Trial against Mahienour El-Massry
Egypt
On 20 September 2015, El Raml Misdemeanour Court of Appeal rejected the demurrer filed by human rights lawyer Mahienour El-Massry and two others to suspend the implementation of their sentence until the Court of Cassation hears the appeal of the case.
On 31 May 2015 the Court of Appeal sentenced Mahienour El-Massry, along with nine activists, to one year and three months imprisonment on charges of, amongst others, “assaulting security forces”. She had been in preventive detention since the first appeal hearing on 11 May 2015.
The conviction of El-Massry followed after an incident in March 2013, when she and other lawyers went to Raml police station to provide legal assistance to three activists who were arrested and sent to the police by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood (the “Raml police station” case). Upon arrival at the police station, the human rights defenders were verbally abused by the police. They subsequently began a sit-in inside the police station, demanding that the prosecution investigate the police aggression against them.
Lawyers for Lawyers calls upon the Egyptian authorities to immediately release Mahienour el-Massry and drop all charges against her as they are clearly aimed at hindering her peaceful human rights activities.