Justice Observatory in Egypt from 9 October to 15 October 2023

Summary:

1. The General Intelligence Service investigating 33 citizens, accusing them of terrorism and spreading false news.
2. Rotating and recycling of 4 citizens from Sharqia in new cases pending their release.
3. Cairo Criminal Court renewed the imprisonment of dozens of people in Supreme State Security cases, except for 8 citizens who have exceeded the legal limit our the frame of the law, waiting for the signal from State Security.
4. Manipulating the live of citizens from Sharqia after acquittal from the never-ending spreading false news charge.

Details

1- Appearance after enforced disappearance

Thursday 12 October

The security forces at Hahia Police Station arrested Citizen Mohamed Attia Abdel Hamid, from his home in Mahdia, Sharqia and took him to an unknown destination, without presenting him to any investigative body.

2- Prosecution Investigations:

• Supreme State Security Prosecution:

1. The Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated (during the newsletter’s coverage period) 33 citizens, and put them in pretrial detention for joining a terrorist group and financing and supplying a terrorist group.

• Public Prosecution:

Wednesday 11 October

1. Hahia District Prosecution investigated 2 citizens; Mansour Ibrahim Mansour and Ahmed Hisham Mohi El-Din Bandari, and accused them of joining a terrorist group and publishing false news and statements, and remanded in pretrial detention.

 

3- Rotation Pending New Cases:

Thursday, 12 October

1. Zagazig Prosecution Office in Sharqia investigated 4 citizens; Omar Abdel Hafeez, Ahmed Salah Atwa, Ahmed Othman, Ahmed Al-Sayed Mohamed Mohamed, after stalling the validity of their release papers, then putting them through enforced disappearance for 15 days and accusing them of spreading false news while in pretrial detention.

4- Detention Renewal:

Monday 9 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-II Terrorism, in Badr Prison heard a detention renewal session for dozens of citizens held in pre-trial detention pending cases. Case Numbers are Case Nos. 1823 for the year 2019, 517 for the year 2020, 571 for the year 2020, 864 for the year 2020, 968 for the year 2020, 33 for the year 2021, 657 for the year 2021, 878 for the year 2021, 936 for the year 2021, 1624 for the year 2021, 2032 for the year 2021, 2207 for the year 2021, 2213 for the year 2021, 2407 for the year 2021, 1473 for the year 2022, 1493 for the year 2022, 1564 for the year 2022, 1650 for the year 2022, 1910 for the year 2022, 1958 for the year 2022, 2031 for the year 2022, 2183 for the year 2022 , 2184 for the year 2022, 2365 for the year 2022, 85 for the year 2023, 86 of 2023, 95 of 2023, 184 of 2023, 191 of 2023, 203 of 2023, 333 of 2023, 352 of 2023, 508 of 2023, Supreme State Security.
2. Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of journalist Mohamed Saad Khattab for 15 days pending investigations in Case No. 2064 of 2023 Supreme State Security.

 

Saturday 14 October

1. Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Circuit, renewed the detention of citizen Al-Said Sobhi Hassan for a period of 45 days in Case No. 22694 of 2022, Zagazig, on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.

Saturday, 15 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-I Terrorism, in Badr Prison heard a detention renewal session for dozens of citizens held in pre-trial detention pending cases. Case Numbers are 977 for the year 2017, 640 for the year 2018, 1335 for the year 2019, 260 for the year 2021, 484 for the year 2021, 909 for the year 2021, 912 for the year 2021, 1984 for the year 2021, 2055 for the year 2021, 2064 for the year 202 1, 2215 for the year 2021, 2739 for the year 2021, 5 for the year 2022, 40 for the year 2022, 93 for the year 2022, 200 for the year 2022, 1020 for the year 2022, 1635 for the year 2022, 1660 for the year 2022, 1752 for the year 2022, 1977 for the year 2022, 2514 for the year 2022, 330 For the year 2023, 392 for the year 2023, 510 for the year 2023, 540 for the year 2023, 641 for the year 2023, 716 for the year 2023, Supreme State Security.

 

5- Release:

Monday, 9 October

1. Belbeis Police Station, decided to release 5 citizens; Abdullah Ali Mohamed Omar, Abdul Shafi Mustafa Atallah, Mohamed Kamal Mohamed, Abdullah Al-Sayyed Al-Shazli, Mohamed Hamed Mohamed Attia, after illegal detention for 7 days, waiting for the State Security signal.

 

Wednesday 11 October

1. Security Forces at 10th of Ramadan Police Station, decided to release 3 citizens; Ashraf Hassan Mohamed Mohamed, Rabie Al-Sayed Musa, Najm Al-Din Wahid Abdel-Wahed, after illegal detention for 15 days, waiting for the State Security signal.

6- Trials:

Monday, 9 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-I Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the trial of 43 defendants, in the case known in the media as the Agouza Terrorist Cell case, to the session of December 6 2023.

 

Tuesday, 10 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-I Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the trial of 5 defendants in the case known in the media as the Ismailia State Terrorist Cell case to the session of November 18, 2023.

 

Saturday, 14 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-I Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the trial of 5 defendants, in the case known in the media as the Specific Committees Cell case in Helwan, to the session of October 21 2023.
2. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-II Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the trial of 1 defendant, in the case known in the media as the Al-Waili Violence Incidents case, to the session of November 15 2023.
3. The same circuit postponed the retrial of 1 defendant in the case known in the media as the Abu al-Numros incident case to the session of November 12, 2023 session.

Saturday, 15 October

1. The same Circuit postponed the trial of 1 defendants in the case known in the media as the Rabia al-Adawia sit-in dispersal case, to the session of November 7, 2023.

7- Judicial Rulings:

Saturday 7 October

1. Hahia Misdemeanor Court of Appeal, Terrorism Circuit ruled to reject the appeal submitted by 8 citizens; Mohamed Al-Said Khater, Hosni Abdel Moneim Ghamra, Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Mustafa Al-Saifi, Saeed Ahmed Mohamed Gabr, Mohamed Al-Said Mohamed Salim Nafea, Al-Said Abdel Aziz Attia, Mohamed Gomaa Abdullah, Atef Mustafa Attia, and upholding the sentence with imprisonment for a period of 3 months and a fine of 500 pounds.

 

Saturday 14 October

1. Abu Kebeer Misdemeanor Court of Appeal, Terrorism Circuit, acquitted 16 citizens of charges of publishing false news and statements.

 

Sunday 15 October

1. 10th of Ramadan Misdemeanor Court Terrorism Circuit, acquitted 4 citizens; Kamel Ali Al-Attar, Omar Saleh, Ayman Abdel Aziz, Magdi Abdel Rahman, of charges of publishing false news and statements.

8- Statements

Tuesday, 10 October

The official Facebook page of the Public Prosecution published a statement about the Attorney General assigning a team of female prosecutors to go visit and inspect the Women Correction and Rehabilitation Center in the 10th of Ramadan area to ensure that it is free of anything that violates their privacy.

Legal Comment

Investigations by the Supreme State Security Prosecution continued throughout the week with the arrested citizens, most of whom were supporters of the potential presidential candidate Ahmed Tantawi. Tantawi announced his withdrawal from the presidential elections following restrictions on his supporters, including arresting, referral to the Supreme State Security Prosecution, and accusing them of terrorism, spreading false news, and forgery crimes in some cases.

In a surprising glimmer of hope, perhaps for the first time in years, two terrorism chambers in the misdemeanor courts in Sharqia acquitted nearly 30 citizens of charges for which there was no evidence other than investigations by National Security Sector officers, namely the charge of possessing inflammatory papers and spreading false news.

At the beginning of the new judicial year, the formal changes in the formation of the terrorism courts held in Badr Prison does not lead to any improvement or breakthrough, as all courts ruled to renew the imprisonment of dozens of citizens and did not release any of them, even though many of them had exceeded the prescribed legal period.