Justice Observatory in Egypt from October 16 to October 22, 2023

Summary:

1. The arrest of dozens of citizens demonstrating in support of the Palestinian cause and their presentation to the Supreme State Security Prosecution..
2. Rotating and recycling of 7 citizens from Sharqia in new cases pending their release, after disrupting their release procedures.
3. Cairo Criminal Court renewed the imprisonment of dozens of people in Supreme State Security cases.
4. Continuation of ongoing trials before terrorism chambers in prisons.
5. The release of 29 citizens from Sharqia after detention for periods despite the decision to release them.
6. The Official Gazette publishes the names of the presidential elections candidates.
7. The Supreme State Security Prosecution releases the chemist/ Alaa El-Din Saad Muhammad with the guarantee of his place of residence.

Details

1- Appearance after enforced disappearance

Friday 20 October

1. Security forces in Cairo arrested 44 citizens from Tahrir Square while demonstrating in support of the Palestinian cause, without presentation to any investigating authorities.
2. Security forces in Alexandria arrested 65 citizens while demonstrating in support of the Palestinian cause, with the presentation of 14 to the prosecution.

 

Sunday, 22 October

1. Security forces stormed the home of human rights lawyers Islam Salama, Mohammad Azab, Asmaa Naeem, and activist Shaimaa Abdel Aziz in Mokattam, then released them without arresting them.

2- Prosecution Investigations:

• Supreme State Security Prosecution:

1. The Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated (during the newsletter’s coverage period) 55 citizens, including 14 from Alexandria, while demonstrating in support of the Palestinian cause and put them in pretrial detention for joining a terrorist group and financing and supplying a terrorist group.

 

• Public Prosecution:

Wednesday 18 October

1. Zagazig Prosecution investigated the two citizens, Baraa Imam Abdel Hafeez, and Ahmed Maher after arresting them from their homes Zagazig, accusing them of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, and placed them in pretrial detention.

 

Saturday 21 October

1. Zagazig Public Prosecution Office investigated the citizen Abdullah Qoura – after his appearance from a forced disappearance that lasted for two months – and accused him of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.

3- Recycling Pending New Cases:

Tuesday, 17 October

1. Kafr Saqr Prosecution Office in Sharqia investigated citizen/Mohamed Salmi Al-Said, after stalling the validity of hi release papers of 27 September 2023 from the Criminal Court, then detaining him accused of spreading false news while in pretrial detention.
2. Zagazig Total Prosecution Office investigated three citizens: Osama Mansour Abdel-Al Salem, Basil Mansour Abdel-Al Salem, and Mahmoud Abdel-Rahman Mahmoud, after stalling the validity of their release papers of 27 September 2023 from the Criminal Court, then detaining them accused of spreading false news while in pretrial detention.

 

Tuesday, 19 October

1. Zagazig Total Prosecution Office investigated three citizens: Ahmed Salah Salim Al-Hawi, Mahmoud Sobhi, and Reda Ayman, after stalling the validity of their release papers from the Criminal Court, then detaining them accused of spreading false news while in pretrial detention.

4- Detention Renewal:

Monday 16 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 759 of 2014, 722 of 2015, 148 of 2017, 700 of 2017, 444 of 2018, 1332 of 2018, 1555 of 2018, 650 for the year 2019, 1413 for the year 2019, 549 for the year 2020, 867 for the year 2020, 979 for the year 2020, 1053 for the year 2020, 1107 for the year 2020, 755 for the year 2021, 911 for the year 2021, 2000 for the year 202 1, 540 for the year 2022, 635 for the year 2022, 1095 for the year 2022, 2094 for the year 2022, 2412 for the year 2022, 2515 for the year 2022, 60 for the year 2023, 258 for the year 2023, 422 for the year 2023, 440 for the year 2023, 718 for the year 2023, 931 for the year 2023, Supreme State Security.

 

Tuesday 17 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 689 of 2017, 623 of 2018, 1358 of 2019, 335 of 2020, 647 of 2020, 1022 of 2020, 383 of 2021, 883 of 2021, 966 of 2021, 2285 of 20 21, 96 of 2022, 400 of 2022, 573 for the year 2022, 1576 for the year 2022, 1644 for the year 2022, 1691 for the year 2022, 1893 for the year 2022, 1940 for the year 2022, 2032 for the year 2022, 2185 for the year 2022, 88 for the year 2023, 145 for the year 2 023, 294 for the year 2023, 585 for the year 2023, 710 for the year 2023, 744 of 2023, Supreme State Security.

 

Saturday, 22 October

1. The Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of journalist Muhammad Saad Khattab for a period of 15 days pending investigations in Case No. 2063 of 2023 Supreme State Security.

5- Release from court:

Thursday, 19 October

1. The Supreme State Security Prosecution released the chemist/Alaa El-Din Saad Muhammad with a guarantee of his place of residence in Case No. 716 of 2023 State Security Inventory.

6- Release from police custody:

Friday, 20 October

1. Security forces in 10th of Ramadan City released 4 citizens; Kamel Ali Al-Attar, Omar Saleh, Ayman Abdel Aziz, and Magdi Abdel Rahman, after disrupting their release procedures for days.

 

Saturday 21 October

1. Security forces in Belbeis released 25 citizens after detaining them outside the framework of the law while awaiting the arrival of the National Security signal after they obtained a ruling from the Belbeis Misdemeanor Court, Terrorism Department.

 

7- Trials:

Monday, 16 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-I Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the trial of 1 defendant, in the case known in the media as the Agouza Terrorist Cell Kafr Hakim Church burning case, to the session of 23 October 2023.

 

Tuesday, 17 October

1. Hahia Misdemeanor Court of Appeal, Terrorism Circuit in Sharqia, reserved the case of citizen Saber Muhammad Abdel Hamid Al-Saifi No. 13766 of 2023 for ruling on October 31, 2023.
2. The same circuit decided to reserve the trial of 2 citizens; Ashraf Mohamed Ahmed Shanab, and Ali Mohamed Ahmed Imam in Case No. 81365 of 2023, misdemeanors, to pronounce the ruling in the session of October 31, 2023.
3. The same circuit decided to reserve the trial of citizens Muhammad Mehanna Muhammad Al-Said, Nabil Muhammad Eliwa, Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Shafi, and Mansour Muhammad Attia in Case No. 12896 of 2023, Hahia misdemeanors, to pronounce the ruling in the session of October 31, 2023.
4. The same circuit postponed the trial of citizen Ahmed Ali Ibrahim Ezz in Case No. 3195 of 2016, Hahia misdemeanor, to the session of October 24, 2023.
5. The same circuit postponed the trial of citizen Ali Muhammad Sabri in Case No. 3196 of 2016, Hahia misdemeanors, to the session of October 24, 2023.
6. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-II Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the trial of 22 defendants in the case known in the media as the administrative structure of the Muslim Brotherhood organization case to the session of November 15, 2023.
7. The same circuit postponed the trial of 7 defendants in the case known in the media as the Imbaba ISIS cell case to the session of November 11, 2023.
8. 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 Marg Terrorist Cell case to the session of 25 October, 2023.

 

Saturday 21 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-III Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the trial of 73 defendants in the case known in the media as the Tagamo Terrorist Cell case to the session of 30 October, 2023

 

8- Decisions and legislation:

Monday 16 October

1. The Official Gazette published in its issue No. 41 bis the National Election Authority’s Decision No. 24 of 2023 announcing the names of those who submitted applications to run for the 2024 presidential elections, which included 4 names: Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Farid Zahran, Hazem Omar, and Abdel-Sanad Yamama.

Legal Comment

 

Egyptian security forces in a number of governorates arrested dozens of demonstrators in support of the Palestinian cause, and did not investigate most of them, because the President of the Republic requested the demonstration as his authorization, while the citizens demonstrated in support of Palestine and in rejection of the authorization.

 

The National Security Service in Sharqia continued to ignore the provisions of the Constitution, the law, and court rulings and decisions, where it stalled the decisions to release 7 citizens, remanded them, and placed them in pretrial detention on the same broad charges, in a clear indication of the waste of court decisions and that there is no authority or oversight except the National Security Service.