(Aaron T. Rose / DNE)
Haitham Mohamedein was accused by the Suez prosecutors general’s office on Saturday, of belonging to a secret organisation that is “inciting to empower a particular social class and attempts at changing the state’s social systems”
Mohamedein , a member of the Revolutionary Socialists’ (RevSoc) political bureau and a labour rights lawyer who also works at El Nadeem Centre for Psychological Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture, was arrested outside the city of Suez where he was going to meet with labour representatives. He was held at the E’taqa police station before being referred to the general prosecutor’s office in Suez.
Ramy Ghanem, a member of a team of human rights attorney’s present on behalf of Mohamedein , explained that ” Mohamedein was told by the judge that he was accused of belonging to a secret organisation aiming at assaulting citizens, harming social peace and inciting violence” while also being accused “of incitement and assistance to subvert state property, facilities and public institutions in order to damage the state”
Ghanem said that the official asking the questions “is a prosecutor however it appears that he has the authority of an investigative judge and [Haitham] is standing trial in front of a Supreme State Security Court of Emergency.”
One question asked by the judge, as per Ghanem, was whether [Mohamedein ] belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood to which he answered “no”.
“The interrogation is highly political with a lot of questions regarding the Revolutionary Socialists as a secret organisation and its relation with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Ghanem commented.
A statement was released by the Revolutionary Socialists movement on Friday explained that Mohammadein was individually ordered off the bus in an army checkpoint while travelling back to Suez. He was searched and his belongings were confiscated.
A number of movements held a protest on Saturday in front of the High Court in downtown Cairo, calling for ” Mohamedein’s immediate release”, including the Revolutionary Socialist movement and 6th of April movement.
