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Report on the violations in Case No. 2 of 2020/Central Cairo/Emergency State Security (Mamdouh Hamza case)

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Press statement: Mamdouh Hamza case

Report on the violations in Case No. 2 of 2020/Central Cairo/Emergency State Security, registered under No. 4148 of 2020, Felonies/Qasr al-Nil Emergency State Security (Mamdouh Hamza case)

The case dates back to July 2017, when security forces removed buildings belonging to the people of Al-Warraq island, and clashes occurred that resulted in the death of a citizen, and the arrest of some of the families. The Minister of Interior issued a decision to temporarily suspend the implementation of the removal decisions, and in the meantime, the lawyer, Samir Sabri, filed a complaint against Mamdouh Hamza.

The lawyer claimed that Hamza held a press conference at his home on July 16, 2017, then “posted tweets inciting against the police and armed forces who are removing the violations in Warraq Island, describing them as occupation forces, and conveying his support for the people in their resistance to the occupation” and describing the situation as “a miniature model of what is happening in Egypt, namely the occupation. After abandoning the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, this is the time for the sale of Warraq Island in the heart of Cairo.” Sabri also submitted scanned copies of the tweets.

The investigations continued for two and a half years. The investigation with Hamza started on February 16, 2019, and the prosecution referred him to the Emergency State Security Court on February 3, 2020, on charges of publicly inciting the commission of a terrorist crime by using force, violence and threats to disturb public order and endanger the safety of society and its interests in order to obstruct and prevent the authorities from carrying out their work and resisting them.” A session was set for him on June 4, 2020, Then on 26 October, a judgment was issued for him to be imprisoned for six months, to be added to the terrorist lists, and to confiscate the phone from which the tweets were written.

The following is a review of what took place in the investigations and the trial to analyze the violations of the right to a fair trial that occurred with the victim:

– The reliance of the accusations on an investigation memorandum, which, although it acknowledged the validity of the report and the complainant’s spreading rumours, but the investigating officer acknowledged that it was not possible to examine the old posts on the defendant’s Twitter account, nor to access the account’s IP fingerprint, which makes the investigations incorrect and only based on case files without permitting the lawyer or defendant to examine them.

– The defendant was also referred to an exceptional court, which resulted in the verdict and the inability to appeal against it by any means, which deprives the defendant of a second degree of litigation established in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and the law.

– The inclusion of Hamza on the lists of terrorism resulted in a travel ban and the loss of a condition of good reputation necessary for holding any public posts.

It is noteworthy that this case file and other relevant issues can be accessed through membership of the “CFJ Sharing Platform”, through this link…

For more information about the platform and its services, please contact Shaimaa Aboelkhir: @saboelkhir cfjustice.org, or Ahmed Mefreh: amefreh@cfjustice.org

For more information and media requests or inquiries, please get in touch with us (+41229403538 / media@cfjustice.org)

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