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Egypt: prosecutors remove political activist from ‘terrorist’ list

January 12, 2022 at 11:30 am

Egyptian geotechnical engineer Mamdouh Hamza [Youtube]

The Egyptian Public Prosecution Service accepted yesterday the petition filed by political activist Mamdouh Hamza against the inclusion of his name on the state’s list of “terrorists”. The move annuls the decision in the case last October in which he was convicted for “inciting violence and spreading fake news aiming to undermine the country’s stability and security”.

Hamza was sentenced to six months in prison. The court also ordered that his name should be added to the “terrorist” list. The decision of the prosecution service means that he will be re-tried before another criminal court, not the one that convicted him.

He was accused of committing a “terror crime” by trying to cause civil unrest using his social media accounts. He also faced charges of resisting the authorities while carrying out their duties and posting fake news on his personal Twitter account.

The Egyptian authorities have recently released a number of political activists held in pre-trial detention on political charges. Those released include poet Khaled Saeed, a member of the Constitution Party; activist Ramy Kamel, the head of the Maspero Youth Foundation; and political activist Rami Shaath, co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in Egypt and the son of former Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath.

READ: Sisi: Claims of rights violations in Egypt are ‘lies’