In first trial session after over 2 years in prison, Alaa Abd El Fattah tells court his detention is illegal
From left to right: Mohamed Ibrahim, Mohamed al-Baqer, Alaa Abd El Fattah
 

The opening trial session for writer and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, lawyer Mohamed al-Baqer, and blogger Mohamed “Oxygen” Ibrahim on false news charges was held on Monday before the Emergency State Security Misdemeanor Court in Cairo’s Fifth Settlement. Although all three defendants have been held in remand detention since September 2019, beyond the legal two-year limit, Monday’s court session marked the first time they faced trial.

Legal representatives for all three defendants argued before the court that their prolonged detention without trial was unlawful, that they should be released immediately and that they should have access to the case files. 

During the session, Abd El Fattah addressed the judge directly and said that his two years of imprisonment in remand detention violated Egyptian law as well as the Constitution, adding that during that time, the prosecution made no effort whatsoever to investigate the case. “The prosecution hasn’t questioned me about anything in my case for 23 months,” he told the judge. “And after 23 months, I find out that I am being accused of sharing a news item.” 

Abd El Fattah learned for the first time that he is being charged for resharing a tweet about a prisoner who died as a result of ill treatment in detention in Maximum Security Wing 2 of Tora Prison Complex in summer 2019, Abd El Fattah’s sister, Mona Seif, told Mada Masr. 

He went on to criticize the stringent security measures being placed against him, including his imprisonment in Maximum Security Wing 2 and his transfer to any judicial proceeding alone and in an armored truck.

He also spoke of his harsh prison conditions where he is not allowed any reading material or exercise time outside of his cell. “I demand before anything that you release us immediately, as this is the legal duty of the court,” Abd El Fattah told the judge. “If you won’t release me then I request permission to see my lawyers, I haven’t been able to speak with them directly about my case since May,” he said.

Last month, Abd El Fattah signaled that he was contemplating suicide during a detention renewal hearing. His family said he has been kept in poor conditions since his arrival to prison and that he has increasingly been deprived of his rights in detention, despite their having submitted multiple complaints against prison authorities.

Lawyer Khaled Ali previously told Mada Masr they first learned the three defendants had been referred  to trial last week and that the State Security Prosecution had sent them to trial for the misdemeanor of publishing false news while they continued to be held in remand in a different case.

Acting in defense of Abd El Fatah, Ali addressed the court at length, demanding that Abd El Fattah be released from remand detention. “His imprisonment is outside the bounds of the law,” Ali said. “The prosecution appears not to understand the law.” 

Meanwhile, Baqer’s lawyer, Ahmed Ragheb, also demanded the “obligatory release” of the accused in accordance with Article 143 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to Ragheb, the three detainees have exceeded the two-year legal limit for remand detention, while their new charge is punishable by imprisonment for a maximum of one year.

Emergency trials, to which authorities have had recourse under a legal state of emergency that has operated in Egypt since April 2017, are not subject to the standard appeals process and can be used to prosecute any individuals deemed to have threatened national security. 

Ibrahim’s lawyer made similar demands and told the court his client has been denied visitation rights in prison for months. In July, Ibrahim attempted suicide after being deprived of visits from his family or legal representation since February, according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information.

On behalf of Abd El Fattah, Ali also demanded a copy of the case file in full, saying it was “impossible” for him to defend his client without access. He requested the court permit Abd El Fattah’s lawyers to visit him in prison, and that Abd El Fattah be allowed access to the necessary registrar’s office in order to grant power of attorney to his lawyer to sue the head of the State Security Prosecution, his assistants and members of the circuit court responsible for renewing Abd El Fattah’s detention and placing him in the Tora Prison Complex on the grounds that, since Ali is now being tried for a tweet about Tora, the authorities were not impartial in their decision to detain him.

The case was adjourned to November 1 to allow defense attorneys access to the case files.

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