Defendants in Tantawi’s public endorsement case lose right to appeal

Twenty one defendants accused of forging presidential endorsement forms for the campaign of former presidential hopeful Ahmed Tantawi lost the right to appeal their ruling on July 27, after the 10th of Ramadan City detention facility refrained from notifying the Public Prosecution of their appeal requests’ status.

The defendants have been detained since October 2023 and are serving one-year sentences. Tantawi was arrested later in May for similar charges along with his campaign manager Mohamed Aboul Diyar. 

Tantawi, Diyar and the 21 arrested campaign members were referred to the Matareya Misdemeanors Court for trial in November on charges of electoral fraud. The sentence was issued on February 6, and they then appealed the sentence in May, only for the appeal to be rejected in the same month. The initial ruling was upheld.

The case entails the political persecution of the presidential hopeful and his campaign members, which has been ongoing since the start of his campaign in 2023.

The 21 accused former members of Tantawi’s campaign were entitled to submit an appeal request for the new ruling, issued on May 27, by July 27. 

Lawyers of the defendants and legal experts told Mada Masr that despite the fact that the accused were intending to submit appeals before the deadline, the 10th of the Ramadan City prison administration, where they are currently held, stalled their legal appeal process. 

“The normal legal procedures entail that the defendants' lawyers submit an appeal request within 60 days of the ruling, issued on May 27. Accordingly we went to the Public Prosecution several times to ask whether the accused submitted appeals on the rulings from inside the prison, and each time the prosecution would reply that they have not been informed [by the prison administration]” said Islam Salama, one of the defendants lawyers at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). 

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and Freedoms lawyer Hazem Ismail, who is also representing one of the defendants, explained that prisoners have the right in these types of cases to submit an appeal from inside the prison using the forms provided by the Public Prosecution. He added that from their side, lawyers submit a memo with the reasons for the appeal to the Prosecution as well, even if they submit it before the accused submits his appeal.

However, the Public Prosecution refused to receive the lawyers’ memos, arguing that it is yet to be notified by the prison administration on whether the accused submitted appeals in the first place, the three lawyers confirmed to Mada Masr.

Following long arguments, Ismail said, the Public Prosecution issued official permits directed to the warden of the prison to inquire on whether the accused submitted appeals. 

The prison warden did not specify whether appeals were submitted by the defendants or not, Ismail explained, adding that the letter they received was “ridiculous” as it only included the charges, sentences and parole time. 

“This was on the last day for appeal reasons to be submitted by the lawyers. We went to the prosecution again to submit the memo we received from the prison, but it refused to receive it given that we have no declaration of appeal and because the prison did not provide any information regarding their appeal status,” said Islam. 

According to the three lawyers, one of the defendants' wives submitted a report to the Public Prosecutor that her husband was not allowed to submit an appeal. The report was then transferred to prosecutors. Family members who have inquired about the status have been told they are "under examination," according to the lawyers, despite the fact that the deadline for appeal requests has been reached. 

“They are now under a force majeure,” said Ismail, arguing that the 21 defendants were probably not able to submit their appeals during the designated duration. 

If it can be shown that the prison obstructed the appeal process, the defendants would have the right for the duration to be extended after the force majeure has passed, EIPR lawyer Hoda Nasrallah, who specializes in appeal cases, told Mada Masr. In this case, she added, the accused would get one day to submit their appeals.  

“The chance for them to submit appeals is minor, but there are cassation rulings that state that in the case of a force majeure, if the accused was prevented from filing an appeal, the deadline extends until the end of the situation, but we don't know if this will be applied in our case or not,” Ismail explains.

Tantawi and his campaign members were accused of printing and circulating election papers without authorization from the competent authority, with the intention of collecting endorsements for him to qualify during the nomination phase of the election. The former presidential hopeful was also prohibited from running in parliamentary elections for five years. 

Tantawi’s bid to run in the 2023 presidential race was met with security restrictions. His campaign members and relatives were arrested and his supporters faced obstruction and assault while attempting to register their legal endorsement for his candidacy. 

His campaign then asked supporters to fill out popular endorsement forms, which led to the arrest of a number of the campaign members and the electoral fraud accusations.

Tantawi has already submitted an appeal from prison after issuing a nomination form for his lawyer. His appeal request will go to the Public Prosecution and a date will be set for his hearing at the Court of Cassation. Diyar is in the same legal process.