The Arabist

The Arabist

By Issandr El Amrani and friends.

State Security Prosecutor renews Sharqawi’s and Sha3er’s detention

State Security Prosecutor renewed today the detention of Mohamed el-Sharqawi and Kareem el-Sha3er, the two Youth for Change activists who were detained and brutally tortured by State Security police on May 25, 2006.

The very kind-hearted prosecutor also decided that Sharqawi could finally start receiving medical treatment at El-Manial Hospital.

Moreover, the prosecutor extended today the detention of 50 Muslim Brotherhood activists, who were also detained in the May pro-reform demos. AP journalist Nadia Abou El-Magd reports:

Egypt extends jail time for pro-reform protesters, including one who was sexually abused and severely tortured
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ Prosecutors on Wednesday extended the detentions of 50 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and two other activists who were among hundreds arrested for taking part in pro-reform protests earlier in April and May.
The public prosecutors office also ordered medical treatment for one of the activists, Mohammed el-Sharkawi, who said he was tortured and sodomized at a Cairo police station after his arrest on May 25.
El-Sharkawi, 24, was grabbed, punched and kicked by more than 15 men in plainclothes after he had participated in a peaceful protest outside of the Journalists' Syndicate in downtown Cairo. Another activist Karim el-Sha'er arrested with him was also beaten.
The 50 members of the Brotherhood, have been in jail since protests on May 11. Since April, police have arrested hundreds of activists involved in peaceful protests of disciplinary hearings for two reformist judges.
Authorities can hold detainees for up to six months without trial under Egyptian law.
On Tuesday 164 Brotherhood protesters and 21 non-Brotherhood secular activists ordered held for another 15 days have already been in detention since April. Four others, including two women, were ordered released Tuesday.
The Brotherhood, an Islamic-based political party that is formally
banned but usually tolerated by the government, won nearly 20 percent of the legislature's seats in last year's elections, making it the largest opposition bloc.