From the archive: Lawyer Khaled Ali to face urgent trial Monday, charges unclear
Editor’s note: This piece was first published on May 24, 2017. We are republishing it here, one day ahead of Khaled Ali’s trial on Monday May 29 to make it accessible to our readers who can no longer access our website. We have updated some of the dates for clarity and have also incorporated details from the May 23 article, “Lawyer Khaled Ali detained overnight amid crackdown on political opposition figures,” for our readers’ reference.
Prominent lawyer and founder of Egypt’s Bread and Freedom Party Khaled Ali will face urgent trial at a Dokki misdemeanor court on Monday May 29 on charges that are not yet clear.
Ali was detained overnight on May 23 at Dokki Police Station, before he was released on LE1,000 bail on the afternoon of May 24.
His lawyers maintain there is no legal basis for his trial, speculating as to what the charges against him might be. He was questioned for perceived “public indecency” over his use of “an indecent hand gesture” following court proceedings on the ceding of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia.
If Ali is found guilty on charges of public indecency, he will not be able to run for president in 2018, lawyer Negad al-Borai told Mada Masr.
Before Ali’s release last Wednesday, 66 lawyers arrived to the Dokki prosecution office to support him, along with other prominent figures, such as the former head of the Central Auditing Authority Hesham Geneina, former ambassador Masoum Marzouk and journalist Khaled al-Balshy.
A source, who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity, said the prosecution refused to present Ali with the evidence against him, and that Ali responded by using his right to remain silent throughout the investigation.
The lawyer was a prominent figure in the judicial appeal against the Saudi Arabia-Egypt agreement to cede the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to the Gulf country, which the Supreme Administrative Court determined was invalid in January. Ali also ran for president in 2012.
Both the Dostour Party and Revolutionary Socialists released statements in support of Khaled Ali after his arrest and expressed their solidarity with the Bread and Freedom Party.
Ali’s detention came amid a wave of over 30 arrests in recent weeks targeting members of several of Egypt’s political groups and parties, including the Dostour Party and the Bread and Freedom Party, along with members of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Revolutionary Socialists and the April 6 Youth Movement.
The first wave of arrests at the beginning of May were carried out in Alexandria, when Nael Hassan, Islam al-Hadary, Shazly Hussein and Ahmed Ibrahim were accused of insulting the president online, and joining an illegal group to “stir public opinion, obstruct state institutions and bring down the regime.” Such charges could carry sentences of up to 10 years in jail under Egypt’s new anti-terrorism law.
On May 18, the Interior Ministry said its “Communications Systems and Information Technology Department filed 40 cases of incitement to violence and other cases via the internet.”
Last Tuesday, a court acquitted a member of the liberal Dostour Party, as the prosecution ordered the detention of two other members of the socialist Bread and Freedom Party.
Dostour Party member Ahmed Hefny was charged with insulting the president, spreading false news and misusing social media by a court in Port Said before being acquitted, according to party spokesperson Khaled Daoud.
The two Bread and Freedom Party members, Asaad Maamoun and Mohamed Abdel Nasser, were ordered to be detained in Aga, in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya, for 15 days. They have been charged with spreading “false news about the economy to incite public opinion” and joining an illegal group, according to a party statement.
In Upper Egypt’s Qena, the prosecution released political activist Mostafa al-Galis, after lawyers filed an appeal against his 15-day detention order following his arrest two weeks ago. He is still being investigated on accusations of joining a banned organization and disrupting public peace.
Lawyers have appealed the 15-day detention of Mostafa Abdallah, another activist who was arrested in Qena, with a court being due to review the case last Wednesday, according to Al-Ahd Center for Legal Assistance.
Ali’s detention comes amid a wave of over 30 arrests in recent weeks, targeting members of several of Egypt’s political groups and parties.
A court acquitted a member of the liberal Dostour Party on Tuesday, as the prosecution ordered the detention of two other members of the socialist Bread and Freedom Party besides Ali.
The acquitted Dostour Party member, Ahmed Hefny, was charged with insulting the president, spreading false news and misusing social media by a court in Port Said, according to party spokesperson Khaled Daoud.
The two Bread and Freedom Party members, Asaad Maamoun and Mohamed Abdel Nasser, were ordered to be detained in Aga, in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya, for 15 days, charged with spreading “false news about the economy to incite public opinion” and joining an illegal group, according to a party statement.
In Upper Egypt’s Qena, the prosecution released political activist Mostafa al-Galis, after lawyers filed an appeal against his 15-day detention order following his arrest last week. He is still being investigated on accusations of joining a banned organization and disrupting public peace.
Lawyers have appealed the 15-day detention of Mostafa Abdallah, another activist who was arrested in Qena last week, with a court due to review the case on Wednesday, according to Al-Ahd Center for Legal Assistance.
