Yesterday, November 12th, the Supreme State Security Prosecution released defendants on various cases, including EIPR client Abdullah Al-Sayed Ali, who was detained pending Case 2490 of 2024, on charges related to his solidarity with the rights of the Palestinian people.

Abdullah was released as one of 30 people detained on 14 open cases from 2022, 2023, and 2024. After spending nearly six months in pre-trial detention, he was arrested in Tahrir Square on May 13th 2024, during a spontaneous attempt by passers-by to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause in front of the Arab League headquarters. Mr Abdallah, who works in a garment factory, and others were detained at the Qasr El Nile police station. Despite the release of all those arrested with him, he was referred alone to the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which charged him with joining a terrorist group and spreading false news without confronting him with evidence or exhibits.

At the beginning of his incarceration in the Tenth of Ramadan 6 prison, Mr Abdullah, 37, suffered fractures in his pelvis and left thigh as a result of a fall and underwent surgery to install pelvic plates and screws, forcing him to use a wheelchair for a period of time. Throughout his incarceration, the Tenth of Ramadan 6 prison administration refused to provide him with physiotherapy and obstinately refused to provide painkillers. EIPR lawyers submitted several requests for post-operative medical care, both during his detention renewal hearings before the State Security Prosecution and later before the consultation room held at the Reform and Rehabilitation Centre in Badr, as well as to the Community Protection Sector (formerly the Prisons Authority).

It should be noted that more than 100 Egyptian citizens are still imprisoned pending state security cases for expressing their support for Palestine and their rejection of the Israeli occupation army's genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which has recently spread to Lebanon. Some of them have been detained for more than a year.

The EIPR emphasises that releasing pre-trial detainees is a just and long-awaited step. Still, it remains insufficient in light of the continued imprisonment of more people, including those who have exceeded the legal periods of pre-trial detention, such as Marwa Arafa, Sherif Al-Roubi, and others. EIPR calls on the State Security Prosecution to release all those arrested for expressing their support for Palestine in various peaceful forms, and to drop all open cases against them