The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) condemns the Dikirnis Misdemeanor Court of Appeal’s decision to renew the detention of five citizens, including two children, for 15 days on charges of “inciting a gathering aimed at attacking persons and public and private property, influencing public authority men while performing their work, and carrying stones to disrupt traffic”, in connection with Case No. 7711 of 2024 (Matareya Misdemeanors – Dakahlia).

On November 14th 2024, twelve people, including four women, were killed and 22 others injured when a bus transporting workers of a Port Said company collided with a truck on the Matareya-Port Said road, which has had records of similar incidents for years.

The incident took place on the morning of November 16th; security forces arrested a number of relatives and neighbours of the victims against the backdrop of a protest over the deterioration of infrastructure that caused many similar accidents on the same road. The protest lasted less than two hours, as security forces dispersed it using tear gas canisters. On the other hand, the Ministry of Social Solidarity announced at the time the disbursement of “compensation” amounting to 50,000 pounds for each family of a breadwinner, 25,000 pounds for each family of a non-breadwinner, and 5,000 pounds for each person injured in the accident.

The prosecution investigated 29 people, including three children, from the victims’ families and neighbours, then released 23 on bail of 10,000 pounds after accusing them of participating in a “gathering”. It also placed a 14-year-old child in a care home, as the law prohibits the detention of children under the age of 15. The child was handed over to his family a week later.

Five citizens aging between 17 and 23 have been detained for more than 40 days on charges of “inciting a gathering”. In yesterday’s hearing set to consider the renewal of their detention, which was attended by an EIPR lawyer as part of the villagers’ defense team, the prosecution renewed the detention of the five for 15 days, despite the lack of legal justifications that require their pretrial detention.

The five include Ahmed Mohamed al-Saeed, 23, the brother of victim Mohamed, who died in the accident, his nephew Karim al-Garaihi Shaaban, 18, and their neighbour Mahmoud al-Saeed Hegazi, 19, all of whom are held at Gamasa prison. They also include two children (A.M. and A.A.), who are friends of the deceased’s nephew. Both are 17 years old and currently detained at Bani Ebeid police station. The five were not caught in flagrante delicto, nor were they faced with any evidence or witnesses, and the prosecution based its charges only on the police investigation report, which does not amount to indictment evidence.

EIPR calls on Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky to order the release of the five detainees, drop all charges levelled against them, and shelve the case. It also calls on the concerned authorities to stop relying on violent security approaches against citizens when declaring that they have been affected by the government’s mistakes and deprived of their constitutional rights, instead of taking responsibility in the face of negligence that takes the lives of citizens.