Egyptian detainees appeal to the authorities, Al-Azhar Grand Imam and the judiciary to end their ordeal

The Families of Egyptian Detainees Association (FEDA) has confirmed receipt of a new appeal from pretrial detainees held in Egyptian prisons, addressed primarily to the country’s leaders and public opinion leaders, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, religious scholars, civil society leaders, professional and labor unions, human rights organisations, legal professionals and members of the judiciary, university faculty members, and the Egyptian people in general.

The appeal sets out a number of demands, foremost among them an end to the ongoing waste of detainees’ lives and potential, the application of genuine justice, an end to political division and political retaliation against opponents, and, ultimately, the preservation of the state and its national institutions.

Among its specific demands, the appeal calls for the formation of a judicial fact-finding committee comprising representatives of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, the Court of Cassation, the Courts of Appeal, and the Public Prosecution, to review cases brought by the Supreme State Security Prosecution that are based solely on “investigation reports,” without corroborating evidence, material exhibits, or actual events and facts warranting legal accountability or prosecution.

It also calls for the suspension of the work of the two State Security Criminal Chambers that have issued thousands of pretrial detention orders without sufficient legal grounds, relying on police investigation reports submitted to them, while allegedly failing to hear the defendants’ legal arguments or defense witnesses. The appeal further points to the weakness of the evidence, the absence of concrete facts, confessions, or material exhibits, and the failure to implement mandatory release orders.

The appeal calls for the immediate release of all pretrial detainees who have exceeded the maximum period permitted by law; the replacement of pretrial detention with alternatives provided for under the law; and guarantees that released defendants will not be repeatedly charged in new cases following their release.

The appeal concludes with a call to turn the page on the past by ending political hostility through reconciliation and impartial, comprehensive justice, and by helping detainees spend the remainder of their lives with their wives, children, fathers, and mothers.

The appeal comes just days before Egypt’s new Code of Criminal Procedure comes into force in early October 2026, in which pretrial detainees are hopeful, especially those who have spent periods in detention much longer than the maximum period stipulated by law.

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