Egypt: 16 arbitrarily detained in Borg al-Arab and Wadi Natroun

15 Sep 2009
On 17 May 2009, during a raid on a family celebration by State Security Investigative (SSI) forces, a group of 26 Egyptian nationals (16 of whom are currently detained) were arrested at Ahmed Hussein Eid's apartment in Damanhur, Al-Bahira governorate. Plain clothed SSI officers aggressively harassed the invitees and forcibly took them into custody, claiming to have warrants. The confrontation took place at the same location where Fares Barakat was thrown from the 4th floor balcony. Of the 26 arrestees, eight are currently detained in Borg al-Arab prison and another eight in Wadi Natroun prison.

Those currently detained in Borg al-Arab:

  1. Mr Hani Mohamed Gaber al-Bakatouchi (هانى محمد جابر محمد البكاتوشى), aged 45, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, Al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  2. Mohamed Abdel Nazir Mohamed Etman (محمود عبد النظير محمد عثمان), aged 46, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, Al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  3. Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Mawogoud Mohamed (محمد احمد عبد الموجود محمد), aged 31, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, Al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  4. Ashraf Mohamed Nagib al-Kateb (اشرف محمد نجيب الكاتب), aged 43, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  5. Magdy Zaky Atya Oda (مجدى زكى عطيه عوده), aged 43, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, Al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  6. Mohamed Mamdouh Ali Salman (محمد ممدوح على سلمان), aged 32, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  7. Osama Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman (اسامه محمد إبراهيم سليمان), aged 45, a resident of Shobra, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  8. Mohamed Abdel Monem Ibrahim Zeidan (محمد عبد المنعم إبراهيم زيدان), aged 35, a resident of Shobra, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.


Those currently detained in Wadi Natroun Prison:

  1. Mohamed Hassan Mahmoud al-Sakhawy (محمد حسن محمود السخاوى), aged 43, a resident of Salah Eddine, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  2. Mr Emad Mohamed Fathi Abdelhafez Abdessami (عماد محمد فتحى عبد الحافظ عبد السميع), aged 40, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  3. Mr Ahmed Ali Hussein Eid (احمد على حسين عيد), aged 38, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  4. Mohamed Abdel Hakim Abdel Rashid Abdel Moawad (محمد عبد الحكيم عبد الرشيد عبد المعوض), aged 50, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  5. Abdel Hakim Abdel Raouf Hassan Soliman (عبد الحكيم عبد الرؤوف حسن سليمان), aged 44, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt
  6. Mohamed El Esawi al-Zahabi (محمد العيسوى محمد الذهبى), aged 46, a resident of Abu Rish, Damanhur, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  7. Mohamed Hassan El Sayed Abou Hassan (محمد حسن محمد السيد أبو حسن), aged 38, a resident of Shobra, al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.
  8. Aboul Fotouh Mohamed Abou El Yazid Aboul Fotouh (ابو الفتوح محمد أبو اليزيد أبو الفتوح), a resident of Maidan al-Mahattah, Damanhur, Al-Bahira Governorate, Egypt.


Arrests and subsequent hearings

Immediately after their arrest, the 25 men (not including Fares Barakat, who was urgently taken to the hospital) were taken to the Headquarters of State Security Investigation Bureau in Damanhur.

On 18 May 2009, a day after their arrest, they were accused of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Initial hearings to contest their ongoing detention were held in front of the Supreme State Security Prosecution in Cairo from 19 May. Further hearings were held on 16 June 2009, and 30 June 2009. However, their detention was renewed for 15 days at each hearing by the Supreme State Security Prosecution for ‘further investigation' - legal proceedings which took place under difficult circumstances, including the beating of several members of the group in the court jails by members of the SSI on 16 June 2009.

On 13 July, the group currently held in Borg al-Arab prison were ordered to be released by the Criminal Court of Damanhur but were instead transferred to SSI Headquarters in Damanhur. They were held for a further 8 days and finally rearrested and transferred to Borg al-Arab prison on 21 July 2009.

The second group, currently detained in Wadi Natroun prison, was ordered to be released on 27 July 2009, however were immediately re-arrested by SSI under an administrative detention order and held at SSI Headquarters before being transferred to Wadi Natroun.

The remaining ten individuals (which includes the injured Fares Barakat) were ordered for release on 27 July and were finally set free on 31 August 2009.

On 15 September, Alkarama submitted the cases of these 16 detainees to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Alkarama had also previously sent these cases as an urgent appeal to the Special Rapporteur on Torture on 12 June 2009.

Egypt
Arbitrary Detention