 2 lawsuit.” after nearly 22 months in pretrial detention, the prosecution ordered his release. However, a few days later, the prosecution interrogated and listed him in a second lawsuit, No. 1781 of 2019, over the same accusations he previously faced.
On August 5, 2020, the Criminal Court ordered Al-Qassas to be released with precautionary measures. Still, the decision was not implemented, and for the third time, Al-Qassas was included in lawsuit No. 786 of 2020, and one more time, over the same accusations. In 2021, the Supreme State Security Prosecution listed Al-Qassas in his 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 after the sentence ended.
Al-Qassas is detained over accusations of being a part of a terrorist group with knowledge of this group’s aims and spreading and publishing false news and information.
10 December Sessions
Criminal Court
The Cairo Criminal Court decided to renew the detention of 5 persons for 45 days, who are:
1- Ahmed Abdel Mageed Oraby, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 2094 of 2022 (Supreme State Security), in which Oraby is accused of sharing Facebook discussing poor living conditions.
Oraby lost his eye in the clashes of Mohamed Mahmoud Street, and he was previously imprisoned for a year and a half. This time, he was arrested in November 2022.
He faces accusations of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its purposes, committing a terrorist financing crime, inciting a terrorist act, participating in a criminal agreement to commit a terrorist crime, spreading false news and statements, and using an account on social media to commit a crime.
2- Poet Galal ElBehairy, pending the investigation of lawsuit No. 2000 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
One week before, AFTE submitted a request to the Attorney General, numbered 60030 for the year 2024, the Technical Office, demanding the immediate release of Poet Galal ElBehairy following the expiration of his pretrial detention that was provided for in Article 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code in lawsuit No. 2000 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
This is the third lawsuit against ElBehairy after his arrest for writing the song “Balaha,” which criticizes the current president’s policies.
ElBehairy was arrested on March 3, 2018, against accusations in two lawsuits.
He was released from the first one, No. 480 of 2018, with precautionary measures on 17 April 2019. He was referred to a military court for the second lawsuit and sentenced to three years in prison, which ended on 31 July 2021.
However, the Ministry of Interior refrained from implementing the procedures for ElBehairy’s release, and he remained illegally detained.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated ElBehairy in a new lawsuit, no. 2000 of 2021, and he remains in pretrial detention on similar accusations.
3- Sherif Elrouby, pending the investigation of lawsuit No. 1634 of 2022 (State Security).
Elrouby previously complained during a session of severe inflammation of the facial nerve, which has caused him intense pain and difficulty speaking, accusing the administration of Al-Ashir Men Ramadan Prison of refusing him treatment or access to a specialist.
During a previous session, Elrouby’s defense submitted a written request to allow him to be examined by a radiology specialist to treat the facial nerve condition he had been suffering from for nine months. The prison administration continued to withhold the necessary treatment despite repeated appeals from his defense to the Public Prosecution without response.
El-Rouby has frequently complained about delayed medical care in recent months. Additionally, his previous prison administration in Abu Zaabal refused to carry out the court’s order to transfer him to the prison hospital for specialized medical care.
Security forces initially arrested Elrouby on September 16, 2023, just three months after he had been released from a different case, where he had served a year and a half. This time, he was detained after appearing on a television channel, speaking about the challenges political detainees face in returning to normal life post-release. In this case, he faces the same charges he faced previously: joining a terrorist organization, spreading false news, and misusing social media platforms.
4- Ahmed Al-Tohamy, the assistant professor of political science at the Faculty of Economic Studies and Political Science at Alexandria University, for 45 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 649 of 2020 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Al-Tohamy was arrested on June 3, 2020, and remained under enforced disappearance at a National Security headquarters in Cairo for 17 days. The prosecution’s investigations with Al-Tohamy focused on the accusations of collaborating with the Egyptian activist Mohamed Sultan, who resides in the United States, in the case Sultan filed against the former Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawy. Al-Tohamy denied these accusations before the Prosecution and stated that his security targeting was due to his academic research on the Arab Spring revolutions.
The prosecution accused Al-Tohamy of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and misusing social media.
5- Translator and cartoonist at Almanassa website Ashraf Omar Mohamed Sadek pending investigation in case No. 1568 of 2024 Supreme State Security 4 months after being arrested and forcibly disappeared.
He has been charged with spreading false news that could disturb public peace and security, misusing social media, and joining a banned group. An iPad and 80,000 Egyptian pounds were confiscated during the arrest.
AFTE is defending Omar and cooperating with Mr. Khaled Ali’s law firm.
On July 22, A security force raided his home in the October Gardens at 1:30 AM and took him to an unknown location.
Surveillance cameras showed a group of individuals in two microbuses entering the building, and about 40 minutes later, they were seen leaving with Omar, who was blindfolded. His family has been unable to ascertain his whereabouts or communicate with him for 3 days before presenting him at the prosecution.
Ashraf Omar recently published several satirical drawings on “Al-Manassa,” addressing issues such as the electricity crisis and the operation of the monorail amid scarce resources. He has also worked as a translator for books and articles for several platforms, including “Mada Masr.”
