Cairo: 10 February 2021
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said today that it is waiting for justice to be achieved for Sana Seif; as it has been obstructed since June 2020 when she, along with her mother (Dr. Laila Soueif) and sister (Mona Seif), were subjected to physical assault, brutally beaten up and robbed of their belongings by a group of hired thugs in front of Tora Prison complex gate. The authorities haven’t yet investigated the assault in spite of lodging about 10 official complaints to the Public Prosecutor, but rather they arrested the victim (Sana) and abducted her from in front of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. She was then detained and brought to trial, while the the assailants and thugs who attacked and stole her, along with her family, are enjoying freedom in light of the phenomenon of impunity that is rampant in Egypt.
The case began on 23 June 2020 when activist Sana Seif was abducted as she was approaching the Public Prosecutor’s Office, attempting to file a report about the assault and robbery that she and her family experienced in front of Tora Prison 2 Gate on 22 June 2020 leaving them injured. The assault came against the backdrop of the sit-in her family staged demanding to receive a letter from her brother prisoner of conscience Alaa Abdel-Fattah who are bieng held in detention at the high-security Tora Prison 2 amid the suspension of prison visitation due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, instead of the Public Prosecutor investigating the incidents of the assault and theft against Sanaa Seif and her family, the activist was arrested and added to Case No. 659 of 2020 Supreme State Security, on charges of promoting to commit a terrorist crime and broadcasting false news and information that would disturb security and public peace. The Prosecution turned a blind eye to the assault and robbery Sana Seif, her sister and mother were subjected to on the watch of Tora Prison security forces and guards.
Seif has been held in detention for 8 months, between investigation and trial, without questioning the perpetrators and the criminals who assaulted her and her family. Even when evidence is presented to the court proving the fabrication of charges against Seif and the false testimonies made in favor of the police officer who submitted the malicious report against her; Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed al-Nashar, the trial continued and her detention continued, while none of the perpetrators got punished or brought to account till the moment.
ANHRI calls on the Public Prosecutor, in person, to open a fair and transparent investigation into all the violations and crimes committed against Sana Seif and her family, and to announce the investigation’s results, as he always does in many other cases. ANHRI also demands to bring justice for them as victims and to hold accountable the perpetrators of such crimes; as this is the Public Prosecutor’s genuine role and task assigned to him by the Constitution, in order to restore some trust in the justice system in Egypt, and to make Egyptians feel that there is law and equality in Egypt, instead of confirming the phenomenon of impunity in the country.
