Rights groups and activists condemned the delayed process to release prominent lawyer Malek Adly, upon a court verdict issued Saturday. Lawyers continued to follow up on his release on Sunday morning, reporting that he should soon be out.
According to a statement signed by 16 entities including political parties and NGOs, Adly wasn’t freed after several hours of the prison’s reception of the release order from the prosecution.
“This is a common delay, repeated in several cases with the aim of obstructing the releasing procedures, and is considered unlawful detention,” read the statement published Saturday by the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR).
Moreover, lawyer Ahmed Fawzy, former secretary-general of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP), said on Facebook that there were no legal grounds for the transfer of Adly from Tora prison to Shubra El-Kheima police station, after the prosecution finalised his release order.
Adly was already granted a release on Thursday, as a Cairo court accepted his appeal against his detention. However, the prosecution appealed against the court’s release order, but saw its lawsuit rejected as a second appeal was an incorrect procedure, legally, according to rights lawyer Khaled Ali.
Adly’s detention came in the wake of a security crackdown on human rights and political activists, which intensified against the backdrop of the controversial Red Sea islands case.
