(Photo by: Mohamed Omar)
Members from the 6 April Youth Movement publically called for the release of detainees in a demonstration on the front steps of the Press Syndicate.
Activists chanted the names of the detainees and those who had been arrested or killed in the past.
The four, who have been detained for a month, are scheduled to appear at the Fifth Settlement Criminal Court on Monday to determine whether the prosecution will move forward with a trial or release them.
“We had hoped all our lawyers and legal [means] would ensure their release earlier,” said media spokesman of the group Khaled El-Masry.
“Our expectation from two weeks ago is that they should be released,” he added. “It is a political decision that keeps them [detained] up until now.”
Three of the detainees are members of the 6 April Youth Movement. The four were arrested on 29 March after they took part in a demonstration outside the residence of Minister of the Interior Mohamed Ibrahim, where they threw women’s undergarments at Ibrahim’s house. They were kept in the Central Security Forces encampment of Al-Gabal Al-Ahmar before being taken to Tora maximum-security prison, where they have remained pending investigation.
The detainees are 30-year-old laboratory director Mohamed Mostafa, 28-year-old teacher Zizou Abdu, 28-year-old sales manager Mamdouh Hassan, and Sayed Mounir, who is not a member of the group but was reportedly participating in the demonstration.
El-Masry reported that the Ministry of Interior has assured the group that the men are being treated well. He added that the conditions of their incarceration had improved, “but we believe they are still at high risk”. The group has lodged a formal complaint with the authorities and has contacted the Human Rights Committee of the Shura Council and various NGOs.
Additional reporting by Joel Gulhane and Rana Muhammad Taha
