The Committee for Justice (CFJ) stated that repeated arrests through the practice of “rotation” or “recycling of charges” are a systematic approach in Egypt. Under Egyptian law, the maximum limit for pretrial detention is two years. However, through the practice of rotation, once individuals reach this limit or have served their sentence, an entirely new case is brought against them, creating a new basis to hold them in pretrial detention.
This complaint was submitted by CFJ to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning the cases of two Egyptian citizens: Islam Atef Omar Jaballah, born on May 26, 1984, a pharmacist, married, and having four children.
Abdelsamad Mahmoud Mohamed al-Fiqi, born on December 7, 1964, residing in Disuq, Kafr el-Sheikh Governorate, previously working in the education field, married, and has three children.
According to CFJ, Islam Atef Omar Jaballah was arrested around 1:00 PM on May 4, 2018, by officers of State security officers in plain clothes, while returning home with a friend from the mosque in Kawm Hamadah city, Beheira Governorate. He was subjected to enforced disappearance for almost four months at the National Security Agency headquarters in Damanhur, where he was subjected to physical and psychological torture by State security officers, including beatings, electrocution and being hung by an iron chain for several hours, resulting in chronic back pain.
On August 28, 2018, Jaballah was brought for the first time before the Supreme State Security Prosecution and charged with joining an unidentified banned group, which was not named, and participating in its activities. He was held in pretrial detention in the National State Security headquarters of Damanhur until 5 September 2018, when he was transferred to the Tora Maximum Security Prison, known as the “Scorpion Prison”. He remained incommunicado in pretrial detention there for almost two years, banned from receiving visitors and in poor detention conditions in inadequately ventilated, overcrowded and unhygienic cells. His lawyer filed a request for a medical examination for his back pain, which was denied by the prison administration.
On August 30, 2020, Jaballah reached the maximum limit for pretrial detention, and the Supreme State Security Prosecution ordered his release. However, he remained detained in Kawm Hamada Police Station for 30 more days and then, on October 10, 2020, he was re-referred to the Supreme State Security Prosecution in connection with a new case. He was transferred to Damanhur Prison. On March 17, 2021, he was charged in a third case on the same charges, and to this date, he has never been tried before any court for these charges.
Regarding the case of Abdelsamad Mahmoud Mohamed al-Fiqi, CFJ documented his arrest on June 21, 2018, from his home. Prior to his arrest, two of his relatives were arrested on June 10, 2018, and tortured to reveal his whereabouts. Al-Fiqi was forcibly disappeared from June 21 to
July 14, 2018, during which he was held at the National Security Agency in Kafr El-Sheikh Police Directorate. During this period, he was subjected to physical and psychological torture and inhumane and degrading treatment by State security officers, including being beaten, stripped naked and electrocuted on different body parts.
On July 14, 2018, Al-Fiqi was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution, and was charged with joining a banned group, participating in its activities, and financing it. He was subsequently transferred between prisons in Kafr El-Sheikh, then Tanta, and finally, to the heavily guarded Tora Maximum Security Prison, the Scorpion, where he was banned from receiving visitors. His family did not know anything about his whereabouts until May 25, 2019.
On May 25, 2019, Al-Fiqi was ordered to be released and was taken to Disuq Police Station awaiting his release. He remained there for two weeks before being taken to an undisclosed location and subjected to enforced disappearance for six months. During this period, he was allegedly subjected to severe torture and ill-treatment again and he went on a hunger strike to protest such treatment. On November 23, 2019, he was presented before the Supreme State Security Prosecution with the same charges. On November 19, 2021, Al-Fiqi was transferred to Abu Zaabal Prison, where he has also been banned from receiving visits and where he remains detained to date.
After examining the complaint presented by CFJ, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the Egyptian authorities’ failure to provide arrest warrants to Jaballah and Al-Fiqi and to inform them of the reasons for their arrests at the time of detention violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This leads to their arbitrary detention without any legal basis, classifying their detention as arbitrary under category I.
The Working Group also emphasized that for a trial to be fair, an accused should be able to obtain the whole range of legal services from the outset of the proceedings. Holding an accused incommunicado at the crucial initial period of detention, as was the case with both Jaballah and Al-Fiqi, violates the essence of the right to legal assistance and the principle of equality among defendants. Additionally, subjecting them to torture severely hinders their ability to defend themselves and obstructs their right to a fair trial, classifying their detention as arbitrary detention under category III.
In conclusion, the Working Group requested the Government of Egypt to take the steps necessary to remedy the situations of Jaballah and Al-Fiqi without delay and bring them into conformity with the relevant international norms, including those set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Working Group also considered that, taking into account all the circumstances of the cases, the appropriate remedy would be to release Jaballah and Al-Fiqi immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law. Furthermore, the Working Group urged the authorities in Egypt to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Jaballah and Al-Fiqi and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights.