After over 950 days in prison, trial of Shawkan, 738 others postponed to April

The trial of photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, better known as Shawkan, and 738 others was adjourned to April 23 on Saturday. Defendants in the case have now been in pretrial detention for over 950 days.

Shawkan was arrested in August 2013 while covering the violent dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in, which resulted in deaths of hundreds of protesters at the hands of the security forces. He was arrested with two foreign journalists who were later released.

The photojournalist has held in pretrial detention for over two years, exceeding the legal maximum period that a defendant can be detained without trial as per Article 143 of the Penal Code. He stands accused of illegal protesting and use of force, illegal arms possession, premeditated murder and deliberate vandalism of public and private property.

Ahead of the court session on Saturday, a number of human rights organizations, activists and social media users rallied in solidarity with Shawkan and called for his release. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released a statement on March 24, ahead of Saturday’s session, calling for Shawkan’s immediate release. Alexandra El Khazen, the head of RSF’s Middle East desk, was quoted in the statement saying, “Keeping this journalist in prison proves the absence of any real political will to preserve independent media voices and therefore to protect freedom of information and expression.”

Amnesty International issued a call of action for Shawkan, encouraging people to send a message to Egypt’s public prosecutor calling for his release. The call for action states that Shawkan is a “prisoner of conscience who has been behind bars for over two years solely for peacefully practising his work as a journalist.”

The Freedom for the Brave campaign also rallied in support of Shawkan, stating that he had worked as a journalist in Egypt for six years and was not ever known for any political violence.

The other 738 defendants in case include the supreme guide of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie. 

The renewal of Shawkan’s detention comes days after Mahmoud Mohamed, popularly known as “the T-shirt boy,” was released from prison after more than two years of pretrial detention. Mohamed was arrested for wearing an anti-torture T-shirt and a scarf commemorating the third anniversary of the January 25 revolution.