{"id":21142,"date":"2021-03-02T17:13:27","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T15:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/?p=21142"},"modified":"2021-03-10T17:09:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T15:09:26","slug":"short-version-a-continued-isolation-the-annual-report-on-the-state-of-freedom-of-expression-in-egypt-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/research-en\/monitoring-reports-en\/2021\/03\/02\/21142-afteegypt.html","title":{"rendered":"short version | A Continued Isolation… The Annual Report on The State of Freedom of Expression in Egypt in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
The report was prepared and written by: The Research Unit team and the Monitoring and Documentation Unit of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The Egyptian government’s first reaction to the outbreak of the 25 January 2011 revolution was represented in blocking. There were huge demonstrations in the street, and the scenario of the Tunisian revolution that ousted Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power was about to be repeated in Egypt. The best solution from the authorities\u2019 point of view at the time was to isolate people from what was happening abroad and isolate them from each other at home, by blocking social media platforms and cutting off the internet and communication networks.<\/p>\n The regime of late President Hosni Mubarak imposed various forms of blocking during the eighteen days that preceded its ouster, not all of which succeeded in averting his departure. Despite Mubarak’s departure, blocking has continued under the successive regimes, albeit at different degrees and under different pretexts.<\/p>\n The year 2020 witnessed the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which spread in almost all countries of the world. The pandemic constituted a new test for the Egyptian government on several levels, the most important of which was the increasing importance of transparency and information availability. Despite the steps taken to provide information about the numbers of Covid-19 infects and fatalities, the systematic withholding of information continued and its danger increased during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Ten years after the Egyptian revolution, and a year after the outbreak of the global pandemic, blocking has continued to exit. It included the blocking of websites and the withholding of information, which has clearly been evident in the way the government handled the pandemic crisis. The Egyptian authorities, represented by the Supreme State Security Prosecution, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR), the National Press Authority (NPA) and the State Information Service (SIS), continued to ban the work of journalists, detain political activists, social media users, doctors and researchers, and block websites for allegedly publishing \u201cfalse\u201d information about the Covid-19 situation, including infection rates in Egypt, or for criticizing the policies adopted by the government and the health ministry to combat the pandemic. The authorities also continued to monopolize official data and statistics, if any, in a clear absence of transparency. Thus, the authorities took the pandemic as another pretext for violating many rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n Confronting a crisis like this requires transparency and communication, as both represent a safety valve for society and the government during the pandemic. Transparency has to do with real and free circulation of information from official sources and supporting the role of the media as a key factor in confronting the crisis, and not a party to the crisis that should be besieged and suppressed. This requires an open and competitive media space, and a free internet space that is not restricted or blocked, as part of better procedures to govern the media scene.<\/p>\n AFTE\u2019s position in this regard is based on Article 68 of the Egyptian Constitution which stipulates that the state shall provide information and make it available to citizens with transparency, which is crucial for individuals and societies to protect themselves from the virus. Despite the SCMR\u2019s approval of a draft law on information circulation in 2017, the Egyptian parliament has since continued to postpone discussion and endorsement of the law, thus affecting the right to access to information, which is one of the main pillars of maintaining public health during the pandemic.<\/p>\n In its annual report for 2020, AFTE reviews the state of digital rights, media freedom, freedom of creativity, academic freedom and student rights during the pandemic, highlighting the features of withholding information and how the pandemic has turned into another pretext for violating rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n The report concludes by presenting a set of recommendations to decision-makers in Egypt in order to move towards ensuring freedom of expression and information circulation. AFTE asserts that disclosure of information is a basic right for citizens, and it has become more important in the fight against Covid-19. Disclosure of information contributes to raising citizens’ awareness and mobilizing the capabilities of the health sector and civil society, in addition to organizing the work of state institutions and the private sector under appropriate measures.<\/p>\n The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic was the focal point in 2020, as matters have been assessed only by taking the emerging health situation into account, either directly or indirectly. The first section of this report reviews three main issues: Firstly, the current state of information circulation in Egypt and the need for a clear legislative structure that supports transparency; secondly, the state of culture, creativity and digital rights during the pandemic; and finally, the report traces the impacts of the pandemic on the conditions of pretrial detainees in cases related to freedom of thought and expression.<\/p>\n The report tries to determine whether the authorities dealt fairly and transparently with issues related to freedom of expression during the pandemic or they took the exceptional health situation as a pretext to further restrict freedoms. In this regard, the report reviews key developments during the year which can give an overview of the official performance at the legislative, judicial and executive levels.<\/p>\n The pandemic and its repercussions reflected the increasing need for the right to access to information and the need to have professional press that exercises its work freely in tackling public issues and presenting them to the public. They also reflected the need to establish popular oversight and accountability of the executive authority, transparency and communication as a basic guarantee to enable citizens to know the health challenges they face, as well as to facilitate cooperation between the government and civil society in order to strengthen and mobilize their joint efforts to protect the public health from a global pandemic that has threatened and still threatens the lives of millions of people.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, restriction, prevention, and blackout continued as a prevailing pattern in the state’s policy in dealing with information, rather than making it available and circulating in a transparent manner, and promoting the citizens\u2019 right to knowledge. This can be demonstrated by the following four indicators:<\/p>\n The Ministry of Health launched a website[3]<\/a> that contains daily statistics on the number of Covid-19 infections, fatalities and recoveries, as well as instructions on how to avoid infection and how to act in the event of having symptoms of the disease. However, the information available on the website does not show the actual number of PCR tests nor does it clarify the age categories, the geographical scope, or the gender of the infection and death cases, in addition to other important data.<\/p>\n Availability of such information would make it easier to analyse data and take appropriate measures to contain the spread of the virus in specific areas, so that the procedures will be flexible and decentralized, according to the risk situation, instead of generalizing the procedures nationwide amid the significant increase in the number of infections. What if the majority of infections are reported in one city or governorate? Is it not more useful for policies to be based on detailed data, and for this data to be made available in a transparent manner so that the public can participate freely in and bear more responsibility for adhering to the social distancing measures? Adherence to precautionary measures would be then based on positive awareness and the sharing of detailed data with transparency. Thus, free participation and democratic practice would be enhanced as part of the Covid-19 precautionary measures, instead of enhancing repression \u2013 this time in the name of public health rather than public security or war on terror.<\/p>\n At the beginning of the pandemic, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered the concerned authorities to take legal action against “anyone who broadcasts false news or rumours related to Covid-19”. The SIS also issued a statement announcing that the press accreditation of The Guardian\u2019s correspondent was revoked[4]<\/a> after she reported on a scientific study about the spread of the virus in Egypt[5]<\/a>. Moreover, The New York Times\u2019 correspondent was warned after he posted a series of tweets containing figures mentioned in the same study, which the SIS considered “incorrect”. As a result of this crisis, The Guardian correspondent Ruth Michaelson, who had lived in and reported from Egypt since 2014, was forced to leave the country.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n The ban on the circulation of information related to the pandemic affected artistic and cultural works created by students. For example, on 15 September 2020, a police force raided the Contemporary Image Collective in downtown Cairo and arrested two staff members. One of them was released hours later, while the other \u2013 the head of the photo lab \u2013 was referred to the Qasr al-Nil prosecution for investigation on charges of distributing the “Covid Cairo\u201d magazine[7]<\/a> without obtaining permission from the SCMR. She was released the next day pending investigation.<\/p>\n The \u201cCovid Cairo\u201d magazine features a group of anecdotal pictures and topics related to the Covid-19 situation in the country as well as self-isolation. The magazine was a graduation project for a group of students of the Faculty of Applied Arts at the German University.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n Websites continued to be blocked, as three more news websites were blocked for tackling issues related to the pandemic, bringing the total number of websites blocked in Egypt since May 2017 to 553, including 124 news websites, an increase of 7 websites during 2020, according to AFTE.<\/a><\/p>\n The Egyptian authorities also continued to target journalists, especially for their reports on the Covid-19 epidemic. Of the 62 media freedom violations documented by AFTE in 2020, approximately 30% were committed against journalists for their reports on the pandemic.<\/p>\n AFTE observed a marked increase in violations of freedom of the press during April and May, when the number of infections began to increase significantly during the first wave. Security forces arrested three journalists for their coverage of the Covid-19 crisis.<\/p>\n The pandemic has kept most people at home, leading them to take to social media platforms to share videos, especially during the nationwide lockdown and curfew in March 2020. These conditions allowed for the emergence of various forms of digital expression of personal and institutional, as well as official and unofficial, cultural and entertainment products.<\/p>\n AFTE observed positive efforts by the Ministry of Culture in making various publications available to the public and organizing virtual visits to various museums, through its campaign “Stay at home \u2026 Culture is in your hands”, which was launched in March 2020[9]<\/a>. However, the way the security apparatuses and the Public Prosecution dealt with entertainment products and forms of expression of opinion was a step in the opposite direction. They tightened the security grip and increased arrests related to expression of opinion or provision of entertainment products online, such as dance videos on the video-sharing app TikTok.<\/p>\n The following is a review of the most prominent patterns of violation and their impact on culture, creativity and digital rights in Egypt during 2020:<\/p>\n The campaign against freedom of expression and online privacy was based on the Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes No. 175 of 2018. Articles 25 and 26 of this law criminalize \u201cassault\u201d on vague \u201cfamily principles and values of the Egyptian society\u201d and “public morals”. This campaign reveals the Egyptian authorities\u2019 patriarchal and authoritarian understanding of morals, thus suppressing freedoms on this basis.<\/p>\n The aforementioned law does not only violate Article 65 of the Egyptian constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression, but it also contradicts Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law, including the right to freedom of expression, the right to privacy, and the right not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. On a related note, Article 178 of the Egyptian Penal Code which penalizes “violation of public morals” shares the same problematic aspects of Articles 25 and 26 of Law No. 175 of 2018.<\/p>\n The ministry took the initiative for the first time to digitize its artistic works, including concerts, plays, paintings and sculptures, and make them available to the public on its various online platforms within the framework its project “Stay at home … Culture is in your hands”, which was launched in March 2020. The project aimed to encourage citizens to adhere to the lockdown measures to contain the spread of the pandemic. The ministry reactivated its YouTube channel, which was launched in 2013 and has not been updated for years. The channel\u2019s viewership has reached 2,357,250 views and 110,000 subscribers since March, after it used to be viewed by only dozens.<\/p>\n President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi suspended study in schools and universities across the nation for nearly six months in 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid-19[11]<\/a>. The move was part of the largest disruption of education systems in history, according to the United Nations.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n The decision was reasonable, but it was not enough. Schools and universities were reopened amid the lack of transparent policies and circulation of information to help confront the pandemic, especially in the higher education sector which has more than three million students.<\/p>\n Despite the suspension of study most of the time in 2020, the frequency of violation of academic freedom has not decreased. University professors remained in prolonged pretrial detention for expressing their views, researchers were banned from travel, and others were arrested upon arrival from abroad. Moreover, university administrations committed administrative violations, aiming to restrict freedom of expression among students and professors, to counter any criticism against the precautionary measures applied in universities and the blackout of information related to infections in educational facilities.<\/p>\n Mahdaly said his remarks were taken out of context and that he did not mean any offense. In the video, he talked about dowry in Islam, but one of the students objected to the professor\u2019s argument, so Mahdaly got angered and asked the objecting students to leave the hall.<\/p>\n During the investigation, Mahdaly acknowledged the veracity of the video. The Ministry of Higher Education decided to refer him to the Public Prosecution on charges of contempt of religion, insulting the foundations of Islamic law, and insulting students – as stated in the investigation report. The Minister of Higher Education also referred Mahdaly to a disciplinary committee and decided to continue his suspension. The prosecution remanded Mahdaly in custody for 4 days pending investigation on charges of contempt of religion and making incestuous marriage lawful. Mahdaly died on 24 December 2020 after his health condition deteriorated.<\/p>\n The World Health Organization has published a number of precautions that everyone should abide by to avoid infection, among which are keeping hands clean by using disinfectants and maintaining a distance of at least a meter between one individual and another[15]<\/a>. Although these precautions are easy to apply, their implementation in prisons has become more difficult, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which stated that places of detention provide higher chances for the transmission and exacerbation of infectious diseases, bearing in mind that the health system in prisons is weaker than outside.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n Instead of releasing non-dangerous prisoners and those held in pretrial detention to avoid the spread of infection, as is the case in various countries, and to meet the call of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights[17]<\/a>, the Ministry of Interior suspended visits to prisons as of 10 March “to preserve the public health and the safety of inmates”.[18]<\/a><\/p>\n Despite the various calls for the release of detainees in order to avoid the spread of the pandemic in prisons, the number of pretrial detainees increased due to the exercise of their right to freedom of expression. A number of journalists and researchers, as well as other citizens, were arrested for participating in sit-ins or demonstrations, or for using social media platforms.<\/p>\n The Ministry of Interior has not responded to the numerous rights calls throughout 2020. These calls mainly demanded transparency, disclosure of the numbers and locations of the detainees infected with Covid-19, as well as enabling detainees to communicate with the outside world, in compliance with Egyptian and international laws. The situation, however, remains unclear, raising concerns about the lives of all detainees in Egypt[19]<\/a>. The government took advantage of the pandemic to make changes to the mechanisms of renewing the detention of detainees. It denied them their legal right to communicate with the outside world, under the pretext of applying precautionary measures to confront the pandemic.<\/p>\n Case No. 855 of 2020 is an example. It involved rights lawyers Mohamed al-Baqer, Mahienour al-Masry, and Amr Emam, as well as journalists Isra Abdel-Fattah, Solafa Magdy, and Mohamed Salah, who were all recycled after they had been detained in other cases.<\/p>\n On 18 October 2020, the Ministry of Justice launched a new plan to conduct detention renewals electronically instead of holding in-person court sessions. The decision was taken for several reasons, including “reducing the chances of the spread of Covid-19 among detainees and citizens”[23]<\/a>. The beginning was by connecting the New Cairo Court to Tora General Prison, 15 May and Al-Nahda central prisons via videoconference. The judge contacted the defendants inside their cells, in the presence of their lawyers. It was planned to apply the new system in the rest of courts and prisons. At first glance, the plan appears to be a step in the direction of protecting detainees, lawyers and judges from the risk of getting infected, as well as preserving the integrity of legal procedures. However, the Egyptian government insisted on extending pretrial detention instead of releasing detainees to ease the overcrowding in prisons.<\/p>\n In general, AFTE welcomes the digitization of litigation processes, which began with filing cases remotely, especially if this approach would facilitate legal procedures and save time and effort in order to reach justice. However, questions arise as to whether some points will be taken into account, such as ensuring easy access to this service, achieving spatial justice, archiving and documentation, as well as data availability and digital security.<\/p>\n On the other hand, questions arise about the motives behind the use of technology in criminal justice, especially in matters like the renewal of pretrial detention. The application of electronic renewal of pretrial detention faces a number of obstacles, mainly including the separation between the defendants and their lawyers, as the communication between them turns virtual, which affects the representation of the defence panel and the seriousness of the communication. Moreover, the defendants are kept in prison without communicating with anyone other than the officers who stay with them after the defendants make their statements in front of the camera.<\/p>\n This raises an urgent question: What guarantees that the defendant present in front of the camera is not subjected to pressure or coercion during the investigations? Although the new electronic system appears to be a good development, it should not have been introduced without thorough study. This new system should be used to promote human rights and ensure fair trials, not to perpetuate injustice.<\/p>\n The 25 January revolution erupted ten years ago at a time when social media turned into effective tools for expressing opinions. As citizens took to social media platforms, the government and official agencies also began to use them to convey their messages.<\/p>\n AFTE tried in this report to review the state of freedom of expression at the end of a decade that seemed promising at its inception when protests were staged, freedom of expression was exercised, and information was circulated clearly and transparently as part of what the Egyptian revolution aspired to consolidate.<\/p>\n The outbreak of Covid-19 in Egypt coincided with the beginning of 2020, which gave a different perspective when assessing issues like freedom of expression, creativity, academic freedom and student rights, as well as digital rights and the right to peaceful assembly. At this exceptional time, it can be said that the situation is similar to and \u2013 at the same time \u2013 different from the outbreak of the revolution. The demands of the revolution have vanished and it is no longer possible to call for demonstrations or to use social media as a free speech platform without thinking about the obstacles and consequences. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic adds a new burden and challenges when thinking about issues related to transparency and freedom of information circulation.<\/p>\n AFTE supports the state\u2019s moves towards digitization, which was evident in making the Ministry of Culture\u2019s artistic and cultural works available online, as well as the Ministry of Justice\u2019s plan to conduct litigation electronically. However, it believes that this plan must be carefully studied, taking into account the preservation of the rights and freedoms of litigants so that digitization does not turn into a new tool of abuse.<\/p>\n AFTE believes that the state of rights and freedoms related to thought and expression has been on the wane and became a worrying threat in 2020. It stresses the need for the state institutions to affirm their commitment, especially in light of a global pandemic that has affected millions of people around the world. Accordingly, AFTE proposes the following recommendations:<\/p>\n First: The judiciary, represented by the Public Prosecution, criminal courts and terrorism departments, should immediately release all those held in pretrial detention, including journalists, political activists, social media users, doctors, students and academics, in cases related to spreading false news about the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as those charged with violating \u201cfamily principles and values of the Egyptian society\u201d or \u201cpublic morals\u201d. The judiciary should also close all cases that do not include solid evidence.<\/p>\n Second: The Egyptian parliament should pass the law on freedom of information circulation as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Third: The Egyptian Cabinet, represented by the Ministry of Health, should disclose all data related to the Covid-19 situation in Egypt, including the numbers of infections, deaths and swabs that have been conducted. It should also reveal details of the vaccination campaign.<\/p>\n Fourth: The executive authority, represented by the media regulatory bodies or other unannounced bodies, should stop blocking websites.<\/p>\n Fifth: The Ministry of Interior should disclose policies to confront the pandemic in places of detention, and allow prisoners and detainees to communicate with their families and lawyers.<\/p>\n View PDF The report was prepared and written by: The Research Unit team and the Monitoring and Documentation Unit of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE). Executive summary The Egyptian government’s first reaction to the outbreak of the 25 January 2011 revolution was represented in blocking. There were huge demonstrations in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[984],"tags":[1006,878],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nExecutive summary<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Freedom of expression during the Covid-19 pandemic in Egypt<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
First: Information circulation during the pandemic<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
Second: Culture and creativity between digitization and impacts of the pandemic<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
Third: Academic freedom and student rights<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Fourth: The pandemic\u2019s impacts on the conditions of detainees in freedom of expression cases<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Conclusion and recommendations<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
[1]<\/a> Draft law on freedom of information circulation, the official website of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, link: https:\/\/bit.ly\/2z64Hnk<\/a>\r\n\r\n[2]<\/a> Report on the results of the work of the fact-finding committee on crimes and abuses committed during the 25 January 2011 revolution; the National Council for Human Rights, 2011, page 22.\r\n\r\n[3]<\/a> Egypt Care website, https:\/\/www.care.gov.eg\/EgyptCare\/index.aspx<\/a>\r\n\r\n[4]<\/a> The State Information Service, revoking the accreditation of The Guardian\u2019s correspondent in Egypt and issuing a warning to the New York Times\u2019 correspondent, 17 March 2020, last visited on 30 December 2020, link: https:\/\/bit.ly\/3p04zKW<\/a>.\r\n\r\n[5]<\/a> Ruth Michaelson, The Guardian, Egypt: rate of coronavirus cases 'likely to be higher than figures suggest', 15 March 2020, last visit, 12 February 2021, Link: https:\/\/cutt.ly\/VkLUazK<\/a>\r\n\r\n[6]<\/a> Michael Safi, The Guardian, Egypt forces Guardian journalist to leave after coronavirus story, 26 March 2020, last visit 12 February 2021, Link: https:\/\/cutt.ly\/TkLUO2r<\/a>\r\n\r\n[7]<\/a> \u201cCovid Cairo\u201d Magazine, non-periodic edition, First Issue, May - June 2020, last visited on 9 February 2021, link: https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1ugzFsU5O-pYF6YGH2KBcNfvuQCSpFBu_\/view<\/a>\r\n\r\n[8]<\/a> AFTE, Gilan Hefni, head of the photo lab at the Contemporary Image Collective, released, 16 September 2020, link: https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/law_unit\/law_unit_news\/2020\/09\/16\/19983-afteegypt.html<\/a>\r\n\r\n[9]<\/a> The Ministry of Culture launches the online initiative \u201cStay at home .. Culture is in your hands\u201d, the Ministry of Culture\u2019s website, 22 March 2020, last visited on 10 February 2021, link: https:\/\/bit.ly\/2Y6la46<\/a>\r\n\r\n[10]<\/a>Ahmed Hamdy, Al-Mal, Ramadan drama challenges Covid-19, filming continues... Ashraf Zaki: Art is an important industry, 31 March 2020, last visited on 10 February 2021, link: https:\/\/bit.ly\/365aLtW<\/a>\r\n\r\n[11]<\/a> CNN Arabia, Egypt: Sisi orders suspension of study in universities and schools for two weeks due to Covid-19, 14 March 2020, last visited on 10 February 2021, link: https:\/\/cnn.it\/39dzOg1<\/a>\r\n\r\n[12]<\/a> United Nations, Policy Brief: Education during Covd-19 and beyond, August 2020, last visited on 10 February 2021, link: https:\/\/bit.ly\/3a09FRl<\/a>\r\n\r\n[13]<\/a> AFTE, contempt of religions... a pretext for suppression of academic freedom, 31 December 2020, link: https:\/\/bit.ly\/3sMiZAV<\/a>\r\n\r\n[14]<\/a> AFTE calls for the release of Assistant Professor of Political Science Ahmed al-Tohamy and an end to interference in academic work, 2 November 2020, link: https:\/\/bit.ly\/3c3yEph<\/a>\r\n\r\n[15]<\/a> World Health Organization, Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19): Questions and Answers, last visited on 23 January 2021, link: https:\/\/cutt.ly\/yjC3Cvn<\/a>\r\n\r\n[16]<\/a> ICRC, COVID-19: Protecting prison populations from infectious coronavirus disease, last visit March 11 2020, link: https:\/\/www.icrc.org\/en\/document\/protecting-prison-populations-infectious-disease?utm_source=twitter<\/a>\r\n\r\n[17]<\/a> United Nations news, UN rights chief urges quick action by governments to prevent devastating impact of COVID-19 in places of detention; 25 March 2020, last visited 23 January 2021, link: https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2020\/03\/1060252<\/a>\r\n\r\n[18]<\/a> Mahmoud Abdel Radi, Youm7, prison visits suspended for 10 days to preserve public health and the safety of inmates, 9 March 2020, last visited on 23 January 2021, link: https:\/\/cutt.ly\/AjC7Xos<\/a>\r\n\r\n[19]<\/a> Joint statement, human rights organizations call on the Public Prosecutor and the Minister of Interior to disclose the numbers and locations of detainees infected with Covid-19, 11 June 2020, last visited on 23 January 2021, link: https:\/\/cutt.ly\/qjC5bp4<\/a>\r\n\r\n[20]<\/a> AFTE, Mahmoud Shehata\u2019s lawsuit demanding to allow entry of preventive medical supplies from \u201cCovid-19\u201d to prison set for adjudication, 5 July 2020, last visited on 23 January 2021, link: https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/law_unit-2\/law_unit_news-law_unit-2\/2020\/07\/05\/19650-afteegypt.html<\/a>\r\n\r\n[21]<\/a> AFTE, Announced death and overlooked violations \u2026 Report on the death of Shady Habash, 13 September 2020, link: https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/afte_publications\/2020\/09\/14\/19966-afteegypt.html<\/a>\r\n\r\n[22]<\/a> Amnesty International, Egypt: Court arbitrarily extends the pre-trial detention of over 1,600 defendants, 7 May 2020, last visited on 23 January 2021, link: https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/4jfv9xag<\/a>\r\n\r\n[23]<\/a> The State Information Service, the Ministry of Justice launches electronic detention renewal system, 18 October 2020, last visited on 23 January 2021, link: https:\/\/cutt.ly\/WjC4beR<\/a><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"