Sherif Al-Rouby’s Detention Renewed for 45 Days Despite Exceeding Legal Limit on Pretrial Custody

On 27 July 2025, the Cairo Criminal Court, convening at the Badr Court Complex, ordered the renewal of Sherif Ali Mohamed’s (known as Sherif Al-Rouby) pretrial detention for an additional 45 days, pending investigations in Case No. 1634 of 2022, registered under the Supreme State Security Prosecution.

Al-Rouby was arrested on 16 September 2022 after publicly expressing frustration over the challenges he and other recently released individuals faced in securing employment. His arrest came just three months after his release by presidential pardon in Case No. 1111 of 2020.

He now faces charges of spreading false information and joining a terrorist organization. Since his arrest, Al-Rouby has remained in pretrial detention, subject to routine renewals by the Terrorism Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court. He is currently held at the Tenth of Ramadan Prison (Prison No. 6).

In May 2023, during a routine hearing to review his detention, Al-Rouby’s legal team raised serious concerns regarding his health, reporting that he was suffering from speech difficulties caused by acute inflammation of the seventh cranial nerve. Despite his condition, the administration of Abu Zaabal Prison allegedly refused to refer him to a specialist or admit him to the prison hospital for treatment, even though medical imaging was urgently required.

Following these developments, a lawyer from the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights submitted a request to the Public Prosecutor of the Supreme State Security Prosecution, calling for Al-Rouby’s release and access to necessary medical care, particularly as his condition continued to deteriorate behind bars.

The request emphasized that the legal grounds for his continued detention, as outlined in Article 134 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, were no longer applicable. Al-Rouby has a fixed and verifiable residence, poses no flight risk, and cannot interfere with evidence that remains under the exclusive control of the prosecution. His release would not compromise public order or safety. Moreover, he had previously faced similar charges and was released due to lack of evidence.

The Center also requested that, if his release was not granted, his detention be replaced with one of the precautionary measures permitted under Article 201 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Al-Rouby had previously spent nearly 18 months in pretrial detention between December 2020 and May 2022 on similar charges in Case No. 1111 of 2020. His current imprisonment marks the fourth time he has been detained. He was first arrested in 2016 for allegedly violating Egypt’s Protest Law, then again on 6 April 2018 in Alexandria. On 16 April 2018, he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in connection with Case No. 621 of 2018.

On 22 July 2019, following roughly a year and a half in detention, the Cairo Criminal Court ordered his release under precautionary measures. Nonetheless, he was re-arrested in connection with the present case, No. 1634 of 2022.