🔴 The Cairo Criminal Court is holding today a trial session for Aisha al-Shater and Huda Abdul Moneim in a new case despite years of imprisonment and violations.
Today, Tuesday, February 10, the Second Terrorism Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court, convened at the Badr Prison Complex, is holding a trial session for both the cassation lawyer and former member of the National Council for Human Rights, Ms. Huda Abdul Moneim Hassan, and Ms. Aisha Khairat al-Shater, who are detained in Rehabilitation Prison 4 in the Tenth of Ramadan City, in connection with case No. 800 of 2019, which includes 27 defendants from various governorates.
▪️ Security forces arrested Ms. Huda Abdul Moneim (67 years old) and Ms. Aisha al-Shater on the evening of November 1, 2018, where they were taken to the National Security headquarters in Abbassia, and they were subjected to nearly three weeks of enforced disappearance, during which they faced severe violations and physical and psychological torture, before being presented to the Supreme State Security Prosecution on November 21, 2018, which issued a decision to detain them for 15 days pending investigations and transferred them to Qanater Women’s Prison.
▪️ On March 5, 2023, the Supreme State Security Emergency Court issued a final judgment that cannot be appealed, sentencing Ms. Aisha al-Shater to 10 years in prison and the human rights lawyer Huda Abdul Moneim to 5 years in prison, in case No. 1552 of 2018, based on charges related to joining and funding a terrorist organization.
▪️ Just a few days before the end of the sentence imposed on Ms. Huda Abdul Moneim, she was summoned and interrogated again in connection with the current case No. 800 of 2019, which resulted in the continuation of her detention in what is known as the policy of recycling, in clear violation of the guarantees of criminal justice and the principle of not being punished twice for the same facts.
▪️ During their years of detention, the Al-Shehab Center documented that both Aisha al-Shater and Huda Abdul Moneim were subjected to various forms of maltreatment and cruel, inhuman treatment, including:
– Denial of visits for long periods extending for years
– Denial of necessary medical care at the appropriate time
– Detention in harsh conditions that violate human dignity
– Violation of the right to communicate with family and legal defense
The Al-Shehab Center for Human Rights affirms that the continued detention of the two women and their retrial in successive cases reflects a systematic pattern of restricting freedom and targeting women and opponents, in clear violation of the Egyptian constitution and international standards for fair trials.
⚖️ The Al-Shehab Center demands:
▪️ An end to the policy of recycling and the cessation of arbitrary legal prosecutions
▪️ The immediate release of Ms. Huda Abdul Moneim and Ms. Aisha al-Shater
▪️ Enabling them to enjoy all their legal and human rights
▪️ Providing urgent and appropriate medical care without restrictions
▪️ Opening an independent investigation into the incidents of enforced disappearance and the violations they were subjected to
📌 Respect for human rights and guarantees of justice is not a luxury, but a legal obligation that does not expire.
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