Trial of leading Journalists Syndicate members adjourned to June 25

The case against Journalist Syndicate head Yehia Qallash and board members Khaled al-Balshy and Gamal Abdel Rehim was adjourned on Saturday, with three upcoming court sessions scheduled for June 25, July 2 and July 9.

The defense team requested to review the case documents for journalists Amr Badr and Mahmoud al-Sakka and their referral to court. The team also requested the testimony of board member Hatem Zakareya and the security personnel who raided the syndicate, aiming to prove that Balshy and Abdel Rehim were not in Egypt when the syndicate was raided.

Police forces raided the Journalists Syndicate early May and arrested Badr and Sakka, who were holding a sit-in in protest of raids conducted on their homes in light of arrest warrants issued against them. They face charges of inciting protests, attempting to overthrow the government, joining an organization aiming to challenge the Constitution and disseminating false information to disturb public security.

Qallash, Balshy and Abdel Rehim were summoned on May 29 for investigations into charges of "harboring fugitives and propagating false news," in relation to the journalists’ arrest.

The three were released on LE10,000 bail, which they refused to pay after investigations dragged on until the early hours of the following day, when they were transferred to the Qasr al-Nil Police Station.

Lawyer Tarek Negeda eventually paid their bail, but conflicting reports remain over who made the decision to post bail and where the money came from.

The three men were referred to trial the following day.