Justice Observatory in Egypt from October 30 to November 5, 2023

Summary:

1. Supreme State Security Prosecution investigates 38 citizens, on joining a terrorist group and spreading false news charges.
2. Recycling and rotating human rights lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim after serving a 5-year aggravated prison sentence on the same charges.
3. Continuation of ongoing exceptional trials before terrorism chambers in Cairo Criminal Courts in Badr prison Complex.
4. Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Circuit issued acquittal rulings for 21 citizens for exceeding the maximum limit of pretrial detention..
5. The Public Prosecutor announces combating crimes of trespassing on agricultural lands and tampering with license plates.
6. Ministry of Interior denies rumors about the death of a student in Port Said because of an investigation officer assaulting him.

Details

1- Prosecution Investigations:

• Supreme State Security Prosecution:

1. The Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated (during the newsletter’s coverage period) 38 citizens, and put them in pretrial detention for joining a terrorist group and financing and supplying a terrorist group.

 

• Public Prosecution Investigations:

Monday, 30 October

1. Kafr Saqr Partial Prosecution Office in Sharqia investigated 2 citizens (Abdel Fattah Hilal, and Mohammad Muhammad Mahmoud Hilal) after 7 days enforced disappearance, accused of joining a terrorist group and spreading false new, and then placing them in pretrial detention.

Thursday 2 November

1. Abu Kebir Prosecution investigated Citizen Muhammad Ishaq after 27 days enforced disappearance, and imprisoned him on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
2. The same prosecution investigated three citizens: Muhammad Abdel Magied, Al-Shafee Ahmed, and Ismail Ayman, after arresting them from their homes at dawn, accused them of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, and detained them pending investigation.
3. Hahia Prosecution investigated citizen Yasser Abdel-Rahman Auf, accusing him of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, and imprisoning him pending investigation.

2- Recycling Pending New Cases:

Wednesday 1 November

1. Supreme State Security Prosecution investigated human rights lawyer and member of the National Council for Human Rights, Hoda Abdel Moneim, in Case No. 730 of 2020, after her serving a 5-year prison sentence, and accused her of joining a terrorist group and committing a financing crime.

 

Thursday 2 November

1. Zagazig Public Prosecution Office investigated citizens Assem Abdel Aziz Zidan, Ahmed Mohammad Youssef, and Ahmed Samir Al-Mashriqi. First, the office obstructed the implementation of their release decisions by Zagazig Criminal Court 40 days ago, then rotated and accused them of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.

3- Detention Renewal:

Monday, 30 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Circuit, in Badr Prison renewed the detention for dozens of citizens held in pre-trial detention pending cases. Case Numbers are 977 of 2017, 640 of 2018, 1365 of 2018, including the two journalists Rabie Al-Sheikh and Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim, 706 of 2019, 535 of 2020, 649 of 2020, 680 of 2020, including journalist Medhat Ramadan, 970 of 2020, 1054 of 2020, 590 of 2021, 910 of 2021, 1000 of 2021, 2055 of 2021, 2215 of 2021, 2556 of 2021, 2739 of 2021, 5 of 2022, 200 of 2022, 30 5 of 2022, 1539 of 2022, 1654 of 2022 2723 of 2022, 510 of 2023, 1301 of 2023, Supreme State Security.
2. Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of 14 citizens for demonstrations in support of Palestine in Alexandria for 15 days pending investigations in Case No. 2469 of 2023 Supreme State Security.

 

Tuesday, 31 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Circuit, in Badr Prison renewed the detention for dozens of citizens held in pre-trial detention pending cases. Case Numbers are 828 of 2017, 1430 of 2018, 311 of 2019, 750 of 2019, 467 of 2020, 585 of 2020, 1055 of 2020, 628 of 2021, 1987 of 2021, 2741 of 2021, 1007 of 2022, 1540 of 2022, 1645 of 2022, 2070 of 2022, 203 of 2023, 352 of 2023, 422 of 2023, 424 of 2023, 626 of 2023, 7 18 of 2023, 1233 of 2023, Supreme State Security.

 

Wednesday, 1 November

1. Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of 28 citizens, for 15 days who demonstrated in support of the Palestinian cause in Cairo pending investigations in Case No. 2469 of 2023, Supreme State Security.

Sunday, 5 November

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

4- Release from court:

Monday 30 October

1. Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Circuit, released Mohammad Al-Gassour and Eid Muhammad Ahmed Shaheen, with the guarantee of their place of residence, because they had exceeded the maximum period of pretrial detention.
2. The same circuit released Mustafa Al-Sayed Hemeda with a L.E. 2,000 financial guarantee for exceeding the maximum limit of pretrial detention.
3. The same circuit released Suleiman Al-Gawhari Suleiman, Ahmed Al-Sabbagh, and Said Al-Shawadfi with the guarantee of their places of residence because they had exceeded the period of pretrial detention.
4. The same circuit released Khaled Yasser Okasha, Mahmoud Refaat Khairy, and Ahmed Abdel Hamid with a L.E. 2,000 financial guarantee, because they had exceeded the maximum limit of pretrial detention.
5. The same circuit released Ahmed Raafat Al-Said, Amir Kamal Al-Yamani, Moaz Ibrahim Hassan, Abdul-Azim Alaa Abdul-Azim, and Bilal Al-Hosseini, with L.E. 2,000 financial guarantees, for exceeding the maximum limit of pretrial detention.
6. The same circuit released Hisham Mohamed Abdel-Al, Othman Ahmed Othman, and Hassan Mahmoud Mohamed Hassan with the guarantee of their places of residence because they had exceeded the maximum limit of pretrial detention.

 

Wednesday 1 November

1. The same circuit released Mohammad Gomaa Mahmoud Refae, Abdullah Shehata, Sami Mohammad Mecci, and Mohammad Ragab with the guarantee of their places of residence because they had exceeded the maximum limit of pretrial detention.

 

5- Release from police custody:

Thursday, 2 November 

1. Security forces at the 10th of Ramadan Police Station in Sharqia released Omar Abdullah, Mosaad Rashad Mohammad Abdel Hadi, Samir Hamdi Salama Abdel Salam, after their detention outside the law framework following the decision to release them pending the arrival of the National Security signal.

6- Trials:

Monday, 30 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-III Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the trail of 73 defendants, in the case known in the media as the 5th Settlement cell case, to the session of 28 November 2023.

 

Tuesday, 31 October

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-III Terrorism held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 14 defendants in the case known in the media as Second Mataria Cell case, to the session on 26 December 2023.
2. The same Circuit postponed the retrial of 1 defendant in the case known in the media as the Rabia Al-Adawia Operations Room case to the session of 27 November, 2023.
3. 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 Suez Terrorist Cell case to the session of 28 November 2023.
4. Hahia Misdemeanor Court of Appeal, Terrorism Circuit in Sharqia decided to reserve the trial of Abdel Moneim Geneidi Mohammad, Waleed Muhammad Talaat, Ahmed Fekri El-Tohami, and Mansour Ibrahim Muhammad Mansour for sentencing on 28 November 28, 2023.

 

Saturday, 4 November

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-I held in Badr Prison postponed the trial of 1 defendant in the case known in the media as the case of intelligence with Al-Qaeda for sentencing on 20 February 2024.

 

Sunday, 5 November

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-I held in Badr Prison postponed the trail of 1 defendant in the case known in the media as the Helwan Brigades case.

 

7- Judicial Decisions:

Tuesday, 31 October

1. Hahia Misdemeanor Court of Appeal, Terrorism Circuit, ruled to sentence Sharaf Muhammad Ahmed Shanab, Ali Muhammad Imam, Saber Muhammad Abdul Hamid Al-Saifi, Nabil Muhammad Eliwa, Abdul Aziz Abdul Shafee Muhammad, Mansour Mohamed Mohamed Attia, and Mohamed Mehanna Mohamed Al-Said to three months imprisonment on charges of spreading false news and data.

 

Thursday, 2 November

1. Hahia Misdemeanor Court of Appeal, Terrorism Circuit, ruled that the criminal case against Ahmed Awni Abdel Basseer should expire on his accusation of publishing false news and statements.

 

Saturday, 4 November

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Circuit-I held in Badr Prison acquitted 1 defendant in his retrial in the case known in the media as the Nasr City Incidents case.

8- Statements:

Monday, 30 October

1. The Public Prosecutor issued a statement regarding combating crimes of trespassing on agricultural lands and tampering with license plates and criminally prosecuting those who commit them.

 

Tuesday 31 October

1. Ministry of the Interior official Facebook page, denied what one of the pages had published about a police officer in Port Said assaulting a young man, leading to his death. The statement mentioned that after the security services arresting a wanted criminal, they asked him to lead them to the stolen items, he surprised the forces by jumped from the ground with a knife trying to attack them causing injury to himself.

 

Wednesday 1 November

1. The Public Prosecutor issued a statement regarding combating crimes of assault on agricultural lands and referring their perpetrators to criminal trials.

 

Legal Comment

 

After completing a 5-year prison sentence on March 5, 2023, Cairo Criminal Court ruled to rotate and recycle human rights lawyer and former member of the National Council for Human Rights, Prof. Hoda Abdel Moneim, Case No. 730 of 2020, Supreme State Security.

The charges are joining a terrorist group and committing a financing and logistics crime. All of this came due to her human rights activity in the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms on the same charges in Case No. 1552 of 2018 State Security.

This step confirmed the arbitrariness of the current regime and its desire to take revenge on opponents, and revealed that the new Public Prosecutor, Counselor Mohamed Shawqi, is following the same prevailing pattern and continuing the phenomenon of “rotating” citizens over successive, never-ending cases and trampling the law.

 

The series of investigations within the Supreme State Security Prosecution continued without interruption with the issuance of its decisions to renew the detention of dozens of citizens to consider extending their detention pending the Supreme State Security Prosecution cases.

Among them are those who exceeded that maximum limit, are journalists Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim, Rabie Al-Sheikh and Medhat Ramadan.

The investigations relied on the National Security inquiries, which alone do not serve as evidence of the commission of crimes according to the rulings of the Supreme Court of Cassation..