By Mai Shams El-Din
CAIRO: The prosecution ordered Sunday the release of 10 protesters on LE 10,000 bail each after they were detained on June 8 and charged with insulting public servants, blocking traffic, illegal gathering and threatening national security
However, lawyers said that the 10, arrested during a protest in front of the Cabinet office last week, cannot afford to post bail.
“They received 15 days pending investigation on Saturday, but we appealed the prosecution’s decision so on Sunday they set bail [at LE 10,000],” lawyer from the Hisham Mubarak Law Center Ahmed Hossam told Daily News Egypt.
“We are trying now to appeal against the bail decision [since] none of them can afford this. The appeal could lower the bail to LE 100 for each or can keep it as is. We have to wait.”
The 10 protesters include five farmers, three workers at Al-Nasr Company for Cars, and two Al-Azhar students. While the workers demanded better wages and working conditions, the farmers demanded ownership of the land they rent from the state and a decrease in the price of fertilizers. The two Azhar students were demanding employment opportunities.
Meanwhile, five workers in Petroget Oil Company who were protesting in front of the Petroleum Ministry were interrogated before a military court on Sunday. A verdict was not issued at press time.
