Justice Observatory in Egypt from December 25 to December 31, 2023

Summary:

1. State Security investigations continue into 24 citizens on charges of terrorism and spreading false news.
2. Renewing the detention of dozens of citizens pending cases of the Supreme State Security Prosecution.
3. Rotating Said Mushagheb to a new case after serving his sentence in connection with the Air Defense Incidents case.
4. Court of Cassation reserves the appeals against sentences of death and life and aggravated imprisonment in the Helwan Brigades case and postponing it for the sentencing session.
5. The release of dozens of citizens in Sharqia after exceeding the maximum limit of pretrial detention.
6. Court of Cassation upholds the death sentence against a citizen of establishing and assuming leadership of a terrorist group and committing premeditated murder.

Details

1- Arrest and Detention (enforced disappearance)

Tuesday 26 December

1. Security forces at Darb Negm Police Station arrested many citizens including 3 doctors and took them to an unknown destination without presenting them to any investigating authorities yet.

 

Friday 29 December

1. Security forces at Darb Negm Police Station arrested Mohamed Gamal Hamad and took him to an unknown destination without presenting him to any investigating authorities yet.

 

2- Prosecution Investigations:

• Supreme State Security Prosecution:

1. Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated (during the newsletter’s coverage period) 24 citizens, and put them in pretrial detention for joining a terrorist group and financing and supplying a terrorist group.

 

• Public Prosecution:

Thursday 28 December

1. Zagazig Prosecution Office in Sharqia investigated 1 citizen (Mahmoud Hamdi Mohammad) after 68 days enforced disappearance after arresting him from his home placing him in pretrial detention, and accused him of joining a terrorist group and spreading false new.

3- Rotation Pending New Cases:

Thursday 28 December

1. Supreme State Security Prosecution investigated Citizen Asmaa Abd al-Rahman Gamous – following her arrest and obtaining a release decision from Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber, in 26 December, placed her in pretrial detention on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
2. Supreme State Security Prosecution investigated Said Mushagheb after serving his sentence in Case No. 910 of 2021, accusing him of joining a terrorist group and publishing false news and statements, and placing him in pretrial detention.

4- Detention Renewal:

Monday 25 December

1. The Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-III, in Badr Prison heard a detention renewal session for dozens of citizens held in pre-trial detention pending cases. Cases No. are 662 of 2020, 626 of 2021, 1935 of 2021, 1983 of 2021, 2380 of 2021, 41 of 2022, 325 of 2023, 422 of 2023, 540 of 2023, 718 of 2023, 1 977 of 2023, Supreme State Security.

 

Tuesday 26 December

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-I, in Badr Prison heard a detention renewal session for dozens of citizens held in pre-trial detention pending cases. Cases No. are 1823 of 2019, 517 of 2020, 864 of 2020, 968 of 2020, 33 of 2021, 657 of 2021, 878 of 2021, 936 of 2021, 1624 of 2021, 2032 of 2021, 2 213 of 2021, 2313 of 2021, 2407 of 2021, 41 of 2022, 1564 of 2022, 1635 of 2022, 1958 of 2022, 2031 of 2022, 2183 of 2022, 2184 of 2022, 2365 of 2022, 86 of 2023, 95 for the year 2023, 184 of 2023, 191 of 2023, 203 of 2023, 352 of 2023, 392 of 2023, 508 of 2023, 716 of 2023, Supreme State Security.

Sunday 31 December

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

5- Release:

Monday 25 December

1. Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-XI, in Sharqia decided to release 7 citizens (Mabrouk Mohammad Mabrouk, Mohammad Eid Abbas, Omar Ahmed Hamdi, Muhammad Mustafa Abdel Rahman, Mahmoud Mustafa Abdel Rahman, Abdel Moneim Mahmoud Abdel Rahman, and Rizq Muhammad Gharib), with a guarantee of their residence for exceeding the maximum limit of pretrial detention.

 

Tuesday 26 December

1. Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-XI, in Sharqia decided to release 5 citizens (Mohamed Hamdi, Mohamed Galal, Gehad Shaalan, Diaa Fathi and Osama Mohamed Eissa Eliwa), with a guarantee of their residence for exceeding the maximum limit of pretrial detention.

 

Thursday 28 December

1. Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber, rejected the appeal by Public Prosecution against the decision to release the citizen Mustafa Muhammad Mustafa Abu Al-Waffa with a L.E. 2,000 financial guarantee and upheld his release.

6- Trials:

Monday 25 December

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber –III, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 1 defendant in the case known in the media as Al-Salam Violence Incident case to the session on 27 December 2023.

Tuesday 26 December

1. Court of Cassation reserved the appeals against sentences of death and life and aggravated imprisonment, in the case known in the media as the Helwan Brigades case, and postponed it for the sentencing session 23 January 2024.
2. Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber –III, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 1 defendant in the case known in the media The Rabia Al-Adawia Operations Room case to the session on 23 January 2024.
3. Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber –III, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 1 defendant in the case known in the media as Suez Terrorist Cell case to the session on 23 January 2024.
4. Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber –III, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 14 defendants in the case known in the media as Second Mataria Cell case to the sentencing session on 23 January 2024.

 

Wednesday 27 December

1. Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber –III, held in Badr Prison, postponed the trial of 1 defendant, in the case known in the media as Al-Salam Violence Incident, to the sentencing session on 23 January 2024.

 

7- Judicial Rulings:

Monday 25 December

1. Belbeis Misdemeanor Court, Terrorism Chamber, acquitted Mohamed El-Said Mohamed El-Said on charges of publishing false news and statements and possessing inflammatory publications.
2. Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-XI, in Sharqia acquitted Wael Abdel-Ghani Salim, on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.

 

Tuesday 26 December

1. Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-XI, in Sharqia acquitted Asmaa Abd al-Rahman Gamous of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.

 

Thursday 28 December

1. Court of Cassation, at the High Court, ruled to reject the appeal by citizen Hassan Said Ahmed against the death sentence against him in early January 2023. The ruling was by the Terrorism Chamber-III. The court also ruled to uphold the death sentence on charges of founding and assuming leadership of a terrorist group and committing premeditated murder.

 

Legal Comment

Supreme State Security Prosecution continues investigating dozens.

As Supreme State Security Prosecution investigated – during the newsletter’s coverage period – 24 citizens, and put them in pretrial detention for joining a terrorist group and financing and supplying a terrorist group, based National Security reports. Those citizens include arrests and appearances from varying periods of disappearance.

In investigating the citizens, the prosecution relied on the articles of the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 94 of 2015, amended by Law No. 15 of 2020, which carries suspicion of unconstitutionality, especially Article 40, which gives the right to the judicial police officer to detain citizens for 14 days before presenting them to the prosecution for investigation.

 

Trials continued for dozens of citizens in connection with terrorism cases held inside prison facilities, which violate the guarantees of a fair and just trial, the most important of which are the principle of publicity of trials and the accused’s contact with their lawyers.

 

Rotating Zamalek club fan Said Mushagheb and investigating him in Case No. 910 of 2021, Supreme State Security, and accusing him of joining a terrorist group, assuming leadership in a terrorist group, and spreading false news and statements.

This comes after serving the prison sentence by Cairo Criminal Court in the case known in the media as the Air Defense Incidents Case, in which 20 Zamalek club fans were killed, to confirm the arbitrariness towards Mushagheb, which started from accusing him of killing his friends who were Zamalek club fans and imprisoning him without evidence for committing any crime, through to the death of his father while he was in prison and not being able to say goodbye to him.

 

Egyptian Court of Cassation reserved the appeals by the defendants in the case known in the media as the Helwan Brigades case. The appeal was against sentences of death and aggravated and life imprisonment against 168 defendants. The ruling came to bring the curtain down on one of the largest cases, so that its ruling shall be final, final and not subject to appeal.