Researcher, activist Mina Thabet released on LE10,000 bail

A Cairo court upheld the decision to release rights activist and researcher Mina Thabet, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) reported on Monday. 

Thabet was initially ordered to be released on bail on Saturday, but the prosecution appealed the decision shortly after it was issued. On Monday, the Nozha Misdemeanors Appeals Court overturned the appeal and ordered him to be released on LE10,000 bail.

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.

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.

The 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 men were remanded into custody in relation to protests against the sovereign transfer of two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, to Saudi Arabia.