Two years since the arrest of Mohamed El-Baqer
Egypt
Precisely two years ago, on 29 September 2019, Egyptian lawyer and human rights defender Mohamed El-Baqer was arrested. He has been in pretrial detention since his arrest. On 13 September 2021 his pretrial detention was once again renewed for another 45 days.
Mohamed El-Baqer is an Egyptian lawyer and human rights defender. He is the director of the Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms, which promotes civil and political rights in Egypt and offers legal aid to political detainees and prisoners of conscience. His arrest seemed to be connected to his legitimate activities as a lawyer. He remains in pretrial detention on charges of ‘joining and financing a terrorist organization, ‘defamation’, and ‘using social media for illegal activities’.
Additionally, Mohamed El-Baqer was arbitrarily added to Egypt’s ‘terrorist list’ on 19 November 2020 for a period of five years. This ruling by the Cairo Criminal Court includes restrictions such as a travel ban and a freeze of assets for a period of three years.
On 13 September 2021, the Cairo Criminal Court met to consider Mohamed El-Baqer’s detention. His wife shared in a Facebook Post that Mohamed El-Baqer’s detention was renewed for another 45 days during this court meeting. The maximum length of pre-trial detention is two years according to article 143 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Egypt, which will thus be exceeded today.
Lawyers for Lawyers will continue to monitor Mohamed El-Baqer’s case.