Summary:
State Security investigations continue into 62 citizens on charges of terrorism and spreading false news.
Supreme State Security Prosecution renews the detention of hundreds of citizens.
Court of Cassation, held at the High Court in Cairo, overturns the decision to include 1525 citizens on lists of terrorist entities and returns the case to the Criminal Court.
The detention of activist Mahmoud Hussein, known as the T-shirt prisoner, outside the framework of the law, continues and his lawyers submit a report to the Public Prosecutor.
Details
Arrest and Detention (enforced disappearance)
Thursday, 16 May
Khaled Ali, a lawyer-representing activist Mahmoud Hussein, known as the T-shirt detainee, filed a report to the public prosecutor, regarding the unlawful detention of his client, despite the decision to release him on April 23 despite paying bail.
Prosecution Investigations
Supreme State Security Prosecution:
Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated (during the newsletter’s coverage period) 62 citizens, and put them in pretrial detention for joining a terrorist group and financing and supplying a terrorist group.
Rotation Pending New Cases:
Saturday, 18 May
Kafr Saqr Prosecution in Sharqia investigated Mohamed Sabra after disrupting the procedures for his release, put him in 12 days enforced disappearance, and placed him in pretrial detention on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.
Prosecution in Sharqia investigated 6 citizens after disrupting the procedures for their release, and placed them in pretrial detention on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news. They are Muhammad Zidan Awad, Ismail Muhammad Hassan Al-Safti, Riyadh Abdel Mote Ahmed Al-Nagdi, Abdel Karim Al-Said Hijab, Abdel Latif Salah Abdel Latif, and Muhammad Mahmoud Abdel-Al Al-Gendi.
Detention Renewal:
Monday, 13 May
Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-III, in Badr Prison heard detention renewal sessions for dozens of citizens held in pre-trial detention pending cases. Cases No. are 725 of 2014, 29 of 2016, 277 of 2019, 488 of 2019, including journalist Mustafa Al-Khateeb, 810 of 2019, including publisher Ismail El-Kamari, 1118 of 2019, 1318 of 2019, 1400 of 2019, 1470 Of 2019, 1779 of 2019, 1021 of 2020, 1110 of 2020, 482 of 2021, 910 of 2021, 1934 of 2021, 1096 of 2022, 1097 of 2022, 1643 of 2022, 2135 of 2022, 2 216 of 2022, 2572 of 2022, – 185 of 2023 192 of 2023, 2215 of 2023, 2369 of 2023, 2464 of 2023, 2989 of 2023, 2991 of 2023, 3391 of 2023, 3460 of 2023, 3535 of 2023, Supreme State Security.
Saturday, 18 May
Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber renewed the detention of 8 citizens for 45 days pending investigations. They are Ahmed Abdel Badee Muhammad, Muhammad Abdullah Al-Bahnasawy, Alaa Mahmoud Ahmed Ismail, Ahmed Hamdi Ahmed Ali, Ibrahim Hisham Qabil, Zachariah Al-Sayed Hassanein, Ahmed Awni Abdel Basseer, and Al-Said Saeed Al-Sudani.
Release:
Thursday, 16 May
The security forces at Qareen Police Station in Sharqia released Hossam Amin Al-Said, after completing the procedures for the validity of his release by Zagazig Criminal Court.
The security forces at Hahia Police Station in Sharqia released Nasser Muhammad Salim Nafea, after completing the procedures for the validity of their release by Zagazig Criminal Court last April.
Trials:
Monday, 13 May
Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber –III, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 73 defendants in the case known in the media as The Specific Committees of the Muslim Brotherhood of 5th Settlement case to the session on 12 June 2024.
Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber –II, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 8 defendants in the case known in the media as Mataria 2nd cell case to the session on 9 June 2024.
Tuesday, 14 May
Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-III, held in Badr Prison postponed the trail of 57 defendants, in the case known in the media as The Restructuring of The Specific Committees of the Muslim Brotherhood case to the sentencing session on 29 June 2024.
Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber –II, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 1 defendant in the case known in the media as burning of the Kafr Hakim Church case to the session on 8 June 2024.
Wednesday, 15 May
Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-III, held in Badr Prison postponed the trail of 1 defendant, in the case known in the media as Giza 2nd ISIS cell to the sentencing session on 28 May 2024.
Judicial Rulings:
Saturday, 18 May
Court of Cassation, held at the High Court in Cairo, ruled on the appeal by 150 citizens against a decision by Criminal Court. The decision was to include 1525 citizens – including former football player Mohammed Abu Treka – on lists of terrorist entities. The decision by court of Cessation also included the return of the case to the Criminal Court.
Legal Comment
The Court of Cassation held at the High Court in Cairo, ruled to cancel a decision by Criminal Court. The decision was to include 1525 citizens – including former football player Mohammed Abu Treka – on lists of terrorist entities. The decision by court of Cessation also included the return of the case to the Criminal Court.
The decision by court of cassation came to reveal the Public Prosecution’s arbitrariness in using and applying the Terrorist Entities Law issued under Law No. 8 of 2015 amended by Law No. 14 of 2020.
The Public Prosecution deliberately submitted a new request to the Criminal Court in April 2023 for an extension of the inclusion of the accused on the lists of terrorist entities for another 5 years, a few days before the expiration of the listing decision issued in 2018.
This gives a constitutional flaw in regards to the absence of a maximum limit in the law for the use of the prosecution to the right to list. It keeps the matter as well an open power in the hands of the prosecution to harass citizens, as the effects resulting from the listing decisions in their general form are much worse than the conviction rulings by the criminal courts. This is because the administrative rulings have the authority of res judicata, meaning it has a beginning and an end, and a person may not be convicted of the same crime more than once, which is not the case in listing decisions, even though they are precautionary measures.
The decision of Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-I, held in Badr Prison to renew the pretrial detention of hundreds of citizens pending Supreme State Security cases has depended on broad accusations that do not support reason or logic supporting committing them, nor did it include a single piece of evidence in the papers.
These include crimes of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, that depend on nothing but the investigations by the National Security Sector, which violates the Code of Criminal Procedure, articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.