Azza Soliman acquitted
Egypt
On 23 May 2015, lawyer Azza Soliman was acquitted by the Qasr al-Nile Court. Less than three days later, the Qasr al-Nile Prosecution appealed the acquittal. The appeal will be heard on 13 June 2015.
Azza Soliman voluntarily went to the Public Prosecution’s office on 24 January 2015, to give her testimony regarding the violent dispersal of a protest organized by the political party Popular Alliance on that same day by security forces. This had led to the death of one political activist. Soliman did not take part in the protest, but was coincidentally in the same area and witnessed the dispersal and the shooting of the activist. On March 23, 2015 Egyptian prosecutors decided that Azza Soliman was no longer a witness in the case but a defendant. She was accused of protesting illegally and of breaching public order and security.
Lawyers for Lawyers welcomes the acquittal of Azza Soliman, but remains concerned about the situation of many human rights lawyers in Egypt. L4L will continue to closely monitor the case of Azza Soliman.