Political activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah has been called for questioning after being accused of insulting the judiciary on Twitter.
“I was called on Monday evening for investigation and nobody told me what the reason was. I found out it was a case that has been filed against me for almost four months,” Abdel-Fattah said. He explained that 1064 judges have targeted a number of political and human rights activists and filed lawsuits against them claiming they have insulted the judiciary.
“I refused to cooperate in the interrogation because I believe the judiciary needs to set their priorities right,” he said.
Ahmed Abdel-Fattah, his father and lawyer, said the judiciary should first look into cases that have to deal with torture and human right violations instead of questioning activists for expressing their opinions.
“They left the former prosecutor general and the current one and are now very enthusiastic about activists,” he said.
Some media professionals, like Dina Abdel Rahman, were questioned along with Abdel-Fattah on Tuesday. It is expected that former parliamentarian Moustafa Al-Naggar will also be questioned on similar grounds.
“I don’t know what the coming steps will be, but I really hope that all people in similar situation would not cooperate in the interrogations until the judiciary uncovers the torture cases committed inside its structure,” he said, referring to an incident which he claims three judges tortured activists inside the Judges Club.
Abdel-Fattah is a political activist and blogger who was detained twice on charges of inciting violence during the Maspero incidents on 30 October 2011. He was detained for 46 days and then for another 60 days after claims he insulted soldiers and destroyed military properties. In 2007, Abdel-Fattah was arrested during a peaceful demonstration calling for an independent judiciary.
