Surging arrests in several governorates in parallel with alleged Gaza protest incident at Helwan station, lawyers say

Citizens and lawyers across several governorates have described a clear surge in arrests being carried out by the National Security Agency, human rights lawyer Nabih al-Genady told Mada Masr, describing the pace as “higher than usual.”

A second lawyer who works frequently near the Maasara police station in Helwan, the site of an alleged security incident that has prompted public commentary after footage was shared widely over recent days, said they have also observed arrests and raids in the area around the police station, as well as in several other governorates, describing them as proceeding “at an unusual pace.”

Footage circulating on Friday night of the Maasara incident shows two young men apparently storming the NSA office in the Maasara police station in Helwan and briefly holding an officer in an adjacent room, while calling for Egypt’s border crossing with the Gaza Strip to be opened to allow for aid to be delivered to Palestinians enduring Israel’s starvation policies and protesting Egyptian authorities’ arrest of civilians for expressing support for Palestine.

The Interior Ministry has since issued two statements denying the authenticity of the video. It described the footage as “fabricated,” adding that the documents shown — apparently former prisoner cards used by the NSA for monitoring purposes — are “completely unrelated to reality.”

The individuals responsible for producing and disseminating the video have been apprehended and legal action is being taken against them, the ministry stated in its first statement in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Citing an unnamed security source, the ministry said the incident was part of what it called “attempts by [the Muslim Brotherhood] to falsify facts and spread rumors in an effort to undermine the country’s stability,” adding that “the Egyptian people are fully aware of these attempts.” The statement accused the Muslim Brotherhood of seeking to discredit Egypt’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.

The Helwan-based lawyer told Mada Masr, however, that people who frequent the building, especially those who have previously visited the NSA offices on the fourth floor, are aware that the incident “did in fact happen.”

“Everyone here knows the incident is real,” the lawyer said. “But when it’s brought up, people prefer to stay silent. They say, ‘we don’t know.’ They neither confirm nor deny. If someone admits it, it’s as if they’ve told a secret.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the lawyer said documents visible in the footage, including the prisoner monitoring cards, belong to known detainees who are currently under surveillance.

The lawyer said they believe the incident likely took place on the morning of July 25, just before Friday prayers.

Additional security has been deployed since then at the Maasara police station, they continued, describing a security cordon and the frequent sounds of police sirens in the area, with a military police vehicle visible stationed nearby. Iron fencing which has enclosed the building for years also remains in place.

In a statement likewise casting doubt about the official narrative of the events, the Egyptian Network for Human Rights (ENHR) has also expressed deep concern over the fate of the two young men visible in the video — Mohsen Mohamed Mostafa and Ahmed al-Sherif. In a statement published Monday, the organization held the public prosecutor, Interior Ministry, and NSA responsible for their safety.

While the surge in arrests was notable in Helwan, Genady said he observed the uptick even before the video’s circulation. The arrests do not appear to be targeting a specific group, the lawyer continued, noting that some of the arrests were conducted in connection with content people had published on their personal Facebook pages.

But the uptick in arrests is not reflected in the pace of referrals to the State Security Prosecution, the defense lawyer said, with the prosecution already processing a steady stream of cases related to publishing offenses and affiliations with banned groups.

Detainees in such cases, however, are often held by the NSA for longer periods of two to seven days before being presented to prosecutors, Genady added, which perhaps explains the fact that arrests are not yet reflected in prosecution referrals.