After his arrest on Tuesday, the 6 April Youth Movement’s general coordinator Amr Ali has appeared in Tora Prison, according to information from the activist network Freedom for the Brave.
Coordinator of Freedom for the Brave, Khaled Abdel Hamid, told Daily News Egypt that Ali was spotted in the high-security Cairo prison by another individual. Ali received a standard 15-day detention order, without the presence of a lawyer, according to the witness, who said the youth movement leader is being investigated on charges relating to an old case.
Ali was arrested in the city of Ashmoun in Menufiya, and his investigation by local security was later confirmed by Head of Ashmoun Investigative Unit Mohamed Al-Sakhawy to state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper.
Ali’s arrest constitutes a forced disappearance, as family and lawyers have been unable to make contact with him, said a previous statement from the movement, which was a key force in the 2011 revolution and the years following. The group called for his immediate release.
Osama Hamada, Amr Ali’s brother, told local news website Mada Masr Wednesday that his family were unaware of where Ali was, and lawyers were unable to find further information on the arrest.
Freedom for the Brave has campaigned against and documented cases of forced disappearances, and previously reported on 163 cases occurring in the two-moth period of April and May this year, including 6 April members and other activists.
Ali was elected in October 2013 to be the group’s new coordinator, to replace imprisoned Ahmed Maher. Prior to leading the group, Ali was responsible for the movement’s community work, and a member of the group’s political bureau for three years.
The 6 April Youth Movement was banned in April 2014 by the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters on the grounds of espionage and destabilising Egypt’s image. Key figures from the movement remain behind bars, notably Ahmed Maher and Ahmed Douma who were sentenced on grounds of violating the protest law.
