Press release
By: CFJ
Geneva: July 18, 2023
The Cairo Terrorism Criminal Court has renewed the detention of human rights lawyer and coordinator of the Association of the Families of the Enforced Disappeared, Ibrahim Metwally, for 45 days, pending Case No. 786 of 2022.
It is worth noting that Metwally (60 years old), has been held in pretrial detention on several recycled cases for the past six years, in clear violation of the law.
Detained for cooperation with the UN:
Metwally was arrested in 2017 while heading to Geneva, Switzerland, to participate in the 113th session of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, in his capacity as the founder of the Association of the Families of the Enforced Disappeared and as the father of a forcibly disappeared son since July 2013, who remains missing to this day.
Metwally has been subjected to recycling of three consecutive cases with the same charges, in an attempt to circumvent the release orders and justify his detention beyond the maximum limit of pretrial detention.
Urgent calls to end the practice of cases recycling:
CFJ condemns the unlawful and inhumane practices against Metwally, and demands an immediate cessation of these practices, his release, and holding those responsible for the violations accountable.
The organisation also stresses the need for Egyptian authorities to put an end to the systematic use of “recycled detention” or “renewed detention,” as it constitutes a serious violation of the right to freedom. Given the dire conditions of detention in Egypt, it poses a threat to the right to life.
