The Alexandria Military Court looking into the case of the 26 workers of the Alexandria Shipyard Company will issue a verdict on 2 August, after hearing the defence’s arguments on Monday.
The case has a total of 26 defendants, of which 15 workers are present.
The 15 are to stay in detention until the verdict. The families of the workers cited harsh conditions of their relatives in prison, including inaccessibility to medication and food.
In a previous session, the court was handed a report illustrating the role of every defendant in the charges.
The court previously listened to the testimonies of security officers, mainly intelligence officers who were in charge of writing the initial report on the protests in the factory.
A campaign to support the Alexandria Shipyard workers said that the workers had been detained for more than a month and a half “for demanding their rights”, such as profit shares and safety procedures.
A Sunday statement by the campaign pointed to the harsh conditions the workers are facing in different detention centres, with families citing the difficulties they face visiting their relatives. The statement added that the company’s management is not only punishing the accused workers, but also punishing all the company’s workers by locking them out of the factories.
The workers had initially demonstrated against deteriorating pay and inadequate health and safety procedures in the company.
On 24 May, the company’s administration refused to meet the demands of the workers. They imposed a lockout by security forces, and all production and services at the yard were brought to a halt.
As of 2007, the Alexandria Shipyard Company falls under the supervision and administration of the Ministry of Defence and Military Production. The company stands as one of the 1960s’ main industrial projects in Alexandria in the maritime field. It is one of several economic projects that are controlled by the Egyptian Armed Forces. The complex contains 2,500 workers who are civilians.
