Summary:

1. Referral of Engineer Yahya Hussein Abdel Hadi to criminal trial, and setting a hearing for 26 July 2025, before the Terrorism Chamber.
2. Public Prosecution denied reports about forcing one of its members to resign.
3. Citizen Gamal Ahmed Sawi Ibrahim died after his health had deteriorated due to liver cirrhosis in prison in Menia.
4. Acquittal of 4 citizens in Sharqia, following a release order by the National Security Agency.
5. Arrest and enforced disappearance of 3 citizens from their homes in Sharqia.

Details

I.                Arrest and Enforced Disappearance:

Monday, 30 June

1. Security forces at Hussainia Police Station in Sharqia arrested 3 citizens from their homes and took them to an unknown location, without presenting them to any investigation authority. They are Dr. Al-Said Al-Arabi, Sheikh Qutb Al-Nabi, and Engineer Anwar Fikry.

II.             Prosecution Investigations:

 

• Public Prosecution:

Sunday, 29 June

• 10^th of Ramadan Prosecution in Sharqia investigated Mohamed Hamed El-Sharqawi after arresting him from his home, and then accused him of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news and statements placing him in pretrial detention.

III.           Detention Renewal:

Monday, 30 May

• The Supreme State Security prosecution renewed the detention of citizen Mohamed Hussein Mohamed for 15 days pending investigations into Case No. 4037 of 2025, , on charges of joining a group established in violation of the law and the constitution.
• Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber, in Sharqia accepted the appeal from Public Prosecution appeal against the decision to release both Mohamed Saeed Balah and Abdullah Mahmoud Mohamed Okasha and ordered the renewal of their detention for 45 days.

IV.          Acquittal:

Monday, 30 June

• Zagazig Criminal Court in Sharqia decided to reject the appeal from Public Prosecution against the release order for 3 individuals and upheld the decision. They are Ayman Kamal Mohamed Khedr, Tarek El-Sayed Gharib, and Tarek Abdel Fattah Taha.

V.             Release:

Wednesday, 2 July

1. Security forces at 10^th of Ramadan Police Station in Sharqia released 4 citizens after completing their release procedures and receiving a notification from National Security. They are Ahmed Abdo Sarhan, Ashraf Ali Alii, Mohamed Nasr Abu Zaid, and Ahmed El-Saadani.

VI.          Trials:

Saturday, 5 July

• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-I, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 11 defendants, in Case No. 1501 of 2024, October Felonies, known in the medica as the case of Haram ISIS Cell.
• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-I, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 15 defendants, in Case No. 19632 of 2024, Nasr City-I Felonies, known in the media as the case of Nasr City-I Terrorist Cell.

VII.        Statements and Information:

Tuesday, 1 July

• Public Prosecution announced on its official Facebook page the arrest and detention of the person responsible for publishing the news regarding forcing a member of the Public Prosecution to resign for his involvement in the Sarah Khalifa case.
• Ministry of Interior denied, in a statement, the circulated news regarding messages attributed to inmates at one prison, claiming their forced transfer to other prisons.

VIII.     Prison News:

Sunday, 29 June

• Gamal Ahmed Sawi Ibrahim, a citizen in Menia Prison, died after health deterioration due to liver cirrhosis.

Legal Comment

The Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to refer Engineer Yahya Hussein Abdel Hadi to criminal trial, and set the hearing set for 26 July before Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-II, held in Badr Prison, on charges of inciting the use of force and violence against state institutions, promoting, through speech and writing, the commission of a terrorist crime, using a website to commit a terrorist crime, and publishing and broadcasting false news, rumors, and statements.

This constitutes a continuation of the use of criminal law tools to prosecute those who express their opinions and peaceful expression, as well as a flagrant violation of the provisions of the Egyptian Constitution, particularly Article 65, which guarantees freedom of opinion and expression, and Article 71, which prohibits the imposition of any custodial sentence for crimes committed through publication.

The referral decision also continues a series of violations that began with his pretrial detention in 2019, followed by his re-arrest in 2022 pending a new case with virtually the same charges, in what appears to be systematic attempts to silence his voice and prevent him from exercising his legitimate right to freedom of expression.

 

Sharqia has witnessed continued arrests of citizens, some of whom have been forcibly disappeared, in flagrant violation of constitutional guarantees and due process.

This pattern of repeated violations in Sharqia raises legitimate questions about the reasons for the intense security focus in this governorate in particular, especially since it has recorded high rates of arrests and disappearances compared to other governorates for years. Is this security escalation related to Sharqia being the birthplace and residence of the late President Mohamed Morsi? Do political considerations still cast a shadow over law enforcement standards in dealing with the residents of the governorate?

Citizen Gamal Ahmed Sawi died in his cell in Menia Prison, after suffering from liver cirrhosis, amid reports of denying him necessary medical care, which is a grave violation of the Egyptian Constitution and relevant national laws.

Article 55 of the Constitution stipulates that “Everyone who is arrested, detained, or whose freedom is restricted shall be treated in a manner that preserves their dignity. They shall not be tortured, intimidated, or subjected to physical or moral harm. They shall be detained in a place that is humane and hygienic.”

Article 36 of the Prisons Regulation Law also requires prison administration to provide medical care and to present the prisoner to the prison doctor immediately upon any deterioration in their health.

Failure to provide health care to detainees is not only a breach of a legal duty, but may also amount to the crime of gross negligence, which entails criminal liability if a causal link between such failure and the death is proven, whether the failure occurred through unintentional negligence or intentional failure to provide treatment.

If it is proven that the prisoner was deliberately deprived of medical treatment, the incident may also constitute cruel or inhuman treatment, prohibited under Article 3 of the Convention against Torture, to which Egypt has acceded.