Press Release
The “Committee for Justice” (CFJ) has documented the referral by Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution on December 21, 2024, of human rights activist Esraa Ayman Mahmoud El-Roubi to trial before the Criminal Court at the Badr Courthouse Complex (“Terrorism Circuits”). She is being tried in connection with Case No. 2976 of 2021 (Supreme State Security Prosecution), which involves several human rights defenders and activists.
El-Roubi, a mother of an infant, was arrested by security forces on July 15, 2023, from her home in the city of 10th of Ramadan. She was forcibly disappeared for four days before appearing on July 19, 2023, before the Supreme State Security Prosecution. There, she faced charges of fundraising and financing members of banned groups in connection with the case known in the media as “Our Kitchen Group.”
The case revolves around a group of women who raised funds to prepare and send food to detainees in prisons held on politically motivated charges. Authorities have characterized this activity as “fundraising and financing banned groups.”
On August 14, 2023, the prosecution ordered El-Roubi’s detention to be renewed for 15 days pending investigations. Despite her pleas for release to care for her infant son, her detention was repeatedly extended.
CFJ strongly condemns Esraa El-Roubi’s referral to trial before exceptional courts under extraordinary laws, asserting that such procedures constitute a flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental principles of justice.
CFJ calls for El-Roubi’s immediate release or, at the very least, her trial under internationally recognized standards of fair trial. CFJ stresses the importance of providing a safe environment for human rights defenders to carry out their legitimate work without threats or harassment. Furthermore, the committee underscores the necessity of upholding human rights and respecting international laws that guarantee activists’ right to work peacefully and without intimidation or restrictions.
