Prosecution appeals release of researcher, rights activist Mina Thabet

Shortly after rights activist and researcher Mina Thabet was ordered to be released on LE10,000 bail, Egypt's prosecution appealed the decision, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) reported on Saturday.

Thabet is set to appear in court on Monday to examine the prosecution’s appeal, ECRF lawyer Doaa Mostafa told Mada Masr.

Thabet, who is the ECRF program director for marginalized groups, was arrested on May 19 by national security forces, who raided his home in Ain Shams without a warrant and physically assaulted Thabet before transferring him to Salam Police Station. His pretrial detention has since been extended.

He is accused of joining a terrorist organization, inciting chaos and attacking police stations, along with possession of written material calling for the overthrow of the regime, ECRF said.

Mostafa told Mada Masr that Thabet came to his hearing on crutches, and stated that he has difficulties walking and standing up due to the conditions of his incarceration.

“He told the prosecutor ‘I can’t stand up anymore. I am not going to ask you to release me for my future, but I am asking you to make arrangements just so my brother can help me go to the bathroom,'” she said.

Head of ECRF’s board of trustees, Ahmed Abdallah, was also arrested on April 25 after security forces raided his home in New Cairo. He faces charges of belonging to a terrorist organization and inciting anti-government protests.

Both are held in relation to protests against the sovereign transfer of two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, to Saudi Arabia.

According to rights group The Front to Defend Egyptian Protesters, more than 1,000 people were arrested or detained between April 15 and 27, the period coinciding with popular mobilization and protest against the transfer of the islands.