Ramadan of Freedom | Release of Additional Zamalek Supporters in the Confederation Cup Final Case
On Thursday, 26 February 2026, the Supreme State Security Prosecution ordered the release of student Karim Ahmed Abdel Tawab and Fathy Awad Fathy in Case No. 2490 of 2024 (Supreme State Security Registry), in which they were charged with joining a terrorist organization and disseminating false information.
Karim Abdel Tawab and Fathy Awad were arrested in May 2024 in connection with the same case, which involves a number of supporters of Zamalek Sporting Club. The charges arise from events related to the CAF Confederation Cup final match between Zamalek and Morocco’s RS Berkane, held at Cairo International Stadium during that month.
A lawyer from the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights represented Karim Abdel Tawab and, during pretrial detention renewal hearings, petitioned for his immediate release. The Supreme State Security Prosecution had previously ordered the release of six other defendants in the same case.
The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights marks the holy month of Ramadan—embodying the values of mercy, justice, and family unity—by drawing attention to the conditions of individuals detained in connection with freedom of opinion and expression cases, whether held in pretrial detention or serving custodial sentences, and calls for an end to their continued deprivation of liberty.
In this context, the Center renews its “Ramadan Without Bars” campaign, which includes a series of articles highlighting the cases of prisoners and detainees held in opinion-related cases, with the aim of advocating for their release, as well as the release of all individuals detained in similar cases, and securing for them the liberty to which they are legally and constitutionally entitled.
On this occasion, calls are renewed for the release of prisoners and detainees held in connection with opinion and expression cases, so that they may reunite with their families and regain their fundamental right to liberty, ensuring that their Ramadan is no longer spent behind bars.
