The Judge of Appeal at Cairo’s Abdeen Court ordered Sunday a renewal for the detention of Taher Mokhtar, head of the Freedoms Committee at the Doctors Syndicate, along with two others for a further 15 days, pending investigations.
Mokhtar, NGO worker Ahmed Hassan, and student Hossam Hamad were arrested in their apartment in Downtown, Cairo on 14 January during security raids that were conducted ahead of the fifth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution.
The trio are accused of possessing sedtionary leaflets.
Security forces reported that the objects confiscated from the residence of the three en include: a voltmeter, a laptop, three mobile phones, a tablet, a computer and anti-government and health system reform pamphlets and papers.
Local human rights groups and public figures condemned the arrests, contending that the National Security Apparatus aims to “stifle freedom of expression as well as harass activists and human rights defenders”.
Mokhtar is a prominent health activist concerned with health conditions in detention facilities and a member of the campaign entitled Medical Neglect in Places of Detention is a Crime.
