8 July Sessions
Supreme State Security Prosecution
The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of two persons for 15 days, who are:
- Muhammad Taha Abdel Mawjoud Taha, pending investigations in Case No. 2526 of 2023 (Supreme State Security).
On 10 March 2024, Taha was arrested while returning from work outside the country to spend a vacation with his family.
The next day, Taha was presented to the Supreme State Security Prosecution. He was investigated on charges of joining a terrorist group, publishing and broadcasting false news and data that would harm security and public order, and using an account on social media networks for the purpose of publishing and broadcasting false news and data before the decision to detain him the pending investigation was made.
- Mahmoud Nasser Ali Suleiman, pending investigations in Case No. 1410 of 2024 (Supreme State Security Prosecution).
On May 1, 2024, Suleiman was arrested from a street in Ismailia Governorate and remained unlawfully detained until May 4, 2024, when he was presented to the prosecution, which charged him with joining a terrorist group while knowing its purposes and publishing and broadcasting false news and statements that may harm security and public order, and use an account on social media to publish and broadcast false news.
Suleiman was not confronted with any posts on social media indicating that he had published any news.
9 July Sessions
Criminal Court
On 9 July 2024, the Criminal Court (First Circuit) investigated three cases involving four persons and decided to renew the detention of all four for 45 days.
The detainees are:
- Amir Sayed Mohamed and Reyad Mohamed Abdel Rahaman, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 744 of 2023 (Supreme State Security).
Although Amir and Reyad are Zamalek football club fans, the prosecution accused them of joining a terrorist group, Ultras Ahlawy, and spreading false news and information that would harm public security and order.
Security forces arrested Amir and Reyad on May 3 from the DownTown district in Cairo, and security forces detained them without legal basis and in an unknown location for eight days before presenting them before the prosecution.
- Activist Ahmed Abdel Mageed Oraby, pending investigations of lawsuit No. 2094 of 2022 (Supreme State Security), in which Oraby is accused of sharing Facebook posts about poor living conditions.
Oraby lost his eye in the clashes of Mohamed Mahmoud Street, and he was previously imprisoned for a year and a half. This time, he was arrested in November 2022.
He faces accusations of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its purposes, committing a terrorist financing crime, inciting a terrorist act, participating in a criminal agreement to commit a terrorist crime, spreading false news and statements, and using an account on social media to commit a crime.
- Poet Galal ElBehairy for 45 days pending investigations of lawsuit No. 2000 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution) despite not attending the investigation session.
The court did not respond to the defense’s request to postpone the session until the accused attends.
This is the third lawsuit against ElBehairy after his arrest for writing the song “Balaha,” which criticizes the current president’s policies.
ElBehairy was arrested on March 3, 2018, against accusations in two lawsuits.
He was released from the first one No. 480 of 2018, with precautionary measures on 17 April 2019, and referred to a military court for the second lawsuit and sentenced to three years in prison, which ended on 31 July 2021.
However, the Ministry of Interior refrained from implementing the procedures for ElBehairy’s release, and he remained illegally detained.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated ElBehairy in a new lawsuit, no. 2000 of 2021, and he remains in pretrial detention on similar accusations.
13 July Sessions
Appeals Disciplinary Board of the Ministry of Higher Education
The Appeals Disciplinary Board of the Ministry of Higher Education postponed the appeal of Dr. Manar El-Tantawy against the ruling of the Primary Disciplinary Board that sanctioned her with a salary deduction of 5 days, due to a verbal altercation with a colleague till 14 September.
The Appeals Disciplinary Board approved defense requests to review the disciplinary case file and to include the sanctions record of Dr. Manar El-Tantawy, who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Higher Institute of Technology in 10th of Ramadan.
The incident dates back to 2022 when a teaching assistant entered her institute’s workshops without permission. A verbal altercation ensued, during which El-Tantawy was insulted verbally.
The council did not condemn the teaching assistant who assaulted El-Tantawy; instead, it condemned her for denouncing this insult.
In December 2023, the Appellate Disciplinary Board decided to acquit Manar El-Tantawy of the charge of insulting the Higher Institute of Technology and the head of the Institute and canceled the penalty of deducting 15 days from El-Tantawy’s salary.
El-Tantawy faces intransigence from the institute’s administration to prevent her from being promoted and assuming the position of head of the mechanical engineering department, which she previously held and then apologized for in 2016 due to health conditions.
