128 people still held in remand despite courts ordering release

Courts ordered the release of 128 defendants held in remand detention at the beginning of this week, but the orders are yet to be implemented by the Public Prosecution, lawyers told Mada Masr. 

Two defense lawyers who attended the court sessions told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity that the Public Prosecution could still choose to appeal the decision, but so far is  yet to act, “as if no [court] decisions were made.”

The majority of those ordered released are “ordinary people,” said Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, a former MP, chair of the Reform and Development Party, and head of the International Dialogue Group, a body comprising members of both parliamentary chambers that lobbies for the release of political prisoners. He told Mada Masr that the 128 people were detained in political investigations, though all of them had low profiles, which can make it easier to lobby for their release. “Security authorities thought this was ‘enough for them,’” said Sadat.

Defense lawyers published the results of court sessions on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in which 39, 25 and 64 people were released, respectively. On Wednesday, lawyer Khaled Ali published the names of the 128 people, including two members of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party

The inaction casts doubt on whether the orders will be carried out, the lawyers said, pointing out that several of the defendants' families and relatives are extremely disappointed that no action has been taken.

 Court release orders are frequently effectively overruled when the prosecution decides to investigate detainees in different cases: a practice which has become common over the past few years, affecting detainees such as translator Kholoud Said, dentist Walid Shawky, blogger Abdel Rahman ‘Mocha’ Tarek, labor lawyer Haitham Mohamden and journalist Mohamed Ramadan in June. Yet a trend emerging since April has seen more release orders both issued and acted upon, lawyers told Mada Masr.

Sadat said that the International Dialogue Group approaches the head of the Senate, security departments within the Interior Ministry, and the public prosecutor’s office to request that they review the cases of detainees held in remand, or who were convicted and sentenced but eligible for pardon or release, said Sadat. The group also lobbies for easing travel restrictions that courts can place on defendants in other investigations, he added.