Activist arrested for possessing ‘No to Military Trials’ sticker

Alexandria prosecution renewed the detention of activist Safwan Mohamed on Monday, one day after he was arrested for possessing a sticker against military trials for civilians, human rights lawyer Mohamed Hafez told Mada Masr.

The prosecution did not officially press charges, but extended his detention until investigations by National Security are completed, the lawyer added.

Mohamed, who is also a founder of the liberal Dostour Party, was walking in front of Al-Qeddesine Church when he was searched at a joint military and police checkpoint.

“The forces found a "No to Military Trials sticker’ on his iPad. They asked him about his political inclinations and he expressed his opposition to military rule, the nomination of former military leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and military trials,” Hafez said.

According to Hafez, the conversation escalated and the activist was allegedly beaten before being sent to Montazah police station.

The forces at the checkpoint alleged that Mohamed had deliberately chanted anti-military slogans in front of the church and the checkpoint. They also referred to photos they found on his iPad from the protests of the January 25 revolution and the events that followed.

“According to their allegations, Mohamed raised slogans in these photos that were insulting to the police and military,” Hafez explained.

Mohamed was the first to sign an endorsement for a document including seven demands for political change as part of a campaign led by reformist politician Mohamed ElBaradei during the role of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. The campaign collected hundreds of thousands of endorsements.

He also filed a lawsuit in 2010 in an attempt to prove the constitutionality of the collected endorsements, after he launched the “I want my rights” campaign to collect them and raised awareness about the demands for political change.

Mohamed was arrested in June 2010 for a similar reason, when he posted a sticker carrying the slogan of ElBaradei’s “National Association for Change” on the walls of the government offices in Alexandria.

“To my son Safwan Mohamed: In the name of the Egyptian people I confirm to you that tomorrow is so close for whoever aspires for it. This inhumane regime may be our past and present, but it is not going to be our future,” ElBaradei tweeted back then in support of Mohamed.

Mohamed’s arrest comes amid a crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly.

Eight Alexandrian-based activists, including activist Mahienour al-Massry, have been sentenced to two years in prison for breaking the contentious Protest Law.

A report by Wiki Thawra, an independent online portal that aims to document the events of the January 25 revolution since 2011, issued last week, revealed that 41,163 people have been detained or prosecuted since the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi in July. Only four percent of those detained face terrorism charges, while the rest are allegedly victims of the contentious law.

According to the report, 53 have died in custody since then. Several individual cases of abuse and torture inside prisons have surfaced. Prisoners complain of overcrowded cells, deprivation of their basic rights — such as sports and family visits, as well as physical assaults.