Sentence of Mohsen Bahnasi renewed in absentia
Egypt
It has been reported that the sentence of Egyptian human rights lawyer Mohsen Bahnasi was renewed in absentia.
Mohsen Bahnasi is an Egyptian human rights lawyer, advocating for the rights of political prisoners. Moreover, he is a member of the Freedoms Committee of the Egyptian Bar Association.
On 6 July 2020, the State Public Prosecution renewed the detention of Mohsen Bahnasi again for 15 additional days. The renewal session was held in absentia.
On 27 March 2020, Mohsen Bahnasi was violently arrested by several national security agents. After that, he was detained. Reportedly after a call from a person claiming to be a client in need of legal aid, Mohsen Bahnasi decided to meet this individual. Upon arrival, national security agents arrested him without presenting a warrant. Consequently, the security agents brought Mohsen Bahnasi to his house. His house was searched without a warrant and his phone and money were confiscated. Moreover, his family was verbally abused. Thereafter, Mohsen Bahnasi was brought to the Helwan National Security headquarters in the Abbasiya region for interrogation. Frontline Defenders also reported that he was physically abused, placed in solitary confinement and not allowed to have access to his lawyer.
One day later, Mohsen Bahnasi was charged with ‘joining a terrorist organisation’ and ‘spreading false news’, in connection to his social media posts in which he called for the release of prisoners in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.