Activists protest referral of civilians to Egypt's emergency courts
Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution referred a number of imprisoned human rights lawyers and prominent political activists before an emergency court offering no means of appeal against the issued rulings and sentences.
Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution referred a number of imprisoned human rights lawyers and prominent political activists before an emergency court on Oct. 16.
The move triggered outrage among rights activists, as emergency state security courts do not have jurisdiction over civilians. Also, the detained activists have been in pre-trial detention for durations exceeding the jail time stipulated in the Penal Code — although the law expressly provides for their release.
In 2013, then-interim President Adly Mansour approved amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, setting pre-trial detention to 24 months maximum. Once this time is served, the accused must be released. Egyptian authorities, however, often ignore this law.
Among those who were recently referred to the emergency court in Cairo is the former spokesman for the liberal Civil Democratic Movement, Yahya Hussein Abdel Hadi. He has been in pre-trial detention since his arrest in January 2019, serving 10 months above the legal term.
