The Supreme State Security Prosecution has sent 38 political detainees to criminal trials over the last two months on charges of terrorism and joining prohibited organisations.
Nearly 4,000 defendants are involved in these cases, which covered incidents from 2017 to 2022. The majority of the defendants have spent many years in pretrial detention.
According to judicial sources, the referrals involve numerous recurrent charges, including financing terrorist organisations, inciting protests, spreading false information, and joining a terrorist organisation knowing its goals. The Egyptian regime has frequently used these accusations against its opponents in an effort to detain and mistreat them.
These charges, which seem to be an extension of the policy of broadening the scope of security prosecutions, are concerning because they involve several women and girls, some of whom are relatives of political detainees.
According to the data, most of the defendants have gone beyond the two-year pre-trial detention period allowed by Egyptian law. Due to this excess, detainees’ legal rights have been flagrantly violated, which has led to widespread local and international criticism.
The Terrorist Entities Law of 2015, which gives the executive and judicial branches extensive authority to prosecute defendants on the basis of tenuous evidence or suspicions, is the basis for the referrals. This law is a tool used to stifle political freedom and the right to free speech.
The international community and human rights organisations must demand that the Egyptian regime respect the time limits for pretrial detention and release detainees who have not been proven guilty in a fair trial because these actions show that the Egyptian authorities are still ignoring the fundamental rights of detainees, particularly the right against prolonged detention without trial.
Additionally, reliance on special laws like the Terrorist Entities Law must end in favour of establishing a separate legal system that upholds liberties and rights.
