Summary:

1. Cairo Criminal Court renews the detention of economist Abdel Khaleq Farouk, journalist Khaled Mamdouh, and hundreds of citizens pending state security cases.
2. Enforced disappearance of 3 citizens in Sharqia.
3. Release of 39 male and female workers after approximately 3 weeks of arrest for demanding the implementation of the minimum wage.
4. Release of 9 citizens were released in Sharqia
5. Zagazig Total Prosecution investigates a citizen after he reappeared following a 40-day enforced disappearance.
6. Rotation of 12 citizens in Sharqia, to new cases by the Supreme State Security Prosecution.
7. The Public Prosecution issued a statement regarding the inspection by its team of child detention facilities across the country.

Details

I.                Arrest and Enforced Disappearance:

Monday, 17 March

1. Security forces in Hahia Police Station in Sharqia, arrested Mansour Ibrahim Mansour and took him to an unknown location without presenting him to the investigating authorities.

Wednesday, 19 March

1. Security forces in Belbeis Police Station in Sharqia, arrested Abdel Fattah Hassan and Reda Mohamed Abdel Fattah and took them to an unknown location without presenting them to the investigating authorities.

II.             Prosecution Investigations:

• Supreme State Security Prosecution:

During the bulletin’s coverage period; State Security Prosecution investigates dozens of citizens, under the Anti-Terrorism Law and remanded in custody.

• Public Prosecution:

Sunday, 16 March

• Zagazig Total Prosecution in Sharqia investigated Fares Ibrahim Abdel Azim after him appearing following a 40 days enforced disappearance period and accusing him of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news and statements.

III.           Rotation Pending New Cases:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 18, 19, 20 March

1. Zagazig Total Prosecution in Sharqia rotated — citizens, after delaying the implementation of their release procedures.

Sunday, 5 March

1. Zagazig Total Prosecution in Sharqia rotated 12 citizens to new cases, after delaying the implementation of the decision to release them, investigated them, and then re-accused them of joining a terrorist group and detaining them in custody. They are Mohamed Samir, Mohamed Abdel Karim, Atef Seifo, Hamza Mohamed Radwan, Khaled Afifi, Mohamed El-Telbani, Hossam El-Din Mustafa, Mohamed El-Gassour, Mustafa Yasser, Mohamed Khaled Ali Ahmed Zidan, Mohamed Mustafa Tharwat, and Hossam Mohsen.

IV.          Detention Renewal:

Tuesday, 18 March

• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber -I, held at Badr Prison renewed the detention of journalist Khaled Mamdouh for 45 days pending case No. 1282 of 2024 Supreme State Security, on charges of joining a terrorist group and publishing false news and statements.
• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber -I, held at Badr Prison renewed the detention of economist Abdel Khaleq Farouk for 45 days pending case No. 4937 of 2024 Supreme State Security on the same charges.
• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber -I, held at Badr Prison considered a session to renew the detention of hundreds of citizens pending cases Nos. 205 of 2015, 1365 of 2018, 1530 of 2019, 621 of 2020, 915 of 2021, 1564 of 2022, 633 of 2022, 2135 of 2022, 2152 of 2023, 88 of 2023, 203 of 2023, 352 of 2023, 422 of 2023, 1470 of 2023, 1816 of 2023, 2064 of 2023, 2154 of 2023, 3226 of 2023, 3620 of 2023, 165 of 2024, 282 of 2024, 664 of 2024, 2807 of 2024, 3528 of 2024, 3916 of 2024, 3972 of 2024, 4499 of 2024, 281 of 2024, 665 of 2024, 2490 of 2024, 3434 of 2024, Supreme State Security

V.             Acquittal:

Wednesday, 19 March

• Belbeis Misdemeanor Appeals Court decided to acquit 7 citizens, after accepting their appeal against their pretrial detention. They are Samir Youssef Mustafa al-Naggar, Essam Mosallam Salem, Ahmed Nasr, Mohamed Basil, Helmy Ali Shehata, Ahmed Abdel Muttalib, and Malek Abdel Hamid.

Thursday, 20 March

• Zagazig Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber in Sharqia decided to acquit Al-Sayed Saeed Al-Sayed Ahmed Khalil and Abdel-Rahman Shoukry Mohamed Abdel-Halim Qura, after accepting their appeal.

Saturday, 22 March

• 10^th of Ramadan Partial Court ordered the acquittal of 39 citizens on L.E. 3,000 bail each in Case No. 484 of 2025 10^th of Ramadan-III. They are Greenhouse Workers. The prosecution did not appeal, so the bail was paid and the defendants were released.

VI.          Trials:

Saturday, 16 March

• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-I, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 1 defendant, in Case No. 32 of 2021, State Security Warraq Felonies, known as the case of Warraq Terrorist Cell to the session of 18 May 2025.

Monday, 17 March

• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-I, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 1 defendant, in Case No. 13052 of 2022, Agouza Felonies, known as the case of Agouza Terrorist Cell to the session of 19 May 2025.

Saturday, 22 March

• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-III, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 41 defendants, in the Case no. 11149 of 2024, Nozha Felonies, known as the case of Nozha Terrorist Cell to the session of 11 May 2025.
• Cairo Criminal Court, Terrorism Chamber-III, held in Badr Prison postponed the retrial of 46 defendants, in the Case no. 14874 of 2024, Agouza Felonies, known as the case of Nozha 2^nd Terrorist Cell to the session of 11 May 2025.

VII.        Statements and Information:

Tuesday, 18 March

• The Ministry of Interior denied a report circulating on a page about the October Prosecution Office issuing a decision to detain a police officer after it was proven that he fabricated a drug case against a driver. The Ministry confirmed that the incident dates back to 2015 and that legal measures were taken at the time.

Wednesday, 19 March

• The Public Prosecution published a statement on its Facebook page regarding the inspection by its team of child detention centers and facilities across the country during both January and February.

Legal Comment

The phenomenon of “rotation” has returned to the scene in Sharqia, in a scene that appears to be taken from an endless vicious circle. This occurred with the rotation of 12 citizens, who had received release orders, into new cases, beginning a new journey of pretrial detention.

Some of them have never actually seen freedom despite the release orders, since they were taken from detention centers to the prosecution offices, facing the same charges they had previously been investigated for. Rotation has become a nightmare for many, a violation of their rights and the rule of law.

For the second time in a week, economist Abdel Khaleq Farouk was brought before the Criminal Court, and his detention was renewed. He was not given the opportunity to speak or defend himself before the judge, raising further doubts about the complicity of the judiciary in violations against prisoners of conscience.

The continuation of trials inside police stations represents a serious violation of standards of justice and fair trial guarantees. The court, by its very nature, should be a neutral and independent space, free from any influence from parties that may be involved in the case. Holding hearings inside police stations, however, places defendants in an environment that reinforces their sense of lack of impartiality and impacts the trial psychologically and morally.

Trials are not merely formalities, but rather a process that requires clear guarantees, including public hearings, the free presence of the defense, and enabling the defendant to speak in an environment free from pressure or threats. However, when a police station becomes the venue for the hearing, these guarantees are diminished in favor of an environment that may not provide the required independence, where the defendant is trapped between the arresting party and the prosecuting party.