Prepared by AFTE’s Monitoring and Documentation Unit
Content
Methodology
Introduction
Preamble
First: Announcement of candidacy
1- Tantawy’s phone hacked
2- Tantawy’s relatives arrested
Second: Election period
1- Difficulties in filling in endorsement forms
2- Crackdown on members of Tantawy’s presidential campaign
3- Violations by the National Election Authority
4- The public endorsements case
Third: The stage of establishing the party
Fourth: Tantawy in prison
Fifth: What does the crackdown on Tantawy mean?
Sixth: Recommendations
Methodology
This report reviews and analyzes various violations that politician and journalist Ahmed Tantawy has faced since he announced his return to Egypt from Lebanon and his intention to run in the presidential election. The report relies on testimonies of several lawyers from inside and outside AFTE, as well as testimonies from Tantawy’s family.
Introduction
This report reviews in a focused manner and over a specific period the series of violations committed against politician and former MP Ahmed Tantawy with the aim of preventing him from competing with President Sisi in the last presidential election. The election results, which were announced early this year, showed Sisi winning a new presidential term, in an election process that AFTE described as “lacking legitimacy”. The crackdown on Tantawy and members and leaders of his campaign did not stop by removing him from the presidential race but continued with the aim of obstructing his political project and punishing him and his supporters with imprisonment and political trials.
Tantawy was not the sole example of the crackdown on serious opposition figures, especially presidential hopefuls who the authorities believe they can threaten the military grip on the public sphere. This was manifested in the crackdown on former presidential hopefuls, such as Sami Anan, the former chief of staff, his campaign manager Hazem Hosni, a professor at Cairo University, and Brigadier General Ahmed Konsowa, a military officer. Both Anan and Konsowa were arrested for various reasons after they announced their intention to run in the presidential election in 2018. Moreover, former presidential candidate Lieutenant General Ahmed Shafiq was subjected to restrictions for the same reason, and he has since quit the public work.
The report tries to document by monitoring and analysis the violations faced by Ahmed Tantawy and members of his campaign by dividing them into three stages, namely the announcement of his presidential candidacy in March 2023, the election period (September-October 2023), and the establishment of the Hope Movement Party from January 2024 until now.
Preamble
Ahmed Mohamed Ramadan Tantawy, better known as Ahmed Tantawy, is an Egyptian opposition politician. He served as a member of the Egyptian House of Representatives for the Qaleen constituency in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate from 2015 to 2020, and was a member of the “25/30” parliamentary bloc. He worked as a journalist for the Al-Karama newspaper. He is a founding member of the Karama Party (established in 2005) and a member of the party’s political bureau in 2012. He resigned in March 2014 due to disagreements with the party. He returned to the party in 2020 as party president, but resigned again in 2023 after refusing to join the national dialogue.[1]
Tantawy was subjected to several security and judicial violations. The latest of these was the court ruling handed down against him in Case No. 2255 of 2023 (Supreme State Security) that sentenced him to one year in prison with labor and banned him from running for parliamentary elections for five years, on charges of printing and circulating electoral papers without permission from the competent authorities. This came after he called on his supporters to print endorsement forms from the National Election Authority (NEA) website and fill them out, as a symbolic step for support. The security campaign against Tantawy has begun since he announced in March 2023 his intention to run for the presidential election, as 12 of his relatives and supporters were arrested. The crackdown on him escalated with the beginning of the stage of collecting the public endorsement forms needed for him to run in the presidential election. Some 175 members of his campaign were arrested.
First: Announcement of Candidacy
On 22 March 2023, Tantawy announced the date of his return from Lebanon, seven months after he left Egypt in August 2022. Before his travel to Lebanon, he was subjected to security restrictions due to his political views, which reached the point of demanding the removal of President Sisi, in an article he wrote on the Al-Manassa website, which was later deleted[2] before he stopped writing for the site. Tantawy announced that the reason for his return to Egypt was to provide a democratic civil alternative in the country by running in the presidential election that was then scheduled in the first half of 2024.
As a result, Tantawy was subjected to several direct and indirect violations, with the aim of aborting his presidential bid. These included the hacking of his mobile phone, spying on him, and the arrest of a number of his supporters and relatives.
1- Tantawy’s phone hacked
In September 2023, on the same day that the NEA announced the official dates of the presidential election, Citizen Lab announced[3] that Tantawy’s phone had been hacked to spy on him using the “zero-day” method since 15 September 2021, the date on which Tantawy began responding to citizens’ calls and messages asking him to run for the presidential election, saying he would study the matter carefully and that he needed time to make a final decision. The security violations against Tantawy intensified two days after his return to Egypt on 11 May 2023 and continued until 3 September 2023.
The zero-day method gives the hacker enough time to access the victim’s phone before detecting the hacking. It also allows the hacker to fully monitor the victim’s device, transfer all files, control the microphone and phone camera, take screengrabs and monitor user input, as well as activate a mobile’s microphone and camera, allowing hackers to monitor all activity on and in the vicinity of the device, such as conversations conducted in real life. It further allows the hacker to record virtual chat messages as they are sent and received, even if sent via encrypted or disappearing-message-enabled apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, as is the case with phone and VoIP calls, including calls through encrypted calling apps.
The zero-day method also targets security vulnerabilities that have not yet been discovered, giving the hacker enough time to continuously access the victim’s phone before discovering this vulnerability. According to this method, the hacking process only needed Tantawy to click on any link so his phone would be hacked.
The Predator spyware, which was used in hacking Tantawy’s phone, was developed by a Macedonian startup called Cytrox, operating mainly in Israel and Hungary. It is believed to be used by customers in different countries such as Egypt, Armenia, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and other countries, with the aim of spying on opposition figures or individuals who the governments and security agencies believe they pose threats to their safety. So, governments resort to hacking those phones and spy on them. According to Citizen Lab’s analysis, it is likely that the Egyptian government was responsible for the hacking, given the fact that Cytrox sells its products mostly to government agencies, and Egypt is a well-known Predator customer, and also because the hacking attempts were made by a device located inside Egypt.
Commenting on the incident, Tantawy issued a statement saying: “The spying operation allowed the theft of all files and data stored on my phone, recording calls, including calls from applications that use the internet, and turning the device’s microphone and camera on to allow recording conversations that take place nearby even when it is switched off.”[4]
2- Tantawy’s relatives arrested
In April 2023, security forces arrested several Tantawy’s friends, supporters and relatives. Around 12 individuals were arrested, including Tantawy’s paternal and maternal uncles, who were arrested on 2 and 3 May 2023 from their homes in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate. The prosecution ordered the detention of those arrested pending investigation into Case No. 2397 of 2021 (Supreme State Security) on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false. Some of them faced additional charges of financing a terrorist group, possessing publications that undermine public security, and possessing fireworks, explosives, and firearms.
Both Tantawy’s uncles were detained in the National Security Agency building in Kafr El-Sheikh for about 24 hours without contact with the outside world before being transferred to the Supreme State Security Prosecution in Cairo on allegations that the two men had distributed publications calling on people to meet Tantawy at Cairo airport upon his arrival. The two men were released in the period 17-28 May 2023.[5]
They were arrested following Tantawy’s announcement on 22 March 2023 that he would run in the 2024 presidential election to fulfill his duty “in providing the civil, democratic alternative that Egypt needs and its great people can provide”[6]. In another post in April, Tantawy said: “My firm intention and determination to run in the 2024 presidential election remains valid if I am not prevented directly (when the door for candidacy opens and I am alive, free and healthy) or indirectly (when the electoral process is serious and genuine, as I respect my promise to you that I will not participate in a farce).” Tantawy also pledged that his main goal would be to win the election within the framework of leading “a safe and rational civil democratic transition, which is necessary to spare our beloved country the risks of continuing the existing collapse or risking the coming lawlessness, God forbid”.[7]
In a video clip posted on his Facebook page, Tantawy said it was not the first time that the authorities have adopted this approach and arrested his friends and supporters, as the manager of his office and some of his office members and friends were arrested in 2019 against the backdrop of Tantawy’s announcement of the launch of a political and electoral alliance under the name of “Hope”. Those arrested at the time were charged with running companies “affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood” and planning – in cooperation with leaders living abroad – to “overthrow state institutions”. He said he should not be punished for his legitimate political activity or pressured to back down by arresting his relatives and friends, stressing that the authorities’ conduct should go beyond intrigue and revenge.[8]
Second: Election period
On 25 September 2023, the NEA announced the organizational procedures and official dates for the presidential election. It set the period 4-14 October for receiving the candidacy applications, saying the voting would begin in early December and the results would be announced in the second half of December.
A day after the NEA made the announcement, the phase of gathering public endorsements for potential candidates started. The NEA allocated 217 notary offices nationwide for citizens to fill in endorsement forms. The number of notary offices allocated for the same purpose in the 2018 election was 389.
During that phase, a number of violations were spotted, including the mobilization of thugs in front of notary offices with the aim of denying citizens access. In some cases, physical assaults and threats against citizens willing to fill in endorsement forms were reported. Many citizens were unable to fill in endorsement forms despite their success in entering the notary offices due to the intransigence of officials there, under the pretext that the electronic registration system was down[9]. Moreover, political money was used to mobilize citizens through in-kind aid, exploiting the economic hardships the poorest citizens were facing.[10]
Violations against Tantawy’s campaign
1- Difficulties in filling in endorsement forms
Tantawy’s supporters faced difficulties, including prevention from filling in public endorsement forms to enable him to run in the presidential election. AFTE documented the prevention of citizens by several means, including mobilization of citizens in front of notary offices to create congestion, with the queues not moving throughout the working hours. A number of Tantawy’s supporters were physically assaulted by unknown civilians, sometimes in the presence of police forces who did not take any action to prevent these assaults. Also the notary officials claimed that the electronic registration system was down. Several complaints were filed with the NEA about overcrowding, but no action was taken. The NEA only asked the notary offices to continue working as long as there were citizens waiting to fill in endorsement forms. But this was not implemented, according to AFTE researchers who were present at several notary offices in Cairo and Giza.[11]
2- Crackdown on members of Tantawy’s presidential campaign
When Tantawy announced his presidential bid, the security services launched a campaign against him and his supporters. The campaign intensified with the start of the process of filling in public endorsement forms. AFTE documented the arrest of about 165 since Tantawy announced his return to Egypt from Lebanon and his intention to run in the presidential race. Those were arrested in different governorates in September and October 2023. They were investigated in connection with a number of cases, including Case No. 2123 of 2023, Case No. 191 of 2023, Case No. 2124 of 2023, and Case No. 2255 of 2023 (Supreme State Security). The prosecution charged them with joining a terrorist group, spreading false news, and committing a crime using social media. The majority of them were arrested or summoned to the National Security headquarters in their respective provinces, and were interrogated simply for volunteering to join Tantawy’s campaign, while some were arrested just for liking or commenting on the campaign’s Facebook page.[12]
3- Violations by the National Election Authority
The NEA committed several violations during the first phase, by failing to perform its legal duties. It refused to acknowledge violations or irregularities during the process of filling in public endorsement forms, without conducting any investigation or listening to the testimonies of those who were prevented from filling in endorsement forms. It described the candidates’ complaints as false allegations. It also prevented leading members of Tantawy’s campaign from entering its headquarters to submit complaints and videos proving that citizens were assaulted and prevented from filling in endorsement forms, which is a breach of its functions.[13]
4- The public endorsements case
In February 2024, the Matareya Misdemeanor Court sentenced Tantawy to one year in prison with labor, and ordered him to pay a bail of 20,000 pounds to temporarily suspend the execution of the sentence until an appeal is filed. It also banned him from running for parliamentary elections for five years from the date the ruling has become final, as per Article 65 of Law No. 45 of 2014 regulating the exercise of political rights.[14] The court also sentenced the manager of Tantawy’s campaign, Mohamed Abu Al-Diyar, in absentia to one year in prison with labor and ordered him to pay a bail of 20,000 pounds to suspend the execution of the sentence, while the rest of the defendants involved in the case were sentenced to one year in prison.
As a result of this ruling, Tantawy and his campaign manager were arrested at the courthouse and detained along with 21 campaign members on charges of incitement and assistance in the crime of “printing and circulating election papers without permission from the competent authorities”. On 27 May 2024, the Matareya Misdemeanor Court of Appeal upheld the sentences issued against Tantawy, his supporters, and his campaign manager.[15]
Despite the end of the presidential election, the announcement of the result, and President Sisi winning the election for the third time in a row, the security and judicial crackdown on Tantawy, his supporters, and members of his campaign has not stopped.
During the phase of collecting public endorsements in October, when citizens were prevented from filling in endorsement forms in favour of Tantawy, he called on his supporters to print the forms from the NEA’s website and fill them out, as a symbolic step for support and in response to the restrictions and violations that his campaign members and supporters faced while trying to fill in the forms at notary offices in various governorates.
On 9 October 2023, the Ministry of Interior announced in a statement the arrest of several individuals in Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, Fayoum, and Suez, while preparing forged endorsement forms for a potential presidential candidate. The statement said the ministry found 596 blank endorsement forms carrying the suspects’ signatures, falsely indicating they were issued by notary offices.
The next day, the Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to remand eight members of Tantawy’s campaign in custody pending investigation into Case No. 2255 of 2023, on charges of participating in terrorist group’s activities. The number of those arrested in the case increased to 23 later. On 29 October, the State Security Prosecution decided to release two of them, namely Mahmoud Zein El-Abidine Mahmoud and Mahmoud Gamal Salah Abdel Qawi, as they had no connection to the case.[16]
After Tantawy announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on 13 October due to his inability to complete the number of public endorsements required to run in the election, in light of the systematic prevention and crackdown on his supporters[17], the Supreme State Security Prosecution on 7 November referred Case No. 2255 of 2023 (Supreme State Security) to court based on Article 65 of the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights, which stipulates the punishment of anyone who participates by any means in printing and circulating a voting card or any of the election papers without permission from the competent authorities. The article also stipulates that a candidate who benefits from the crime shall be punished with the same penalty if he knew and agreed to commit it, in addition to depriving the candidate from participating in the parliamentary elections for a period of five years.[18] In its referral decision, the prosecution charged Tantawy and his campaign manager with participating – through incitement and agreement – in providing the rest of the defendants (from 3 to 23) with one of the election papers. The other defendants, meanwhile, were charged with printing and circulating form No. 4 that proves a voter’s support for a presidential candidate.
Those involved in the case included Ahmed Mohamed Ramadan Tantawy, Mohamed Moussa Abu Al-Diyar, Ibrahim Nabih Ibrahim Al-Sakka, Mohamed Kamal Ezzat Mustafa, Mohamed Ismail Ahmed Fathallah, Alaa Mahmoud Hassan Mohamed, Ali Hussein Ali Rushdi, Mahmoud El-Sayed Mustafa Al-Rifi, Roqaya Taha Ahmed Mustafa, Ahmed Mohamed Abdel-Aal, Abdel Rahman Khalaf Shehata Shehata, Ali Saad Abdo, Ahmed El-Sayed Mohamed, Ahmed Hamdi Yasser Mohamed, Hagar Haggag Desouki Ali, Ahmed Mustafa Mustafa Abdel Salam, Mohamed Mohamed Hassan Al-Shatouri, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan Madi, Sayed Mohamed Hassan Abdullah Al-Sherai, Osama Fawzi Abdel Qader Abdel Baqi, Mahmoud Abdel Alim Abdel Sattar, Abdullah Abdel-Aal Ismail Mohamed, Shaima Maher Mohamed Hassan.[19]
The trial itself witnessed many violations, as there was intransigence in responding to the defence’s requests. The Public Prosecution and the court’s secretariat refused to allow the defence team to obtain a hard copy of the case papers, prompting the lawyers to threaten not to continue their pleading. The defence panel requested in the first session that the trial be adjourned so they can get copy of the case papers, get prepared and submit the agency documents for Tantawy and Abu Al-Diyar. Indeed, the court adjourned the hearing to 28 November 2023. However, the prosecution continued to deny the defence team access to a copy of the more than 2,000-page case file.[20] A request by some lawyers to summon a representative from the NEA was also rejected.[21]
The violations in the public endorsements case did not stop there, as 21 defendants in the case were deprived of their right to the third level of litigation, which is to lodge appeals before the Court of Appeal. The Misdemeanor Court’s ruling issued on 27 May 2024 to imprison 21 defendants for one year with labor became final, after the expiry of the legal period of 60 days to appeal it before the Court of Appeal. This came as a result of the 10th of Ramadan Prison administration’s refusal to allow the lawyers to obtain the necessary powers of attorney to file appeals. The deadline for submitting the appeals was 27 July 2024. Throughout that period, the defence lawyers tried to contact the prison administration and the Public Prosecution to allow them to communicate with the defendants and obtain powers of attorney to file appeals. However, the prison administration’s intransigence averted a third level of litigation guaranteed by the constitution that could result in the acquittal of the defendants.[22]
Third: The stage of establishing the party
In the context of his political activism as an opposition figure, Tantawy decided to proceed with his political project by establishing a political party under the name “Hope Current”. However, the process faces a number of obstacles and challenges related to the collection of registration endorsements. According to the Political Parties Law, a political party needs to collect 5,000 endorsements from 10 different governorates to be registered. Because of these threats, the party collected only 1,000 endorsements as of April 2024. In January 2024, just 24 hours after Tantawy released the party founding statement[23], the security agencies launched a campaign against those who filled in registration endorsements for the party. On 6 April 2024, five were detained, namely Ahmed Abdel Fattah Yahya Hassan, Hisham Qurani Abdel Latif Abdel Gayyed, Mamdouh Al-Shahat Abdel Salam Shehata, Mohamed Ahmed Al-Qaqaa Mosaad, and Mohamed Mahfouz Al-Sayed Abu Al-Hassan, in Case No. 2124 of 2023 (Supreme State Security). The prosecution charged them with joining a terrorist group, misusing social media, and spreading false news. This came after they filled in registration endorsements for Tantawy’s party and some of them participated in a pro-Palestine protest staged a week earlier in front of the Journalists Syndicate[24].
Shadia Al-Naggar, 39, was arrested for joining Tantawy’s party and sharing anti-Sisi posts on social media. She was arrested along with her daughter from their home in Faisal neighbourhood on 27 June 2024. The daughter was released on the way, while Shadia was taken to the National Security headquarters in Haram. Shadia remained disappeared for 6 days and was then presented to the State Security Prosecution on 4 July 2024. The prosecution charged her with joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, in Case No. 2810 of 2024 (Supreme State Security). This came after she shared posts on social media using the hashtag “Leave, Sisi”. She was held at the 10th of Ramadan prison. On 14 July, the State Security Prosecution renewed her detention for 15 days pending investigation.[25]
Citizens wishing to fill in endorsements for Tantawy’s party face several restrictions and complicated procedures. The notary offices refuse to allow them fill in endorsements in governorates other than the governorates in which their places of residence are registered. Only two offices were allocated in each governorate to provide the endorsements. Restrictions on citizens in this regard reached the point of arrests.
Moreover, the party faces restrictions with regard to holding events or meeting with supporters. The party founders went to the Party Affairs Committee to start the party establishment procedures[26], in accordance with Articles 5 and 74 of the Constitution and the Law on the Organization of Political Parties which provide for the establishment of parties by notifying the Party Affairs Committee, with the submission of 5,000 official endorsements from the founding members, from at least ten governorates.[27] The party faced further restrictions, as it tried to organize mass iftars (fast-breaking meals) in a number of governorates last Ramadan with a limited attendance of no more than 20 people in each governorate, but almost all participants were arrested.[28]
Fourth: Tantawy in prison
Tantawy did not disclose the conditions of his detention, but he was arrested at the courtroom and the various state bodies refused to inform his family or lawyers of his place of detention for 48 hours. The family and lawyers then learned that he was held in the 10th of Ramadan prison.
Tantawy’s lawyers have not been able to visit him so far. Although Tantawy’s lawyer, Khaled Ali, obtained a permit to visit him on 1 July 2024 and waited in the prison until 3pm, he was unable to see him. The brigadier general in charge of the prison came to Ali and told him that he would not be able to see Tantawy, claiming that the latter had consumed all his regular and extraordinary visits. Ali explained to the officer that the law stipulates three types of visits: regular visits, exceptional visits on national holidays and occasions, and legal visits (allocated for lawyers). Lawyers are currently facing difficulties and intransigence in obtaining a permit to visit Tantawy.
Similarly, the rest of the defendants involved in the case were denied visits and were not allowed to meet their lawyers, thus depriving them of the third degree of litigation, which is filing an appeal before the Court of Appeal.
They also suffer from general ill-treatment, intransigence in physical exercise sometimes, and restrictions on family visits. Families are subjected to extensive and humiliating searches during the visits and the duration of visits is short compared to those granted to other prisoners. They also face restrictions in having access to personal belongings, such as medicines, books, clothes, etc.[29]
Fifth: What does the crackdown on Tantawy mean?
Tantawy and his supporters have been subjected to security and judicial violations. Since he announced his presidential bid, 12 of his supporters and relatives have been arrested. With the start of the election, the crackdown on his campaign and supporters escalated. Tantawy and his supporters also faced procedural violations, including preventing citizens from filling in public endorsements for him, which ultimately thwarted his presidential bid. Despite these difficulties, Tantawy continues to proceed with his attempt to establish a democratic political project in the form of the “Hope Current” party. Similarly, the process of establishing the party faced administrative obstacles and security and judicial prosecutions that affected Tantawy himself and his campaign leader, Mohamed Abu Al-Diyar.
These violations indicate that the authorities adopt an arbitrary approach against any kind of opposition or attempt to present a democratic political alternative. This approach is not new, as several candidates who ran against President Sisi in the 2018 election were subjected to security and judicial violations that prevented them from continuing the presidential race. The authorities considered their candidacy a challenge to the president and the regime. For example, lawyer Khaled Ali faced a three-month prison sentence that aimed to prevent him from running for president in 2018. In the same election, Colonel Ahmed Konsowa was handed down a six-year prison sentence with labor from the North Cairo Military Court. Also, former chief of staff and presidential candidate Sami Anan was arrested and detained for two years.
In this context, the arrest of Tantawy and preventing him from launching a political project reflect the repressive approach of the authorities and the negative development of the situation in Egypt, which includes restrictions on freedoms and the civil and political rights of citizens. The judicial violations against Tantawy ultimately aim to prevent him from exercising his political rights as a citizen who has the right to run for any political office after fulfilling the necessary conditions for that. The authorities continue to use imprisonment as a means to prevent dissidents from expressing their opinions, kick them out of the political scene, and settle scores with them.
Sixth: Recommendations
- The Egyptian authorities should quash the sentences issued against Tantawy, members of his electoral campaign, and members of the Hope Current party.
- The Egyptian authorities should stop placing administrative and security obstacles in the way of issuing public endorsements in favour of the Hope Current party.
- The Public Prosecution should release the members of Tantawy’s campaign and the Hope Current party who are held in pretrial detention.
[1] “Ahmed Tantawy... the presidential hopeful who does not like the president", Zawia3, 11 April 2023, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://shorter.me/RVVow [2] Ahmed Tantawy, "How to remove and try the President of the Republic?" Tantawy’s Facebook page, 14 July 2022, last visited on 13 August 2024, https://shorturl.at/4d6Ku [3] The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, focusing on research, development, and high-level strategic policy and legal engagement at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security. It uses a “mixed methods” approach to research combining practices from political science, law, computer science, and area studies. Our research includes: investigating digital espionage against civil society, documenting Internet filtering and other technologies and practices that impact freedom of expression online, analyzing privacy, security, and information controls of popular applications, and examining transparency and accountability mechanisms relevant to the relationship between corporations and state agencies regarding personal data and other surveillance activities. https://citizenlab.ca/about/ [4] Statement by Tantawy on X, 14 September 2023, last visited on 13 August 2024, https://x.com/a_altantawyeg/status/1702382448997196134?lang=ar [5] Egypt: Mass Arrests Target Family, Supporters of Ex-MP, Human Rights Watch, 6 May 2023, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://shorter.me/qXtNS [6] A post by Tantawy on his Facebook page, 22 March 2023, last visited on 13 August 2024, https://www.facebook.com/Ahmedaltantawyeg/posts/pfbid0pVMpGRcx6T23gToWxKDVaLNVR6tTAdgGqc4WSpSKdq5UbTGDudhQwrWViTSHZFykl [7] Statement by Tantawy on his Facebook page, 20 April 2023, last visited on 13 August 2024, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1098078111583381 [8] "Tantawy's comment after the arrest of his paternal and maternal uncles and a number of his closest friends", Tantawy’s Facebook page, 5 May 2023, last visited on 13 August 2024, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=202205002621231 [9] Rana Mamdouh, Presidential endorsement forms.. A battle fuelled by poverty and reparation, Mada Masr, 9 October 2023, last visited on 30 October 2023, https://t.ly/IUi_0 [10] "Elections lacking legitimacy", AFTE, 30 November 2023, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://afteegypt.org/research/monitoring-reports/2023/11/30/36095-afteegypt.html [11] Ibid. Heba Anis, "Egypt's Presidential Election: Bureaucracy and Assaults to Obstruct Ahmed Tantawy's Mandate," Daraj Media, 27 September 2024, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://shorturl.at/rCDKy Ahmed Abdel Hakim, "Ahmed Tantawy: Preventing me from running for the presidential election makes it ungenuine", Independent Arabia, 9 October 2023, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://shorturl.at/OaS7F [12] AFTE’s Monitoring and Documentation Unit [13] “Series of Eye on the Egyptian Presidential Election 2023/2024: The Road to the Ittihadiya Palace (1)”, The Egyptian Front, 1 November 2023, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://egyptianfront.org/ar/2023/11/elections-2023/ "Presidential Race Weekly Bulletin", Justice Committee, 27 October 2023, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://egyptianfront.org/ar/2023/11/elections-2023/ [14] "Law No. 45 of 2014 Regulating the Exercise of Political Rights", Legal Publications, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://manshurat.org/node/4220 [15] AFTE’s Legal Aid Unit [16] AFTE’s Legal Aid Unit [17] "Tantawy ends his election campaign and starts a project for national salvation", Al-Manassa, 14 October 2023, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://manassa.news/node/13919 [18] "Law No. 45 of 2014 Regulating the Exercise of Political Rights", Legal Publications, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://manshurat.org/node/4220 [19] AFTE’s Legal Aid Unit [20] "Follow-up of the public endorsements case", Egyptian Front for Human Rights, 8 January 2024, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://egyptianfront.org/ar/2024/01/16336-2023/ “Due to prevention from obtaining copy of the case papers, Tantawy's defence considers withdrawing from the public endorsements case", Al-Manassa, 27 November 2023, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://manassa.news/news/14837 [21] AFTE’s Legal Aid Unit [22] "The verdict has become final.. the Ministry of Interior prevents 21 defendants in Tantawy’s case from appeal", Al-Manassas, 29 July 2024, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://www.manassa.news/news/18688 [23] "The founding statement of the Hope Current Party", Tantawy’s Facebook page, 20 January 2024, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://shorter.me/ZVwGW [24] "State Security Prosecution detains five people who fill in registration endorsements for the Hope Current Party," Egyptian Front for Human Rights, 6 April 2024, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://egyptianfront.org/ar/2024/04/protests-3/ [25] "State Security detains member of the Hope Current Party", Mada Masr, 4 July 2024, last visited on 25 August 2024, https://www.facebook.com/100064755754381/photos/881011574067360/ [26] Post on Tantawy's Facebook page, 4 January 2024, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://shorter.me/dyEkp [27] "The amended Egyptian Constitution 2019", Legal Publications, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://manshurat.org/node/14675 [28] “The Hope Current faces security obstacles: Will Tantawy succeed in establishing his party? Zawia3, 28 April 2024, last visited on 10 July 2024, https://zawia3.com/Tantawy/ [29] Calls and messages with Tantawy’s wife Rasha Qandil on Signal app, starting from 18 July 2024.
