98 Friday of the Land protesters face charges, 21 others remain in custody: AFTE

At least 98 protesters will face charges stemming from this weekend’s mass Friday of the Land protests, according to a report issued Monday by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), while the legal status of another 21 people still held in custody remains unknown.

Police arrested a total of 387 protesters in 17 governorates during the demonstrations, but subsequently released 268 people.

Thousands took to the streets across the country on Friday to protest a new maritime border agreement President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed earlier this month with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz. The deal grants sovereignty over the Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanifir to Saudi Arabia.

On Monday, a Cairo court renewed the detention of 25 people arrested in the capital for another 15 days pending investigations into charges of protesting without authorization, disrupting traffic and public transportation, illegal assembly and disrupting the public order.

In addition to the Cairo protesters, charges stemming from the demonstrations have been levied against 26 protesters in Alexandria, 20 in Beheira, eight in Gharbiya, five in Qalyubiya, four in Aswan, three in Kafr al-Sheikh, three in Monufiya, three in Sharqiya and one in Giza, according to the AFTE report.

It remains unclear if another 21 protesters currently detained in Cairo, Giza and Beheira will be charged, AFTE said.