Omar Al-Hout rotated for the sixth time; Grievance filed by four defendants against Emergency State Security Court’s ruling accepted; and the detention of Quranist blogger Reda Abdel Rahman renewed
The Legal Bulletin covers the lawsuits in which AFTE provides the necessary legal aid, in accordance with AFTE’s action framework.
Public Prosecution
South Zagazig Prosecution decided on 24 November to detain Omar Mahmoud Al-Hout for 15 days pending investigations in connection with a new Case No. 24978 of 2021 (Abo Hammad Misdemeanors).
Although Al-Hout completed his jail term on 13 September in connection with Case No. 1873 of 2021 (Emergency State Security Misdemeanors), he remained in detention for more than two months without being released, until the South Zagazig Prosecution decided to rotate him into a new case for the sixth time.
Al-Hout faces charges of joining a terrorist group and possessing publications that promote its ideas. He has been rotated into other cases with the same charges since his arrest in 2014 during his study at Zagazig University on charges of demonstrating and expressing his opinion inside the university campus.
Emergency State Security Courts
The Military Governor’s office decided on 22 November to accept the grievance filed by the defense panel of Haitham Abdel Nasser, Eslam Ahmed Abde-Khaliq, Atef Elsayed Ali, and Karim Abou Elhassan. The court reduced their prison sentences to one year and the fine imposed on them to 1,000 pounds.
On 30 November 2019, the Emergency State Security Court in Zagazig sentenced the four defendants to two years in prison and ordered them to pay a fine of 50,000 pounds, in connection with Case No. 1423 of 2019 (Emergency State Security in Minya Al-Qamh).
The defense panel filed a grievance before the Military Governor’s office, which – in turn – accepted the petition and ordered a retrial of the defendants. This time, they were sentenced to five years in prison instead of two years and ordered to pay a fine of 50,000 pounds. The sentence was later reduced to one year in prison and the fine to 1,000 pounds.
The four defendants were referred to an exceptional trial for demonstrating and gathering at the Saadian Road in Sharkia Governorate.
Criminal Courts
On 27 November, the Zagazig Criminal Court decided to renew the detention of Quranist blogger Reda Abdel Rahman Ali for 45 days, in connection with Case No. 3418 of 2020 (Emergency State Security Misdemeanor).
Abdel Rahman faces charges of joining the terrorist group ISIS, adopting Takfiri ideas and promoting them indirectly through the organizational papers that police forces claim to have seized from his house. Abdel Rahman denied all the accusations, saying the police forces did not search his house but rather confiscated his mobile phone only.
In his blogs, Abdel Rahman expresses his opinions and beliefs related to the Quranist doctrine, which the Egyptian authorities impose restrictions on its adherents.
Supreme State Security Prosecution
The Supreme State Security Prosecution decided on 30 November to detain Mohamed Mahmoud Amer Abdel-Aziz for 15 days, in connection with Case No, 1984 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
Amer was arrested on 15 October 2021. He was subjected to enforced disappearance for 45 days, until he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution on 29 November. The prosecution adjourned his interrogation session to the next day. It accused him of joining a terrorist group.
The national security investigation report stated that Amer had participated in a media activity attributed to the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group. This came against the backdrop of expressing his views on social media.
