Egyptian activist Alaa Abdelfattah arbitrarily detained since 2019
Name(s):
Alaa Ahmed Seif El Islam Abdelfattah
Status:
Detained
Year of birth:
1981
Profession:
Activist, blogger, and software developer
Nationality:
Egyptian
Date of arrest:
Alaa Abdelfattah, a leading figure of the 2011 revolution, was arrested on September 29, 2019, and accused of “belonging to a terrorist group”, “spreading false news and undermining national security”, “misusing social media”, and “funding a terrorist group” by the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP). He was further charged with same crimes in other cases. On December 20, 2021, Abdelfattah was sentenced to five years in prison. He is currently held in Tora prison.
Alaa Ahmed Seif El Islam Abdelfattah is an Egyptian activist, blogger, and software developer. He was a leading figure of the 2011 revolution.
On November 28, 2013, he was arrested from his home in relation with the “Shura Council case”, when a number of activists organised a protest against military trials for civilians in front of the Shura Council and were subsequently arrested. He was held in pre-trial detention for nearly four months before being released on bail in March 2014.
On June 11, 2014, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison (Case No. 12058 of 2013), for participating in the Shura Protest. He was accused of the same charges as Abdulrahman Tareq Abdelsameea Ahmed, namely “organising an unauthorised demonstration, attacking a police officer, stealing a walkie-talkie, blocking the road, disrupting public order and damaging public property”. He was sentenced in absentia as he was denied access to court to attend his session and arrested instead.
In February 2015, the Cairo Criminal Court reduced his sentence to five years in prison, followed by a five-year probation term. On November 8, 2017, the Court of Cassation upheld this ruling.
On April 19, 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) adopted Opinion No. 6/2016 on his case, holding that his detention was arbitrary.
On March 29, 2019, after completing his sentence, he was released from Tora prison. He then started to serve his probation at the Al Dokki police station, where he was obligated to spend 12 hours daily.
On September 29, 2019, Abdelfattah was re-arrested from the Al Dokki police station while he was fulfilling his probation. He was taken to the SSSP office and interrogated in a new case (Case No. 1356 of 2019). He faced accusations of “belonging to a terrorist group”, “spreading false news and undermining national security”, “misusing social media”, and “funding a terrorist group”. During the interrogation, his lawyer was present – however, the latter was arrested as well and added by the SSSP to the same case.
The Prosecutor placed Abdelfattah under pre-trial detention pending the investigation. On September 30, 2019, he was transferred to Tora Maximum Security Prison 2 (also known as “Scorpion Prison 2”).
On October 23, 2019, UN experts sent communication UA EGY 11/2019 to the authorities in relation to his detention.
On November 22, 2020, Abdelfattah was added to the terrorist list in Case No. 1781/2019 by the Cairo Criminal Court. This decision was upheld by the Court of Cassation on November 18, 2021.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Abdelfattah’s lawyers have not been able to visit him in prison. He is only able to meet them during his detention renewal hearings. However, he cannot speak to them privately and can only see them from behind a glass barrier. They have also not been allowed to examine the secret file that the National Security Agency had gathered to use as evidence against him. The SSSP also failed to provide evidence to justify his continued pre-trial detention.
On August 18, 2021, Abdelfattah was taken to the SSSP’s office to be interrogated again in relation to Case No. 1356 of 2019. The prosecution presented Facebook posts of the complainant from 2019 as evidence to support the accusation of “publishing false news” brought against him. His lawyers were present during his interrogation and able to submit their defence.
On October 18, 2021, Abdelfattah was brought to trial before the Emergency State Security Misdemeanour Court in Cairo. He was formally charged with “publishing false news that harm the country’s interests on their social media pages”, in relation to a post shared by Abdelfattah on his personal Facebook page about a prisoner inside a high-security prison in another case (Case No. 1228 of 2021). According to his lawyers, Case No. 1356 of 2019 was copied into the new Case No. 1228 of 2021, i.e., the new charges were taken from the original case and sent to the Emergency State Security Misdemeanour Court.
On September 13, 2021, Abdelfattah informed his lawyer that he was considering suicide in prison due to the dire conditions of his detention and violations to his right to judicial review.
On December 2, 2021, MENA Rights Group submitted Abdelfattah’s case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asking them to issue an Opinion as to the arbitrary nature of his detention. MENA Rights Group highlighted the fact that Abdelfattah was subjected to the practice of “rotation” (tadweer), which is used by the Egyptian authorities to circumvent pre-trial detention maximum periods and prolong the detention de facto indefinitely.
On December 20, 2021, Abdelfattah was sentenced to five years in prison in relation to Case No. 1228 of 2021.
| Name(s): |
Alaa Ahmed Seif El Islam Abdelfattah
|
| Status: |
Detained
|
| Year of birth: |
1981
|
| Profession: |
Activist, blogger, and software developer
|
| Nationality: |
Egyptian
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Alaa Ahmed Seif El Islam Abdelfattah is an Egyptian activist, blogger, and software developer. He was a leading figure of the 2011 revolution.
On November 28, 2013, he was arrested from his home in relation with the “Shura Council case”, when a number of activists organised a protest against military trials for civilians in front of the Shura Council and were subsequently arrested. He was held in pre-trial detention for nearly four months before being released on bail in March 2014.
On June 11, 2014, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison (Case No. 12058 of 2013), for participating in the Shura Protest. He was accused of the same charges as Abdulrahman Tareq Abdelsameea Ahmed, namely “organising an unauthorised demonstration, attacking a police officer, stealing a walkie-talkie, blocking the road, disrupting public order and damaging public property”. He was sentenced in absentia as he was denied access to court to attend his session and arrested instead.
In February 2015, the Cairo Criminal Court reduced his sentence to five years in prison, followed by a five-year probation term. On November 8, 2017, the Court of Cassation upheld this ruling.
On April 19, 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) adopted Opinion No. 6/2016 on his case, holding that his detention was arbitrary.
On March 29, 2019, after completing his sentence, he was released from Tora prison. He then started to serve his probation at the Al Dokki police station, where he was obligated to spend 12 hours daily.
On September 29, 2019, Abdelfattah was re-arrested from the Al Dokki police station while he was fulfilling his probation. He was taken to the SSSP office and interrogated in a new case (Case No. 1356 of 2019). He faced accusations of “belonging to a terrorist group”, “spreading false news and undermining national security”, “misusing social media”, and “funding a terrorist group”. During the interrogation, his lawyer was present – however, the latter was arrested as well and added by the SSSP to the same case.
The Prosecutor placed Abdelfattah under pre-trial detention pending the investigation. On September 30, 2019, he was transferred to Tora Maximum Security Prison 2 (also known as “Scorpion Prison 2”).
On October 23, 2019, UN experts sent communication UA EGY 11/2019 to the authorities in relation to his detention.
On November 22, 2020, Abdelfattah was added to the terrorist list in Case No. 1781/2019 by the Cairo Criminal Court. This decision was upheld by the Court of Cassation on November 18, 2021.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Abdelfattah’s lawyers have not been able to visit him in prison. He is only able to meet them during his detention renewal hearings. However, he cannot speak to them privately and can only see them from behind a glass barrier. They have also not been allowed to examine the secret file that the National Security Agency had gathered to use as evidence against him. The SSSP also failed to provide evidence to justify his continued pre-trial detention.
On August 18, 2021, Abdelfattah was taken to the SSSP’s office to be interrogated again in relation to Case No. 1356 of 2019. The prosecution presented Facebook posts of the complainant from 2019 as evidence to support the accusation of “publishing false news” brought against him. His lawyers were present during his interrogation and able to submit their defence.
On October 18, 2021, Abdelfattah was brought to trial before the Emergency State Security Misdemeanour Court in Cairo. He was formally charged with “publishing false news that harm the country’s interests on their social media pages”, in relation to a post shared by Abdelfattah on his personal Facebook page about a prisoner inside a high-security prison in another case (Case No. 1228 of 2021). According to his lawyers, Case No. 1356 of 2019 was copied into the new Case No. 1228 of 2021, i.e., the new charges were taken from the original case and sent to the Emergency State Security Misdemeanour Court.
On September 13, 2021, Abdelfattah informed his lawyer that he was considering suicide in prison due to the dire conditions of his detention and violations to his right to judicial review.
On December 2, 2021, MENA Rights Group submitted Abdelfattah’s case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asking them to issue an Opinion as to the arbitrary nature of his detention. MENA Rights Group highlighted the fact that Abdelfattah was subjected to the practice of “rotation” (tadweer), which is used by the Egyptian authorities to circumvent pre-trial detention maximum periods and prolong the detention de facto indefinitely.
On December 20, 2021, Abdelfattah was sentenced to five years in prison in relation to Case No. 1228 of 2021.