Below are details about 10 cases involving 36 defendants whom prosecutors at the Supreme State Security Prosecution have charged or are investigating under Egypt’s counterterrorism law (law 94 of 2015) or terrorism-related articles in the penal code. The list is not comprehensive but includes the cases that Human Rights Watch has been able to get information about. Sources include local nongovernmental organizations and the media.
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Case number |
Known Defendants |
Charges or Accusations |
Details |
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441/2018 – Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) |
1- Wael Abbas |
Aiding a terrorist group in achieving its aims, using a website to propagate a terrorist group’s ideology, and publishing false news |
Blogger and activist, arrested at home on May 23, 2018 by security forces, which held him incommunicado for 36 hours in an undisclosed location, before taking him before the SSSP. |
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2- Walid al-Shobaky |
Spreading false news and joining a terrorist group |
Doctoral student at the University of Washington, Seattle, who came to Egypt to conduct interviews about the Egyptian Judiciary for his research. He was reported missing by his family and a law professor he interviewed on May 23, 2018. He appeared four days later, on May 27, before the SSSP. |
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3- Mostafa al-A’asar, 25 |
Spreading false news, joining a terrorist group, funding a terrorist group |
Researcher at Regional Center for Rights and Liberties, and journalist at Ultra-Sawt website. He was last seen on February 4 with his roommate, Hassan al-Banna Mubarak, an activist, on their way to work in Giza. They appeared 13 days later before the SSSP. |
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4- Hassan al-Banna Mubarak, 26 |
Spreading false news, joining a terrorist group, funding a terrorist group |
Journalist, trainee at al-Shorouk daily newspaper. He was last seen on February 4, 2018 with Mostafa al-A’asar, his roommate, until they appeared 13 days later before the SSSP. |
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5- Moataz Wadnan |
Spreading false news, joining a terrorist group |
Journalist, reporter for the Huffington Post Arabic website. Security forces arrested him on February 16, 2018, following an interview he conducted with Hesham Geneina, the country’s former top auditor, that was published on Huffington Post Arabic. Security kept him incommunicado for several days after his arrest before his lawyer discovered his whereabouts. |
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6- Ezzat Ghoneim |
Spreading false news to tarnish the country’s image and joining unlawful group |
A rights lawyer and activist, executive director of the nongovernmental group Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms. He was last seen on March 1, when his family and friends lost all contact with him at about 6:15 p.m., following an Uber ride. The next day his family looked for him in police stations but were given no information. He appeared three days later before the SSSP, where he was questioned without a lawyer. He was arrested following a BBC feature that highlighted torture and enforced disappearance in Egypt. Ghoneim was the lawyer of one of those who were featured. He was also the lawyer for Moataz Wadnan, a defendant in the same case. Ghoneim also appeared in a propaganda video produced by the Ministry of Interior, “the Spider Web.” Footage of Ghonaim, looking pale and exhausted, appeared in a section of the video that claimed that human rights organizations and activists contribute to terrorism. |
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7- Fatima Moussa 8- Omar Moussa 9- Abdullah Moderr |
Spreading false news and joining a terrorist group |
Moderr, a journalist, was last seen along with his wife, Fatima Moussa, a journalist, their 14-month-old baby, Alia, and his brother in law, Omar Moussa, on March 24, 2018 at 6 p.m. in the Giza train station on their way to Assiut. At 8 p.m., their phones were off and no one could reach them. They were missing for eight days, during which their family submitted petitions and reported their disappearance to police, then finally appeared before the SSSP. Moderr is now in pre-trial detention in case No. 828/2018 SSSP, while Fatima Moussa is in pre-trial detention for case No. 441/2018. Human Rights Watch did not receive information on the situation of Omar Moussa. |
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10- Hagar Abdullah |
Spreading false news and joining a terrorist group |
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11- Shorouk Amgad, 23 |
Spreading false news and joining a terrorist group |
Journalist, and fiancée of a detained journalist, Ahmed Sakhawi, case No. 977/2017. Security forces arrested her in downtown Cairo on April 25, 2018. She was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, which she later learned was the National Security headquarters. She appeared before the SSSP the next day, April 26. |
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12- Abdel Rahman al-Ansary |
Spreading false news and joining a terrorist group |
Photojournalist, student at French University in Egypt. The Egyptian Front for Human Rights said that he disappeared on May 8, 2018 for 12 days before appearing before the SSSP. |
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13- Adel Sabry, 56 |
(Initially case No. 4861/2018 Dokki Misdemeanor Court, but later added to case 441/2018 SSSP). Journalist, and chief editor of Masr al-Arabiya news website. Security forces arrested him in April 2018 under the accusation of “administering a website without a license.” His arrest came after a decision by the Supreme Media Council to fine the website administration 50,000 pounds (around $2,800) for publishing a translated report, originally published by the New York Times about government officials and supporters of President al-Sisi paying money for votes in the presidential elections. Masr al-Arabia is one of the websites blocked by the Egyptian government. He was later added to case 441/2018. A court ordered his release on LE10,000 ($560) bail on July 9 pending investigations. However, prosecutors ordered him detained again on the exact same charges. He remains in custody despite the court order. |
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1- Amal Fathy |
Spreading false news that harms national security and joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution |
A former activist in the April 6 Youth Movement, she is also the wife of the activist Mohamed Lotfy the head of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, a local rights group. She was arrested at her home on the early morning of May 11, 2018 to be questioned by Maadi public prosecution in case No. 7991/2018 about a Facebook video she posted criticizing the political conditions in Egypt. She was also added later as a defendant to case No. 621/2018 SSSP. The South Cairo Criminal Court decided to release Fathy on 10,000 pounds bail ($500) on June 21 in the first case, but she is still detained pending investigations in case No. 621/2018 SSSP. |
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2-Shady Abu Zaid |
Spreading false news that would affect national security and joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution |
Satirist, blogger, and a former TV reporter. He was arrested in the early morning of May 6, 2018 when security forces raided his home. |
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3- Sherif al-Rouby |
Spreading false news that would affect national security and joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution. |
Activist in the April 6 Youth Movement. He was last seen on April 7, 2018, then disappeared. His family filed police reports and petitioned the general prosecutor to reveal his whereabouts but received no response. His family learned his whereabouts after lawyers accidently saw him while attending a questioning session in the SSSP on April 16. |
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4- Mohamed Radwan (also known as Mohamed Oxygen) |
A blogger and journalist. Security forces arrested him on April 6, 2018 at his home, kept him in an unknown detention facility for 10 days, and then brought him before the SSSP on April 16 without a lawyer. |
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5- Shady al-Ghazaly Harb |
Spreading false news that would affect national security and joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution |
A surgeon, activist and former leader of the Constitution Party. He was summoned by the Dokki police station on the grounds of a police report accusing him of insulting the state and the president. On May 14, 2018 Prosecutors investigated him for insulting the president and said he would be released on bail. But when his lawyer went to finalize his release, he found that al-Ghazaly Harb had been transferred to SSSP headquarters for interrogation in case No. 621/2018 for which prosecutors charged him with “spreading false news” and “joining an illegal group.” |
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467/2018 Supreme State Security Prosecution SSSP |
Ahmed Tarek |
Spreading false news that would affect national security and joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution |
He is a film editor. A group of men, some in police uniforms and others in civilian clothes, raided his house and arrested him on February 18, 2018, on the grounds of his work on the documentary “Negative (-) 1095” which mocks a series of propaganda videos that document President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s achievements over his first 1095 days in power. His lawyer says he was held incommunicado in one of the National Security Agency headquarters and filed a police report inquiring about his whereabouts. He appeared on February 21 in the SSSP, where he was questioned without a lawyer. |
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718/2018 Supreme State Security Prosecution (Metro Protests case) |
Haitham Mohamedein and 20 others. |
Aiding a terrorist organization in achieving its aim, and inciting protests |
A lawyer and activist in the Revolutionary Socialists movement. Arrested on May 17, 2018 on the grounds of protests against a recent hike in Metro fare. |
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734/2018 Supreme State Security Prosecution |
Hazem Abd al-Azim |
Aiding a terrorist group in achieving its aims, using a website to propagate a terrorist group’s ideology and publishing false news |
His is an activist who was part of Sisi’s 2014 presidential campaign, but later became outspoken against him on social media. Security forces arrested al-Azim on May 27, 2018, and he was referred to the SSSP. |
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482/2018 Supreme State Security Prosecution (Kefaya Members Case/ Inciting to boycott Pres. elections case) |
1- Gamal Abdel Fattah, 72 |
Joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution; using social media tools to promote terrorist objectives, spreading false news, and inciting through his writing to commit terrorist acts |
An activist in the Kefaya movement a grass roots movement for change. Men in security forces uniforms and others in civilian clothes raided his home and arrested him in the early morning of February 28, 2018. They confiscated laptops and political flyers from his house. He disappeared for almost a week, during which his family filed police reports and petitioned the General Prosecutor to reveal his whereabouts. The Arab Network for Human Rights Info, a local rights group, also reported the incident to South Cairo Prosecution and released a statement about his disappearance. He showed up on March 7 before the SSSP, along with Hassan Hussein, a defendant in the same case. The Arab Network for Human Rights Information reported that he was subject to ill-treatment and was prevented from having visits and getting medicine. |
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2- Ahmed Mannaa |
Joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution |
Member of the Dignity Current political party and a Cairo University law student. Security forces arrested him on February 27, 2018 from his home. He disappeared in state custody for days, Adalah for Rights and Freedoms, a local nongovernmental group, reported. |
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3- Hassan Hussein, 62 |
Joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution; using social media tools to promote terrorist objectives, spreading false news, and inciting through his writing to commit terrorist acts |
Activist. Security forces arrested him on February 28, 2018 at his home for creating and managing a Facebook page that advocated boycotting of the presidential elections. He disappeared with Gamal Abel Fatah, another defendant in this case, until they appeared before the SSSP on March 7. |
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Joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution, using social media tools to promote terrorist objectives, spreading false news, and inciting through his writing to commit terrorist acts |
Activist in Kefaya movement. Security forces arrested him on the grounds of managing a facebook page that advocated boycotting the presidential elections. |
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Was investigated in Supreme State Security Prosecution under police report No.900/2017. No case number known. |
Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy |
Lawyer, activist, and co-founder of Families of the forcibly disappeared group. His son has been forcibly disappeared since July 2013. Hegazi was also reportedly assisting lawyers working on the case of the murdered Italian student Giulio Regeni’s as an expert on enforced disappearances. Hegazy disappeared on September 10, 2017 at the Cairo Airport on his way to attend an UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva. He was held incommunicado until he appeared at the SSSP on September 13, 2018. |
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977/2017 Supreme State Security Prosecution “Mekameleen 2” |
Joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution, and spreading false news |
Photojournalist, arrested in June 2017 from downtown Cairo, on the grounds of calling for protests over ceding of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. He attempted suicide inside Aqrab prison. |
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2- Mohamed Ibrahim al-Kassas |
Joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution, and spreading false news |
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3- Hossam al-Suweifi, a journalist 4- Islam Zakareya Refaei (Khorm), a journalist 5- Islam saad Gheit, a journalist 6- Ahmed Abdul Aziz Mohammed 7- Nesreen Abdul Latif Mohammed 8- Sherif Mohammed Abdul Muttalib 9- Mohamed Ahmed Ashri and others, according to association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, a local group following the case. |
Joining a group established contrary to the provisions of the law and the constitution, and spreading false news |
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Alexandria Criminal Court |
Mohamed Ramadan |
Insulting the president, misuse of social media, and inciting violence |
On April 12, 2017, Alexandria Criminal Court sentenced him in absentia to 10 years in prison on charges of insulting the president, misuse of social media and inciting violence. The court also ordered the defendant to remain under house arrest for five years and banned him from using social media for the same period. On June 10, 2018, the Alexandria Criminal Court decided to suspend the case until the constitutionality of some articles of the Terrorism Law is decided by the Supreme Constitutional Court, said his lawyer, Mahinour al-Masry. |
