Justice Observatory in Egypt.. from 4 -13 August 2023

Summary:

1. Qalyub Prosecution Office in Qalyubia released the activist Ahmed Gika after interrogating him after he had been missing for 58 days.
2. Renewing the detention of hundreds of citizens pending cases of the Supreme State Security Prosecution.
3. The continuation of the trials of citizens in connection with terrorism cases.
4. Rotating 4 citizens in Sharkia Governorate pending new cases, after the procedures for their release were suspended.
5. The Ministry of Interior denies what is being raised about the death of a detainee inside the Dar el Salaam police station
6. The inclusion of dozens of citizens on the lists of terrorist entities

 

Details:

1. Prosecution investigations:

Supreme State Security Prosecution:

The Supreme State Security Prosecution, during the coverage period of the bulletin from August 4 to August 13, 2023, investigated 43 citizens and held them in pretrial detention on charges of joining a terrorist group and financing and supplying a terrorist group.

 

Public Prosecution:

Monday, August 7, 2023

1. The Hihya Prosecution Office in Sharkia investigated five citizens (1. Muhammad Gomaa Abdel Hamid, 2. Muhammad Al-Sayed Salim Nafeh, 3. Imad Mustafa Attia, 4. Al Sayed Abdulaziz Attia) in addition to the citizen / Ahmed Raafat Othman, after they were arrested and accused of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and statements, and imprisoning them for 15 days.
2. The Zagazig Prosecution Office in Sharkia investigated the citizen / Medhat Abdel-Moamen – after he appeared from an enforced disappearance that lasted 35 days – and accused him of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news and statements, and imprisoned him for 15 days.
3. The Minya al-Qamh Prosecution Office in Sharkia investigated the citizen / Hani Salim Muhammad Faraj Kassab – after he appeared from an enforced disappearance that lasted 120 days – and accused him of joining a terrorist group and publishing false news and statements, and imprisoned him for 15 days.
4. The Zagazig Prosecution Office interrogated the citizen/ Osama Mustafa Kamal Abdel Hamid – after he appeared from enforced disappearance that lasted for 150 days – accusing him of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news and imprisoning him for 15 days.

Saturday 12th August

The Tenth of Ramadan Prosecution office interrogated three citizens (1. Muhammad Sabry Muhammad Ahmed, 2. Essam Muhammad Shaban, 3. Muhammad Shaban Muhammad) after they were arrested from their homes and accused of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news and statements.

 

2. Rotating pending new cases:

Saturday, August 12, 2023

The Zagazig Prosecution Office investigated 4 citizens, who are (1. Ali Abdul-Maksoud Ali, 2. Ahmed Farhat Salim, 3. Muhammad Abdul-Raouf Muhammad, 4. Muhammad Abdullah Abdullah Al-Sadiq) – after they were rotated in new cases on charges of joining a terrorist group after opposing their release procedures issued by the Cairo Criminal Court.

 

3. Detention renewal:

Saturday, August 5, 2023

The First Chamber of Terrorism in the Cairo Criminal Court in Badr Prison considered a session to renew the detention of dozens of citizens detained in pretrial detention pending cases No. 810 of 2019, and among the accused is the publisher Ismail El Kemary, 1781 of 2019, 865 of 2020, 1222 of 2021, 1412 of 2021, 2515 of the year 2021, 1391 of 2022, 1644 of 2022, 2135 of 2022, 2182 of 2022, 2183 of 2022, 2184 of 2022, 60 of 2023, 95 of 2023, 184 of 2023, 186 of 2023, 1 91 of 2023, 203 of 2023, 333 of 2023, 392 of 2023, 453 of 2023, 508 of 2023 Supreme State Security.

Sunday 6th August

The same chamber in Badr Prison decided to renew the detention of dozens of citizens detained in pretrial detention pending cases No. 977 of 2017, 640 of 2018, 1365 of 2018. Among the accused are journalists Rabih al-Sheikh and Bahaa al-Din Ibrahim, 706 of 2019, 1475 of 2019, 535 of 2020, 649 for the year 2020, 680 for the year 2020, and among the defendants presented is journalist Medhat Ramadan, 970 for the year 2020, 1054 for the year 2020, 260 for the year 2021, 1000 for the year 2021, 2055 for the year 2021, 2215 for the year 2021, 2556 for the year 2021, 2739 for the year 2021 5 of 2022 200 of 2022, 1539 of 2022, 1654 of 2022 Supreme State Security.

Monday 7 August

The same chamber in Badr Prison decided to renew the detention of dozens of citizens detained in pretrial detention pending cases No. 630 of 2017, 828 of 2017, 1430 of 2018, 311 of 2019, 750 of 2019, 467 of 2020, 585 of 2020, 1055 of 2020, 628 of the year 2021, 1987 of 2021, 2741 of 2021, 670 of 2022, 1007 of 2022, 1540 of 2022, 1645 of 2022, 2070 of 2022, 88 of 2023, 422 of 2023, 424 of 2023 Supreme State Security.

Saturday 12th August

The Third Chamber of Terrorism in the Cairo Criminal Court in Badr Prison considered a session to renew the detention of dozens of citizens detained in pretrial detention pending cases No. 316 of 2017, 1175 of 2018, 238 of 2021. Among the defendants were the journalist writer Tawfiq Ghanem and the human rights lawyer Al-Sayed Khalaf, 482 of 2021, 1222 For the year 2021, 1391 for the year 2022, 2135 for the year 2022, 2216 for the year 2022, 185 for the year 2023, 192 for the year 2023, 294 for the year 2023, 392 for the year 2023, 510 for the year 2023 Supreme State Security.

Sunday 13 August

The same chamber in Badr Prison considered a session to renew the detention of dozens of citizens detained in pretrial detention pending cases No. 1175 of 2018, 470 of 2019, 800 of 2019, 930 of 2019, 1450 of 2019, 1530 of 2019, 1781 of 2019, 570 of 2020, 580 of 2020, 812 of 2020, 855 of 2020, 865 of 2020, 1017 of 2020, 915 of 2021, 991 of 2021, 2175 of 2021, 1 of 2022 (copied from 1269 of 2019), 440 of 2022, 441 of 2022 and the accused In it, the two journalists, Safaa Al-Korbiji and Hala Fahmy, 1042 of 2022 (copied from 420 of 2017), 1096 of 2022, 1394 of 2022, 1660 of 2022, 333 of 2023 Supreme State Security.

 

4. Release:

Monday, August 7, 2023

The Supreme State Security Prosecution released 33 citizens with a guarantee of their place of residence, including “the publisher, Omar Muhammad Sharif Mustafa Ahmed Al-Shinaiti, in Case No. 930 of 2019, and the jurist, Youssef Muhammad Mansour Rajab, in Case No. 330 of 2022.”

Friday 11th August

The Qalyub Partial Prosecution released activist Ahmed Hamdy El-Sayed Suleiman, known as Gika, to guarantee his place of residence in Case No. 13034 of 2023, the Qalyub Center misdemeanour, after interrogating him after he appeared from an enforced disappearance that lasted for 58 days.

 

5. Set free:

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The security forces in the second section of the Tenth of Ramadan released three citizens after completing the procedures for their release issued by the Zagazig Criminal Court.

 

6. Trials:

Saturday, August 5, 2023

The First Chamber reserved terrorism in Cairo felonies in Badr Prison for a retrial of one in the case known in the media as the case of the specific committee cell in Helwan, to pronounce the verdict in the session of September 19, 2023.

Sunday 6th August

The same chamber adjourned the trial of one defendant in the case known in the media as the ISIS Helwan case, for the session of September 19, 2023, to pronounce the verdict.

Monday 7 August

The Terrorism Department of the Zagazig Misdemeanor Court of Appeal postponed the trial of 7 citizens on charges of spreading false news to August 14, 2023.

Saturday 12th August

1. The Second Chamber of Terrorism at the Cairo Criminal Court, held in Badr Prison, postponed the trial of 22 defendants in the case known in the media as the Brotherhood Administrative Structure Case to the September 12, 2023 session.
2. The Third Chamber of Terrorism in the Cairo Criminal Court, held in Badr Prison, postponed the trial of 57 defendants in the case known in the media as the Brotherhood Specific Committees Case to the September 24, 2023 session.

 

7. Legislations and decisions:

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

1. The Egyptian Gazette  published in Issue No. 166, followed by the Public Prosecution’s decision No. 5 of 2023 to include some of those finally convicted in Case No. 247 of 2016 military felonies on the official list of terrorists.
2. The Egyptian Gazette published in Issue No. 166, followed by the Public Prosecution’s decision No. 6 of 2023, by including some of those convicted in Case No. 1536 of 2016, felonies of the Beni Suef district, on the list of terrorists.
3. The Egyptian Gazette published in Issue No. 166, followed by the Public Prosecution’s decision No. 7 of 2023 to include some of those who were finally sentenced in Case No. 371 of 2013 State Security on the official list of terrorists.
4. The Egyptian Gazette published in Issue No. 166, followed by the Public Prosecution’s Decision No. 8 of 2023 listing terrorist sentences to end the effect of Listing Decision No. 15 of 2017 published in the Egyptian Gazette No. 125 on May 31 of 2017 for some of the convicts.

 

Wed 2 Aug

The Egyptian Al-Waqae’ newspaper published in Issue 167, followed by Public Prosecution Resolution No. 9 of 2023, including terrorists by including some of those who were finally sentenced in Case No. 5858/119 of 2014, New Cairo Criminal Court, on the official list of terrorists.

 

Sunday 6th August

The Official Gazette published in its issue No. 31 bis the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Decision No. 326 of 2023 to renew the assignment of Dr. Mohamed Farid Mohamed Saleh to carry out the work of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Financial Supervisory Authority for a year

 

8. Statements and declarations:

Monday, August 7, 2023

1. The Ministry of the Interior denied, on its Facebook page, what a number of pages and channels affiliated with the terrorist Brotherhood reported, “according to the statements of the Ministry of Interior,” regarding the circumstances of the death of a person in the Dar al-Salam police station in Cairo.
2. And another statement by the Ministry of Interior on Facebook to deny what was reported about the circumstances of the death of a citizen in Minya Governorate.

Legal Comment:

– The Supreme State Security Prosecution continued to receive and interrogate citizens arrested according to investigation reports drawn up by national security officers. During this week, it investigated 43 citizens on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news and statements in various cases, and issued its decision to imprison all of them for 15 days pending custody.

– After an enforced disappearance that lasted for 58 days, the activist Ahmed Hamdi Al-Sayed Suleiman, known as Ahmed Gika, appeared on Friday evening inside the Qalyub Partial Prosecution Office and was interrogated with the usual accusations that he was previously confronted with in a number of cases, which are accusations of joining a terrorist group. After the completion of the investigations, the Public Prosecution issued a decision to release him under the guarantee of his residence, which is a decision that indicates the lifting of part of the injustice that he bears, but the Public Prosecution did not play the role assigned to it in the investigation of the crimes that occurred against the activist, the first of which was summoning him to the headquarters of the National Security without the support of the law and his detention and enforced disappearance for a period of 58 days, and not summoning the detainee and holding him accountable.

– Through the implementation by the security authorities of the Public Prosecution’s decision to release 33 prisoners of conscience and through negotiations conducted by some political leaders with the executive and judicial authorities about the absence of the investigations of the National Security Sector from the reasons on the basis of which opinion-holders are arrested and the cessation of any connection of these to the crimes of terrorism that were alleged by the reports recommending their arrest and the prosecution’s accusations against them during the interrogation with them, and that the matter is nothing more than spreading the fear that thousands of prisoners of conscience are languishing in prisons because of.

– Terrorism chamber continued to issue pretrial detention decisions for hundreds of detainees pending state security cases, without issuing a decision to release even one accused, despite the fact that most, if not all, of those referred to it deserve to be released, which confirms the participation of the justice apparatus in the violation citizens’ rights.