The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said today that the Public Prosecutor has to immediately order the release of: Salah El-Din Khaled Omar, Omar Helmy Ewais Monged, Abdullah Mahmoud Abdullah Mohamed, Saeed Mamdouh Ali Abdel Aziz, Taha Ibrahim Mohamed Suleiman, and Ahmed Sayed Ahmed Abdullah, in addition to the other defendants detained over “September 20” incidents from Beni Suef governorate. The decision issued on 12 February 2020 by Bani Suef Criminal Court to hold the defendants in pretrial detention for further 45 days- pending Case No. 1413 of 2019 State Security Prosecution- is deemed null and void; as they haven’t appeared before the court since last February, i.e. for a period of more than 6 months.
ANHRI, hence, said that its clients – at this moment – are the same as those kidnapped by the security authorities; since they continue to be detained in violation of the Criminal Procedure Law, which states that if the charge against a the person accused is a felony, the period of pretrial detention may not exceed five months except after obtaining- prior to the elapse of the aforementioned period – an order extending the period of detention for an extra period that shall not, in total, exceed a 45- day period, which can be renewable for a similar period, otherwise the person accused must be released.
The above-mentioned defendants have still been held in pretrial detention since February 12, 2020 when the court ruled to detain them for 45 days, despite the fact that the judge presiding over their detention renewal hasn’t yet issued an order to extend their detention. Rather, there have been 16 orders- in the absence of the Ministry of Interior- to adjourn the defendants’ detention renewal sessions until bringing them from their jails to the courthouse to hear their testimony in implementation of the rule of law. Therefore, the repeated adjournment of the defendants’ detention renewal throughout 16 sessions makes their continued detention deem illegal and unlawful.
ANHRI, consequently, calls on the Public Prosecutor to carry out his constitutional and legal role and to immediately release Bani Suef defendants as well as other defendants in similar cases in any governorate or court, pursuant to the law and out of respect for its rule.
It is noteworthy that thousands of citizens were arrested on 20 September 2019 from Egypt’s different governorates in connection with the demonstrations that broke out on the same day, in what is known in the media as “September 20 Incidents”. All of them had been referred to the Supreme State Security Prosecution for investigation on charges of: colluding with a terrorist group to achieve its goals, misusing social media, publishing and broadcasting false news and statements, and protesting without notifying the competent authorities.
Although hundreds of them had already been released, the Public Prosecution chose not to reveal their real number following its first statement. ANHRI therefore believes that the severe violation of the law committed in the case of Bani Suef detainees is not the first of its kind; as the detention renewal decisions of pretrial detainees have been systematically made on paper. The case of Bani Suef detainees is nothing but an example of the law being undermined and wasted.
ANHRI also reiterates its clear demand to stop using pretrial detention as a tool of punishment, and to put an end to the expansion of the prolonged pretrial detention which in many cases exceeds the two-year maximum period prescribed by law.
