Criminal Justice | ECESR Wins Protest Case, 3 Family Members Set Free

Another win for ECESR in a protest case

On Monday 27 April, Ibshway Misdemeanor Court in Fayoum acquitted Abdallah Ahmed Mahmoud and his father and uncle (in misdemeanor 4693 of 2015 Ibshway Misdemeanors) from police charges of protesting illegally, assaulting law enforcement, and property damage at Al-Gomhoreya Street. Police report states they were caught in the act, even though they were arrested at night from their house on 6 April 2015 and did not participate in any protests that day.

The case is also paradoxical because the accused finished his obligatory military service in December 2014 with an ideal record. During his enlistment, he was a member of the army forces helping anti-riot police in Minya. A few days after leaving the army, the police considered him a terrorist.

The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) praises the ruling, even though it stresses the unconstitutionality of the protest law. ECESR calls upon the Egyptian judiciary to apply justice in protest cases, and abstain from upholding misleading and fabricated police reports.