Activist Alaa Abd El Fattah demands to be heard as retrial is adjourned

Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah was retried on Wednesday in what has become widely known as the "Shura Council Case." Although the trial continued until late in the afternoon, it was ultimately adjourned to September 15. In the meantime, Abd El Fattah and co-defendants Ahmed Abdel Rahman and Wael Metwally will remain in prison.

Abd El Fattah was arrested along with 24 other activists on November 26 for participating in a non-violent protest outside a parliament building in violation of the Protest Law. He, along with the other defendants, was sentenced in absentia on June 11 to 15 years in prison and a fine of LE100,000. However, only three of the 25 are currently in prison. Abd El Fattah, Abdel Rahman and Metwally were arrested outside the court when the initial verdict was given.

The charges against Abd El Fattah include assaulting police and stealing a walkie talkie. The trial summoned several police witnesses who were largely unable to identify Abd El Fattah, but said they had seen “protesters” assaulting police. One of the police witnesses however said that Abd El Fattah had beaten policemen “with his hands,” while another added that he had disarmed a policeman. 

The prosecution at Abd El Fattah’s trial showed footage that was seemingly unrelated to the case, including personal videos of his family. The videos came from Abd El Fattah’s laptop, which was taken without a warrant at the time of his arrest. The video evidence also included footage of other protests and the demonstration outside parliament after it was dispersed.

Abd El Fattah was kept in a glass cage throughout the trial and couldn’t be heard, despite trying to communicate several times. In response, his family released a set of demands on his behalf. They said he had asked, “to be near my family during this ordeal and to be able to defend my self without fear,” and requested retrial in a different court that would enable Abd El Fattah to defend himself properly. 

In the statement, Abd El Fattah reiterated his commitment to continue his hunger strike in opposition to the Protest Law. On August 19, Abd El Fattah began an open-ended hunger strike after visiting his sick father in hospital and finding him in a coma. His father, Ahmed Seif al-Islam, was a well known human rights lawyer, who defended Abd El Fattah during his previous trials and has since passed away. 

The trial was attended by representatives from the Canadian embassy and other embassies of the European Union, along with many activists and journalists.

Abd El Fattah has been detained three times since the outbreak of the 2011 revolution. He has missed both the birth of his son Khaled and the passing of his father whilst in detention.

On September 7, several other activists in the Shura Council Case joined the hunger strike and released a statement on the “Freedom to the Brave” Facebook page, in which they stated their intention to strike until the Protest Law is annulled and all those arrested unfairly are released.

According to the Freedom for the Brave campaign, the number of hunger strikers in detention has grown to 91.

Additionally, several activists, friends and supporters on the outside have started hunger strikes in solidarity with Egypt’s political prisoners, including Abd El Fattah’s sister, activist and human rights lawyer Mona Seif, who announced her strike on Sept 4.