{"id":35594,"date":"2023-10-08T13:09:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-08T10:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/?p=35594"},"modified":"2023-10-08T13:12:14","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T10:12:14","slug":"aftes-newsletter-september-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/advocacy-en\/2023\/10\/08\/35594-afteegypt.html","title":{"rendered":"AFTE’s\u00a0Newsletter: September 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) shares with you the publications and statements it produced over the past month, in addition to the legal updates of lawsuits in which AFTE provides legal support to prisoners of conscience, or to academics who were subjected to abuse and security prosecutions for expressing their opinions.<\/p>\n

We always welcome any inquiries or clarifications from everyone, through our social media platforms, or via the following email: info@afteegypt.org<\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Research Papers<\/span> <\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Dialogue under repression\u2026 The second quarterly report on the state of freedom of expression in Egypt (from 1 April to 30 June 2023)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

the Egyptian authorities continued to pursue policies hostile to the right to freedom of thought and expression in its various forms, even after announcing the launch of the National Dialogue<\/span> which promised political reform and the adoption of new policies that would help resolve the political and human rights crisis that Egypt has been experiencing over the past decade, as the security authorities continued to arrest and prosecute<\/span> political opponents and journalists,<\/span> block press websites by an unknown government agency, and arrest citizens over publishing posts criticizing the state\u2019s policies on Facebook. for more<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Point of order \u201cSpeech doesn\u2019t go to court\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The imprisonment <\/span>of the prominent opposition politician and journalist,<\/span>Hisham Kassem’s for 6 months raised the problem of how the state deals with political opponents and how it does not hesitate to use<\/span> its powers to harass the political opposition.<\/span> after the establishment of a liberal political alliance, known as the \u201cFree Current\u201d, , the former Minister of Manpower, Kamal Abu Aita, brought accusations against <\/span>Kassem of working according to a foreign agenda,\u00a0 The latter then responded to the accusations in a Facebook post, which led to his imprisonment against charges of insults and defamation<\/span>. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Paper on \u201crestrictions on media freedom\u201d submitted by AFTE to the national dialogue<\/strong><\/span>
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The media market in Egypt has witnessed an unprecedented boom during the last years of the rule of late President Hosni Mubarak and the few years that followed the January 2011 revolution\u00a0 which contributed to the existence of competitiveness in the field, especially in light of the diversity of media ownership, In 2014, <\/span> of the media scene through several tools and methods, including policy and legislative ones, which led to the depletion and impoverishment of the Egyptian media market, both in terms of audience and journalists, as citizens lost confidence in the media, its credibility and diversity, and\u00a0 Egypt ranked 168th in the Reporters Without Borders index of press freedom out of 180 countries included in the index. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Advocacy <\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

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AFTE called on Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky to put an end to the violations against poet Galal al-Beheiry, provide him with the necessary health care, and release him immediately, especially after he attempted to commit suicide inside his cell in Badr Prison this month, before that, al-Beheiry went on\u00a0\u00a0 a hunger strike for the second time due to his continued pretrial detention for more than five years.<\/span>\u00a0for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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AFTE and various human rights organizations condemned the the verdict sentencing the former spokesperson of the April 6 Youth Movement and political activist, Mohamed Adel, to four years in prison, after he already spent five years in pretrial detention, and assert that this verdict demonstrates that the Egyptian authorities, including the judiciary, are targeting political activists with bogus charges and subjecting them to unfair trials as a punishment for their peaceful activities, despite presidential initiatives and government statements attempting to imply an improvement in the human rights situation in Egypt. for more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Legal Aid <\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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– the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed Mohamed Ibrahim Abdo’s detention for 15 days, over\u00a0 videos on TikTok criticizing the policies of the current president of the countryfor more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 the Economic Court of Appeal set October 7 as a date to examine the appeal filed by the defense panel of journalist and political opponent Hesham Kassem against the verdict issued against him by the Economic Court to 3 months in prison over insulting, slandering, and intentionally disturbing Kamal Abu Eita, and three months in prison with enforced hard labor over insulting a public servant, for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 the Criminal Court renewed Mohamed Mahmoud Amer Abdel Aziz\u2019s detention for 45 days, Security forces arrested Abdel Aziz on October 15, 2021, from his house; he forcibly disappeared for a month and a half. He later appeared before the Prosecution for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to release Zamalek football club fan, Mohamed Abdul Latif, Security forces arrested Abdul Latif from his workplace in Fagala in August 2021, and he forcibly disappeared for two weeks before being brought before the investigation authorities for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Criminal Court renewed the detention of Mohamed Abdel Aal Abou El-Dahab for 45 days, Security forces arrested Abou El-Dahab on November 10; he appeared before the prosecution five days later for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– AFTE submitted a report to the public prosecutor\u2019s office to investigate the reasons for Poet Galal\u00a0 Al-Behairi\u2019s second hunger strike and calling for his release, for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 the Criminal Court renewed Ahmed Mahmoud Ali Elhadidi\u2019s detention for 45 days, Elhadidi is a 45-year-old farm owner. Security forces arrested him on November 9 after posting calls for November 11 demonstrations of his Facebook profile. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 the Criminal Court the detention of Ahmed Abdel Mageed Oraby for 45 days pending his second lawsuit,\u00a0 in which Oraby is accused over Facebook posts he shared discussing poor living conditions. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 the Criminal Court renewed the detention of Mahmoud Hanfy Mohamed for 45 days, Hanfy was arrested from his house in Qena governorate. he was interrogated before the Supreme State Security Prosecution for the first time last February 22, for more.<\/a><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed Mohamed Ramadan Asr\u2019s detention for 15 days,\u00a0 Asr is detained over posting videos on TikTok where he spoke of the country\u2019s economic situation and electricity outage.for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed Khaled Abdel Wahed Amin\u2019s detention, the member of the presidential campaign of the potential candidate\u00a0 Ahmed Al Tantawy, for 15 days,\u00a0 Amin was arrested from his house on August 27 and presented before the prosecution on the same day. The Public Prosecution interrogated him about posts on his personal Facebook account sharing his political and economic views. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Administrative Judiciary Court adjourns examination of AFTE\u2019s appeal against the acting professions syndicate to January 14, for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Administrative Judiciary Court adjourns examination of three appeals filed by AFTE against the acting professions syndicate. the appeals were filed on behalf of AFTE’s clients against the Syndicate’s negative decision to refrain from registering them in the Syndicate, despite fulfilling all the conditions that qualify them to obtain the Syndicate membership, as well as the Syndicate\u2019s refusal to review their applications or to clarify any reasons for refusal to January 14, for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– Administrative Judicial Court to examine AFTE\u2019s appeal against Helwan University after refraining from hiring faculty graduate as teaching assistant for lack of security approval on October 10, for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 the Supreme State Security Prosecution released Gamal Ziada, the father of the journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada. On August 22, a security force in civilian clothes arrested Ziada from Nahia village, Giza, the prosecution accused Ziada of spreading false news, while it didn\u2019t confront him with any posts proving the accusation of spreading false news, as his Facebook profile is free of any political posts, and he only posts promotional materials for his work as a clothing workshop manager. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of the enlisted man, Sherif Ahmed Ebrahim, for 15 days,The 22-year-old Ebrahim was arrested on August 31 after he helped a police chief to shoot and publish a video on TikTok insulting the Ministry of Interior. The police chief was also arrested and held in custody in the same lawsuit. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of student Ayman Abdel Halim Eldarder for 15 days,\u00a0Eldarder was arrested on May 22 at Saray El-Koba metro station after the police forces stopped him and searched his mobile phone. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of two Zamalek football club fans. they were arrested on May 3 from the DownTown district in Cairo. for more<\/a>.
\n– after four years in pretrial detention; he Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to release Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Halim under the guarantee of his place of residence. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– after four years in pretrial detention; he Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to release Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Halim under the guarantee of his place of residence. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to release the two content creators, Ahmed Tarek and Basma Hegazy, under the guarantee of their place of residence,The arrest of the content creators came after publishing a video titled \u201cThe Visit,\u201d where a girl visits her male friend in prison after he argued with someone in power, referred to in the video as \u201cthe governor.\u201d for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Criminal Court renewed the detention of Alaa Mansour Seif Elnasr for 45 days, security forces arrested Seif Elnasr from his house on September 12, 2020, based on an arrest warrant issued against him by the Public Prosecution, but the security forces detained him in an unknown location without legal basis for over a month before presenting him before the investigation authorities. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– the Criminal Court renewed the detention of the assistant professor of political science at the Faculty of Economic Studies and Political Science at Alexandria University, Ahmed AlTohamy, for 45 days, AlTohamy stated before the prosecution that his security targeting was due to his academic research on the Arab Spring revolutions. for more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

– Administrative Judicial Court set October 10 hearing to examine AFTE\u2019s appeal filed on behalf of AFTE\u2019s client challenging Helwan University\u2019s decision not to hire her for lack of security approval. for more<\/a>.
\n– the disciplinary board of appeal at the Ministry of Higher Education adjourned to November 15, the examination of appeal against the disciplinary lawsuit against Manar Al-Tantawy, in which the disciplinary board to deduct 15 days of her salary over videos of Al-Tantawy calling for the release of her husband, Hisham Gaafar, in front of the Journalists Syndicate. for more<\/a>.
\n– the Criminal Court renewed the detention of Mohamed Ahmed Saad for 45 days, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 930 of 2019 (Supreme State Security), known in the media as \u201cthe Alliance of Hope lawsuit.\u201d which included a large number of political activists, Although he didn\u2019t participate in any political activity. for more<\/a>.
\n– the Criminal Court decided to extend the detention of translator and activist Marwa Arafa for 45 extra days, despite the lack of legal justifications for her continued imprisonment as the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that the period of pretrial detention must not exceed two years, after which release is mandatory. for more<\/a>.
\n– the Criminal Court renewed lawyer Saied Hassan Ali\u2019s detention for 45 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 238 of 2021. Ali was convicted in this lawsuit after his release in another lawsuit. for more<\/a>.
\n– after exceeding a year in pretrial detention, the 4 students who created the \u201cBatman Helwan\u201d event were released under the guarantee of their residence among dozens of others. for more<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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