Prosecution authorities ordered a 15-day detention pending investigations for 63-year-old Hassan Mubarak, whose brother Emad Mubarak is the manager of the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE).
Mubarak was arrested Saturday and questioned Sunday. Mubarak is facing charges of illegally printing and distributing books without the permission of the owners of the publications, his brother Emad posted to his Facebook account Monday evening.
AFTE’s lawyer Mokhtar Mounir confirmed that documents proving Mubarak’s authorisation to print were presented to the prosecution.
“The police stormed the printing house but found no printing machines, only a copy of a booklet by the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights and a document that belongs to the 6 April Youth Movement,” prominent lawyer Khaled Ali stated in a Sunday interview with Daily News Egypt.
Mubarak is also accused of belonging to the 6 April movement, which has been banned by the Egyptian state, and publishing material with the purpose of incitement to violence, which would expand his case beyond publishing crimes.
“The main idea [behind the accusations] is that he promotes ‘terrorist’ ideas through publishing,” Mounir said.
According to the Human Rights Documentary Organization (HRDO), a civic organisation promoting free digital expression, Mubarak is 63 and suffers from blood pressure, diabetes and breathing difficulties, HRDO stated.
