“The most important investigations, trials and procedures related to justice and respect for the rule of law that took place in a week, and ANHRI’s comment on them *
First: The most important justice news in a week (From 30 September to 6 October 2021)
1-The State Security Prosecution interrogated 33 citizens, after their arrest, on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news (Investigations)
- The Second Circuit, Giza Terrorism, is considering the detention renewal of 712 citizens of those who are remanded in custody of the Supreme State Security Prosecution (Detention renewals)
- Hearing the pleading of the Public Prosecution in the trial of human rights lawyer Ziad Al-Alimi and journalists Hisham Fouad and Hossam Moanis on charges of spreading false news (Trials)
- The Supreme State Security Prosecution orders the release of a lawyer after exceeding the maximum limit of pretrial detention stipulated in the Criminal Procedures Law (Release orders)
- ANHRI obtains a verdict of acquittal for citizen Khaled Atef on charges of possession of gunshots after he was rotated (added to a new case) for more than once over trumped-up cases (Rulings)
- The Official Gazette publishes the President of the Republic’s decision to appoint 98 women to positions of assistant advisers to the State Council (Decisions and legislation).
Second: Details on the monitoring of justice news this week:
1- Investigations
3 October 2021
1- The Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated 11 citizens, after arresting them from different governorates on different dates, on charges of joining a terrorist group, publishing false news and statements, and misusing social media.
4 October 2021
1- The Supreme State Security Prosecution interrogated 22 citizens, after arresting them from different governorates on different dates, on charges of joining a terrorist group, publishing false news and statements, and misusing social media.
2- Detention Renewals
3 October 2021
1- The Third Circuit (Terrorism) at Cairo Criminal Court, convened at the Police Cadets Institute, considered the detention renewal of 167 citizens pending the following cases: No. 930 of 2019, (which includes human rights lawyer and former parliamentarian Ziad Al-Alimi and journalists Hossam Mounis and Hisham Fouad, whose detention was extended for 45 days), 240 of 2021, 1530 of 2019, 1360 of 2019 (which involves journalist Badr Badr Muhammad, whose detention was renewed for 45 days).
4 October 2021
1- The Third Circuit (Terrorism) at Cairo Criminal Court, convened at the Police Cadets Institute, considered the detention renewal of 193 citizens pending the following cases: No. 975 of 2020, 810 of 2019, 800 of 2019, 585 of 2020, 580 of 2020, 311 of 2020, 238 of 2021, 1175 of 2018, 1106 of 2020, 1017 of 2020 (which includes journalist Amer Abdel Moneim whose detention was renewed for 45 days).
5 October 2021
1-The Third Circuit (Terrorism) at Cairo Criminal Court, convened at the Police Cadets Institute, considered the detention renewal of 123 citizens pending the following cases: No. 970 of 2020, 910 of 2021, 909 of 2021, 908 of 2021, 855 of 2020 (which includes blogger Mohamed Oxygen, whose detention the court decided to continue for 45 days), 750 of 2019, 590 of 2021, 1269 of 2019.
6 October 2021
1-The Third Circuit (Terrorism) at Cairo Criminal Court, convened at the Police Cadets Institute, considered the detention renewal of 229 citizens pending the following cases: No. 880 of 2020 (which includes linguistic Ayman Abdel Moati), 960 of 2020, 773 of 2020, 741 of 2019 (which includes human rights lawyer Amr Nohan), 630 of 2017, and 627 of 2021.
3- Release orders
30 September 2021
1- The State Security Prosecution ordered the release of lawyer Abdel Hamid Hamdi Abdel Salam in Case No. 741 of 2019 with the guarantee of his place of residence after exceeding the maximum limit of pretrial detention.
3 October 2021
1- Giza Criminal Court’s Third Terrorism Circuit ordered the release of 5 defendants with precautionary measures pending Case No. 1530 of 2019 State Security.
4 October 2021
1- Giza Criminal Court’s Third Terrorism Circuit ordered the release of 5 defendants with precautionary measures pending Case No. 1017 of 2020 State Security.
2- Giza Criminal Court’s Third Terrorism Circuit ordered the release of 4 defendants with precautionary measures pending Case No. 800 of 2019 State Security.
3- Giza Criminal Court’s Third Terrorism Circuit ordered the release of 5 defendants with precautionary measures pending Case No. 1175 of 2018 State Security.
6 October 2021
1- Giza Criminal Court’s Third Terrorism Circuit ordered the release of 10 defendants with precautionary measures pending Case No. 960 of 2020 State Security.
2- Giza Criminal Court’s Third Terrorism Circuit ordered the release of 10 defendants with precautionary measures pending Case No. 880 of 2020 State Security.
4- Trials
2 October 2021
1- The Second Terrorism Circuit adjourned the retrial procedures of 28 defendants in the case of “Rabaa Sit-in dispersals” for the hearing of 1 November to continue the pleadings
2- The Second Terrorism Circuit adjourned the trial of 14 defendants in the case of “Kuwait Returnees” for the hearing of 2 November to hear the witnesses’ testimonies
3 October 2021
1- Cairo Criminal Court adjourned the retrial procedures of Mahmoud Ezzat in the case known in the media as “Breaching the Eastern Borders” for the hearing of 24 October to continue the pleadings.
2- The First Circuit of terrorism adjourned the trial of 11 defendants in the case known as “Al Murabeton 2”.
3- The Second Circuit (Terrorism) adjourned the trial of 10 defendants accused in the case known in the media as “Rabaa Sit in dispersal incidents” for the hearing of 3 November for the defense pleadings.
4- Cairo Criminal Court set the trial of Mohamed Ibrahim, former Housing Minister, along with businessman Samir Zaki Abdel Qawy, for adjudication at 8 December in the case known in the media as “The Green Belt”.
4 October 2021
1- The Second terrorism circuit adjourned the retrial procedures of 21 defendants in the case known in the media as “Ramsis incidents” for the 4th of November 2021.
5 October 2021
1- The Second Terrorism Circuit at Giza Criminal Court set the trial of 47 defendants accused in the case known in the media as “Smuggling Wanted persons from Cairo Airport” for adjudication at the hearing set on 9 December 2021.
2- The First Terrorism Circuit at Cairo Criminal Court set the retrial procedures of Mahmoud Ezzat, the deputy supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the case known in the media as “Spying for Hamas” for adjudication at the hearing set on 19 December 2021.
3- The Second Terrorism Circuit at Giza Criminal Court extended the sentencing hearing in the retrial procedures of one defendant accused the case known in the media as “Al-Ayyat Police Station raid” for the hearing of 6 October.
6 October 2021
1- The Masr Al-Qadeima Emergency State Security Misdemeanor Court has considered the trial of human rights lawyer and former MP Zyiad El-Eleimy and journalists Hisham Fouad and others on charges of spreading false news and statements.
5- Trials
30 September 2021
1- Cairo Criminal Court ordered the acquittal of citizen Khaled Atef, ANHRI’s client, from the trumped-up accusation of possessing gunshots in connection with Case No. 502 of 2021.
- The Disciplinary Court ordered the acquittal of 37 former officials of the Customs Authority in Alexandria from all the charges leveled against them.
6 October 2021
1- The second terrorism circuit sentenced one defendant to 10 years in high-security prison in the case known in the media as “Al-Ayyat police station raid”.
2- The second terrorism circuit sentenced one defendant to one year in prison in the case known in the media as “Al-Ayyat violence incidents”.
6- Administrative and constitutional judiciary:
2 October 2021
1- The First Circuit (Rights and Freedoms) at the Court of Administrative Judiciary Court adjourned the lawsuit demanding to cancel and halt the implementation of the decision to refrain from taking all legal measures regarding the cancellation of all decisions, instructions, regulations and warnings, whether written or verbal, issued by all clubs, hotels, and public and private establishments, which forbids veiled women from entering swimming pools wearing ‘burkini’ swimsuits. The case was postponed to the November 20 session.
3 October 2021
1- The second circuit at the Court of Administrative Judiciary Court in the State Council adjourned the political Hesba lawsuit filed by lawyer Samir Sabry demanding that Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud Metwally’s membership be dropped from the Bar Association. The case was postponed to the December 5 session.
2- The Court of Administrative Judiciary Court in the State Council adjourned the lawsuit demanding to cancel the decision refraining from employing the first alumni of graduates, and master’s and doctoral holders from the 2015 batch. The case was postponed to the next October 23 session.
4 October 2021
- The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that the implementation of the life imprisonment sentence for anyone who possesses a “automatic rifle” does not constitute an obstacle to the implementation of the Supreme Constitutional Court’s rulings. Accordingly, the court turned down the Case No. 31 of judicial year 42 filed by those who were handed down the life prison sentence deeming it an obstacle to the implementation of the ruling issued in Case No. 196 of the judicial year 35 “constitutional”.
5 October 2021
1- The Court of Administrative Justice at the State Council ruled, in Case No. 52911 of Judicial Year 75, the inadmissibility of the litigation filed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the “Better Life Foundation for Comprehensive Development”, located in Minya, against the head of the department- (83) individuals in the Administrative Court in Minya. The court accordingly ordered the confiscation of the bail, and the litigant was fined an amount of one thousand pounds and was obligated to pay the expenses.
7- Legislation and resolutions:
30 September 2021
- The Cabinet approved a draft law amending some provisions of the Traffic Law promulgated by Law No. 66 of 1973 and the Child Law promulgated by Law No. 12 of 1996.
- The Cabinet agreed to start activating the fees for forms services in the courts and instant and mobile services in the Real Estate Registry as of 10/2/2021.
- The Cabinet adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Supreme Committee for Compensation No. 49 held on September 28, 2021, which includes a consolidated statement of the total values of the compensation rates payable to the contractors.
4 October 2021
1- 1. The Official Gazette of the State, with its 39 bis “D” issue, was reported the appointment of 98 women, members of the State Cases Authority and Administrative Prosecution, to occupy the position of Assistant Counsel, category “B”, in the State Council.
8- Judicial statements:
20 September 2021
- The Public Prosecutor issued a decision to establish “prosecutions for combating crimes of human trafficking and illegal immigration” at the headquarters of each appeals prosecution office all over Egypt’s governorates. These prosecutions are concerned with investigating crimes stipulated in laws of: regulating human organ transplantation, combating human trafficking, combating illegal immigration and smuggling of migrants, and the other related crimes. The decision entails notifying the Department of International Cooperation, Sentence Implementation and Welfare of Prisoners at the Public Prosecutor Office of the start of such investigations, so as to follow up and supervise them and direct their completion, in accordance with international standards and mechanisms, provided that the department is competent to investigate and decide on those crimes that occur in all parts of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
9- Prison news:
5 September 2021
- The Ministry of Interior decides to grant all prison inmates an exceptional visit during the period from 9/10/2021 until 31/10/2021, except for prisons and cases where visitation is prohibited, provided that they are not counted among the visits scheduled for them.
Final Comment:
– The State Security Prosecution continues to undermine the provisions of the constitution and the law which protect citizens’ freedom and criminalize their detention for more than 24 hours. This is reflected in the interrogation of 33 citizens who appeared before the Prosecution, which decided to hold them in pretrial detention on terrorism charges based on the investigation records conducted by the National Security Apparatus, which the Court of Cassation considered in many of its rulings as “a mere opinion that cannot be deemed as evidence”. This also shed light on the Prosecution’s circumvention on cases of forced disappearances that those citizens admit they are subjected to.
– The continuation of the trial of political opponents before the exceptional courts deepens the crisis of freedom of expression in Egypt in light of the police siege imposed on it. This is reflected in hearing the pleadings of the Public Prosecution and the defense of the human rights lawyer and former parliamentarian Ziad Al-Alimi along with journalists Hossam Mounis and Hisham Fouad in their trial before the Masr A-Qadeima State Security Misdemeanor Court, whose rulings are final and may not be appealed, over incidents that took place in 2016.
– The verdict issued by Cairo Criminal Court ordering the acquittal of citizen Khaled Atef for the second time, after his arrest more than two years ago and his rotation in many cases, gives a glimmer of hope in the justice system in Egypt. But it also remains just ink on paper in light of the phenomenon of rotation (recycling defendants by adding them to new cases while in detention) and the National Security apparatuses’ ongoing crackdown on citizens alongside the judicial authorities’ regression in holding those who abuse their power accountable.
– The decisions issued by the Second Circuit Terrorism at the Giza Criminal Court extending the detention of hundreds of citizens in connection with Supreme State Security cases are very disappointed, especially since it follows the path of the Third Terrorism Circuit held during the past judicial year. This circuit issues detention renewal orders without the defendants appearing before it and without allowing their lawyers to give their legal defense.
– On the other hand, the decision issued by the Presidency of the Republic to appoint 98 women in the State Case Authority and the Administrative Prosecution in the position of Assistant Counsellor, Category (B) in the State Council, came as a positive a positive step towards the eligibility of women to occupy positions in the judicial platforms.
* A weekly newsletter that monitors the most important investigations, trials, and proceedings related to justice and respect for the rule of law, which took place during the week (from Thursday to Wednesday). It is based on the work carried out by ANHRI’s Criminal Justice Program team, in addition to media reports and the news published by the Official Gazette, and concludes with ANHRI’s comments and opinion on the incidents being monitored.
