The Supreme State Security Prosecution in Cairo referred lawyer Essam Sultan, former vice president of Al Wasat Party, to trial in a new case on charges related to joining a terrorist group and financing terrorism.
This came after 11 years of continuous imprisonment in harsh conditions, including solitary confinement and a prohibition from receiving visits for seven consecutive years, in flagrant violation of international human rights standards.
Human rights lawyer Ahmed Madi, who attended the prosecution investigation, revealed that he met Sultan for the first time in years, and was able to check on his health despite his continued imprisonment in inhumane conditions.
Madi added that the ongoing investigations are about previous repeated and vague charges on which he was already sentenced and served his sentence.
Similarly, Politician Hossam Khalaf, a member of the Supreme Council of Al Wasat Party and husband of Mrs. Ola Al-Qaradawi, was referred to trial in a new case after more than seven and a half years of pretrial detention, despite a previous court decision to release him.
Madi confirmed that Khalaf suffers from serious health problems, including a stroke that affected his eye and required urgent treatment in prison.
Likewise, Professor Hasiba Mahsoub, the sister of Dr. Mohamed Mahsoub, the former Minister of Legal Affairs, was referred to trial after six years of continuous pretrial detention on vague charges based on unclear accusations amid lack of the minimum legal standards and procedural justice.
These incidents represent a serious violation of human rights, as the use of the illegal prolonged pretrial detention without fair trials, deprivation of communication with families, and medical negligence are among the most serious violations of international conventions to which Egypt has committed, most notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
These violations require the international community to take action to pressure the Egyptian authorities to abide by their legal obligations and immediately release all political detainees held without a fair trial, and to stop the use of pretrial detention as a tool of political punishment.
