{"id":40826,"date":"2026-05-03T16:21:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/?p=40826"},"modified":"2026-05-03T16:21:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:21:50","slug":"statement-afte-submits-a-petition-to-the-public-prosecutor-calling-for-the-release-of-journalist-khaled-mamdouh-for-lack-of-legal-basis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/advocacy-en\/2026\/05\/03\/40826-afteegypt.html","title":{"rendered":"Statement: AFTE Submits a Petition to the Public Prosecutor Calling for the Release of Journalist Khaled Mamdouh for Lack of Legal Basis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) condemns the ongoing detention of journalist and TV presenter at MBC channels, Khaled Mamdouh, who has been held in custody since 16 July 2024, and calls on the Public Prosecutor to promptly order his release.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AFTE has submitted a petition to the Public Prosecutor, registered under No. 1686968 of 2026 (Public Prosecutor Petitions), requesting the mandatory release of Mamdouh and the rectification of the procedural irregularities in his case, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The violation against Mamdouh stems from the fact that the Supreme State Security Prosecution announced his referral to criminal trial on 11 November 2025; however, the case file has not yet been transmitted to the competent Court of Appeal to assign a circuit and set a hearing date.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The petition is based on two main grounds. First, the violation of Article 214 bis (A) of Criminal Procedure Law, which mandates the immediate referral of the case file to the clerk\u2019s office of the Court of Appeal. Where the defense requests time to review the file, the president of the court must set a period not exceeding ten days. This has not occurred, thereby obstructing Mamdouh\u2019s right to appear before his natural judge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second, the absence of a legal basis for his continued detention. The defense affirmed that the ongoing detention of Mamdouh without being presented before the competent criminal court or the advisory chamber constitutes a grave violation and an unlawful infringement of personal liberty, in contravention of Articles 143 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Law (Law No. 150 of 1950). Accordingly, his detention has become arbitrary and unlawful, necessitating his immediate release.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Security forces had previously raided Mamdouh\u2019s residence, conducted a random search, and refused to disclose their identities, their affiliation, or the reasons for his arrest. Four hours after the initial raid, the same forces returned to the residence, detained those inside, prevented them from leaving, and seized mobile phones, a laptop, and all personal belongings related to Mamdouh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AFTE calls for Mamdouh\u2019s immediate release, as he has exceeded the legally prescribed maximum period of pretrial detention without being brought before the competent judicial authority. AFT also urges the prompt transmission of his case file to the Court of Appeal to schedule a trial session, in accordance with the law and his constitutional rights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) condemns the ongoing detention of journalist and TV presenter at MBC channels, Khaled Mamdouh, who has been held in custody since 16 July 2024, and calls on the Public Prosecutor to promptly order his release. AFTE has submitted a petition to the Public Prosecutor, registered under [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":40827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[979,986],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacy-en","category-statements-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Statement: AFTE Submits a Petition to the Public Prosecutor Calling for the Release of Journalist Khaled Mamdouh for Lack of Legal Basis - Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/advocacy-en\/2026\/05\/03\/40826-afteegypt.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Statement: AFTE Submits a Petition to the Public Prosecutor Calling for the Release of Journalist Khaled Mamdouh for Lack of Legal Basis - Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) condemns the ongoing detention of journalist and TV presenter at MBC channels, Khaled Mamdouh, who has been held in custody since 16 July 2024, and calls on the Public Prosecutor to promptly order his release. 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