Judge detains 14 people for investigation following arrests at Palestine solidarity protests

Fourteen people who were arrested in Alexandria for attending protests held in solidarity with Palestine are now being investigated on terror charges as well as on counts of disturbing the public peace and publishing false news.

The 14 detainees were presented to the State Security Prosecution in Cairo on Sunday afternoon, defense lawyer Hoda Abdel Wahab told Mada Masr on Monday.

They are just a few of 114 people arrested across Cairo and Alexandria after Friday’s protests, which were held after state-aligned parties and entities invited the public to attend demonstrations in designated areas to show solidarity with Palestine and support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s leadership during the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

Crowds in Cairo, however, headed to Tahrir Square, which was not among the areas granted protest permits and where protests have not been seen for almost a decade. Chants at protests in Cairo and Alexandria also refuted calls to endorse Sisi. Some of the protesters were arrested from the scene and security forces instructed the crowds to go back home. Further arrests were also made at dawn on Saturday and Sunday, bringing the total to 44 people arrested in Cairo and 70 in Alexandria, said Mohamed Lotfy, head of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms.

After 14 of the 70 arrested in Alexandria were transferred to Cairo’s State Security Prosecution, the prosecution to hold them for 15 days on charges of “participating in a gathering of over five people that endangers the public peace,” “publishing fake news,” and “participating in a terrorist group,” said Hoda Abdel Wahab, who works with the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession. The whereabouts of the remaining 56 are unknown, while the 44 arrested in Cairo are yet to be presented before a judge.

Some opposition voices have criticized the use of arrest at protests that were legitimized by the government, with a Sunday statement issued by the campaign of presidential candidate and Social Democratic Party head Farid Zahran saying, “The same authorities that called for citizens to demonstrate in support of the Palestinian people arrested some of those who participated in these demonstrations, and some of their homes were raided without reason or justification.”

“We call on the relevant authorities to immediately release all who were arrested in recent days,” Zahran’s campaign continued.