Cairo: 1 October, 2020
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said today that the continued incarceration of journalist Badr Badr Mohamed, a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate in Egypt, for 42 months- including two months in enforced disappearance and 10 months in detention without investigation- constitutes a violation of the Constitution and the law that cannot be ignored. It also gives new evidence of the government’s severe disregard for the law and its blatant encroachment on human rights freedoms noting that the Public Prosecution is complicit in such violations.
Since the dawn of March 29, 2017, journalist Badr Muhammad has been subjected to arrest, detention, and investigation in connection with Case 316 of 2017 State Security. Since then, dozens of successive detention renewal orders were being issued until he completed the two-year maximum period of detention prescribed by law. Accordingly, his release procedures began to take effect on paper, and he was transferred from Leman Tora prison to the 6th of October Police Station, where he had been held in detention for several days before he completely disappeared on 12 August 2019.
After the journalist’s disappearance in which his family couldn’t have any sort of communication with him, everyone was surprised at the security services announcing the arrest of Badr Mohamed once again, despite the fact that he was repressively held in their custody. On 22 February 2020, Badr appeared before the State Security Prosecution as a defendant and was interrogated into a new case No. 1360 of 2019 State Security over terrorism-related charges. Then, he was ordered to be held in pretrial detention for 15 days.
In an unprecedented violation of the law, the constitution and his human right freedom, Badr Badr Mohamed has been receiving detention renewal orders till the moment, and for a period of more than 9 months, he has not appeared before the criminal court (convened in the counseling room). Rather, his detention is being automatically renewed on paper in a blatant infringement of the Criminal Procedure Law, as if his freedom and life has no value, and human rights charters, the Constitution and the law have become outdated and worthless. Such breach of law is not limited to the Ministry of Interior, but rather the Public Prosecution is an essential partner in undermining the law wasting the freedom of a journalist for more than three years.
It is noteworthy that Badr Badr Muhammad is a member of the Syndicate of Journalists and worked as the editor-in-chief of “Al-Lewa Al-Islami” magazine and “Al-Shaab” Egyptian newspaper, he was also the chief editor of “Afaq Arabia” and “Al-Osra Al-Arabyia” newspaper. He had also worked as a correspondent for Al-Jazeera TV until the day he got arrested.
ANHRI calls on the Public Prosecutor to stop such blatant violation of law, which constitutes a major crime against an Egyptian citizen. It also demands the immediate release of journalist Badr Badr Mohamed because his detention deems illegal since moths, so that what remained of hope for the implementation of the rule of law does not dissipate.
