(AFP File Photo\ Khaled Desouki)
The General Prosecutor ordered the detention of renowned activist and blogger Ahmed Doma for four days for assembly, resisting authorities and vandalism in front of Abdeen Court last Saturday.
Doma was arrested on Tuesday morning from his house at Dar AlSalam and was taken to Al-Basateen Police Station, then to Zeinhom Court where he had been investigated.
Upon his arrest, Doma tweeted that he was taken to Basateen Police Station, but did not know the reason behind his arrest.
A demonstration took place outside Abdeen Court on Saturday against the Protest Law and called for the release of the Shura Council detainees; it was dispersed by police using teargas and birdshots. Protesters lined up with their identification cards to turn themselves in to show solidarity with the detainees.
Doma is the second activist to be linked to the clashes outside Abdeen Court in addition to the founder of the 6 April movement Ahmed Maher.
Misr Al-Qawia Party released a statement calling for the immediate release of all political detainees and the halting of arbitrary arrests and arrest warrants issued for a number of activists.
The court ordered the release of 23 of the detainees, which the prosecutor appealed. The appeal of the verdict handed to only one of the detainees, Ahmed Abdel Rahman, was overruled, as he was in possession of a melee weapon at the time of his arrest.
“Abdel Rahman had the knife because he works as a chef and he is the only one from the detainees who was arbitrarily arrested and wasn’t part of the protest,” said Mahmoud Belal, Deputy Manager of the Criminal Justice Unit at the Egyptian Centre of Economic Rights and Social Rights and one of the lawyers of the detainees.
The appeal of the release of the Shura detainees was held at the Non Commissioned Police Officers Institute in Tura. Belal described the location of the court as “an extreme measure”, adding that there is no legal basis for conducting investigations inside a police station and having the court review the appeal inside a police facility.
A number of protesters were arrested during the No Military Trials protest in front of the Shura Council on Tuesday 26 November. The precise number of those arrested is unknown. However, only 24 male detainees faced prosecution while the rest, which include famous female activists, lawyers and journalists, were released.
The 24 detainees were accused of blocking roads, assembly, protesting without a permit, acquiring melee weapons during a protest and attacking and injuring a public servant and stealing his personal wireless device.
