Forcibly disappeared student is released after more than 100 days detention: Lawyer
Ibrahim Ragab writes to his fiancee Asmaa Hamdy in prison - Courtesy: Ravy Shaker
 

A court ordered the release of journalism student Ibrahim Ragab more than 100 days after he was forcibly disappeared and detained on charges of belonging to a banned organization, lawyer Mahienour al-Massry told Mada Masr on Wednesday.

The prosecution detained Ragab for 15 days pending investigation, but a court in the northern Zagazig city accepted an appeal filed by his lawyers. This court issued a release order, which was appealed by the prosecution in violation of Egypt’s penal code, according to Massry. The prosecution’s appeal was rejected on Wednesday, however, and Ragab should soon be released.

Ragab’s case dates back to October 6, 2016, when police alleged that a number of people protested without a permit, but the case was suspended shortly afterwards as there was no evidence that the protest actually took place, Massry explained.

The prosecution resumed its investigation on March 8, and Ragab’s name appeared on the list of defendants. He was interrogated for the first time without a lawyer on March 11, despite being forcibly disappeared since December 2016. His lawyers presented evidence that he was missing since then, which helped his case, Massry added.

Ragab’s fiancée Asmaa Hamdy says he was forcibly disappeared on December 21. She told Mada Masr previously that he showed signs of severe fatigue and could hardly stand. She also noticed bruises on his face and signs of torture.

“Ibrahim said being forcibly disappeared is the worst thing that could happen. He was handcuffed for the entire 81-day period and hardly ate, due to the food being virtually rotten.” When he threatened to embark on a hunger strike in protest of his detention conditions, he was threatened with “being bound by his hands and feet and killed.”

Read Asmaa Hamdy’s story here in a photo story for Panorama on women’s prisons by Ravy Shaker.

 

Twenty-three-year-old Ragab and his friend Samir al-Yamany, 24 years old, went missing while on their way to visit Ragab’s fiancée Hamdy on December 21 in prison. Yamany faces a military trial.

Ragab disappeared one week before Hamdy’s release, after three years detention in relation to her participation in Al-Azhar University protests in 2013.

Egyptian authorities have been repeatedly accused of forcibly disappearing citizens. The National Council for Human Rights released a list in January 2016 of 99 people who were forcibly disappeared, and whom the Interior Ministry acknowledged were being held in security facilities. Despite the acknowledgment, the practice continues.

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