Detention renewed for rights lawyer Malek Adly, defense team protests violations

Prominent human rights lawyer Malek Adly will remain in pretrial detention for another 15 days following a Sunday court ruling.

Adly has been imprisoned since May 5, 2016, while the prosecution investigates charges connected to his opposition to the transfer of sovereign control of Tiran and Sanafir islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia.

“Every time it feels like a dagger in my heart,” Adly’s wife Asmaa Aly wrote on Facebook about the impact of the renewal of his pretrial detention on her and the couple’s young daughter. “Another 15 days of our lives, Malek. 15 days, and Baheya is looking for you everywhere, in every face … and the unanswerable question: 'where is Baba'?”

The renewed detention comes amid complaints by Adly’s family and defense team of procedural and human rights violations by police and court officials.

Adly's defense team withdrew from Sunday’s investigation session in protest over the conditions of his detention, outlining a series of complaints in a press statement.

According to Adly’s lawyers, the defense team has been unable to obtain an official copy of the case documents, and has, on more than one occasion, been refused the right to meet with their client in prison. The defense team also claims that an employee of the public prosecutor’s office told Adly he needed to sign a consent form for an appeal, despite no appeal being filed by his lawyers.

Officials have also failed to interview Adly regarding complaints of rights violations and abuse in prison, lawyers say.

Adly has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest, and lawyers allege he has been badly beaten while in custody.

“I’ve been denied sunlight for the past 40 days, except while I’m being transferred to court to attend my hearing sessions. My physical condition is terrible due to sleeping on the floor. I only get to sleep for three hours that are full of the worst nightmares, knowing that if anything bad happens to me, no one will be able to save me, and as a result, I can’t get to sleep,” Adly reportedly said last month.

A legal petition filed on his behalf states that Adly has been held in a six by eight foot cell, without lighting or ventilation, and is unable to leave except for court sessions or visits with his wife and lawyers. Adly has also been denied the right to furnish his cell with a bed and mattress, deprived of his right to exercise and recreation, barred from visiting the prison library and mosque or receiving reading material. His family also say they have been unable to drop off food for Adly, as they are barred from making the so-called “table visits” authorities ordinarily allow every 48 hours.

According to a statement recounted by his wife, Adly’s mental health is also deteriorating as a result of the conditions he is being held in. “I asked the prison administration to remove all the medication I have in my cell, as I’m afraid to commit suicide. I am very likely to do this any moment,” he reportedly said during a June court hearing. “I’m not saying this because I want you to release me. No, no and no. I’m telling you that I want to be detained and all I want is to be treated according to the law and the prison regulations during my imprisonment.”

Adly has been charged with a number of offenses, including assaulting an arresting officer, plotting to overthrow the government and alter the Egyptian constitution, hindering the official duties of government institutions, promoting publications that disrupt national unity, disseminating false news and inciting the anti-government protests that took place on April 25. The warrant for his arrest was issued April 23, and followed talk show appearances, during which Adly denounced the controversial transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands and his participation in a lawsuit regarding the deal with Saudi Arabia.

On June 21, courts ruled in favor of the argument advanced by Adly and other lawyers, voiding Egypt’s border deal with Saudi Arabia over Tiran and Sanafir islands and declaring the islands would remain under Egyptian sovereignty. The government is appealing the decision.