Egypt: Political activists silenced with yearslong legal battles - DW (English)

When Patrick Zaki got to his car to thrust the 130 kilometers (81 miles) from Cairo to the tribunal successful Mansoura connected Tuesday morning, the governmental activistic described a sinking feeling up of the eighth proceeding against him.

"Every clip different proceeding approaches, it feels similar getting excessively close, reliving that ordeal," the 31-year-old quality rights activistic wrote successful Arabic connected his Facebook leafage up of the drive. 

With ordeal, the Coptic Christian is referring to the 22 months helium spent successful pre-trial detention for spreading "false news" aft publishing an nonfiction astir the repression of Egyptian Coptic Christians connected the Daraj online level successful 2019.

Similarly to his erstwhile 7 hearings, the justice again asked him connected Tuesday if helium took portion successful spreading mendacious quality successful Egypt and abroad. "As before, I said no," Zaki told DW successful a telephone interrogation aft the trial.

The nationalist authoritative was of a antithetic opinion. "He said that determination is nary favoritism of the Christian minority, that we person adjacent rights and helium closed his statement by asking the justice to springiness maine the maximum punishment without mercy," Zaki said.

If convicted, Zaki would look up to 5 years of imprisonment. 

But earlier Zaki was capable to equine his ineligible defense, the proceeding was adjourned for 3 months to February 2023 — just similar successful the 7 past instances.

Zaki's lengthy trial is not unsocial successful Egypt. Political observers and quality rights organizations have recognized a signifier down the growing number of prolonged trials successful the country. And it seems to beryllium a caller strategy to quell dissent.

Freed, but not free

"My bundle of state has been renewed for different 4th of a year, similar a telephone plan," Zaki told DW. 

Only, helium doesn't consciousness free. "I can't decorativeness my grade successful Italy owed to the question prohibition that was enactment connected me, and I can't motion a enactment declaration either since I ne'er cognize what is going to hap successful 3 months' time," helium told DW.

Instead, helium has been freelancing for a quality rights organization, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. "But I lone published 2 pieces, since my ineligible squad is perpetually disquieted that I could choler the prosecution adjacent more," helium said.

Meanwhile, his assemblage successful Bologna and quality rights organizations are supporting him with campaigns.

"Patrick George Zaki is simply a captive of conscience who indispensable beryllium unconditionally released arsenic helium is prosecuted solely for exercising his close to state of expression," Souleimene Benghazi, a determination campaigner astatine Amnesty International, told DW.

In turn, Amnesty has been calling connected the Egyptian authorities to driblet the charges against Zaki, assistance the question prohibition and let him to question backmost to Italy to prosecute his studies.

DW asked the nationalist prosecution successful Mansoura for a statement, but had not received a effect by the clip of publication.

The COP27 clime league was a magnet for quality rights activists, including Sanaa Seif (left), sister of the hunger-striking dissident Alaa Abdel-FattahImage: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Popular strategy

"The information that this politicized proceedings [against Zaki] is ongoing is besides a connection for everyone who dares to talk up: Their beingness tin beryllium caught up with years successful jail, question bans and politicized prosecutions," Amr Magdi, a Human Rights Watch researcher, told DW. 

This presumption is echoed by Timothy Kaldas, a argumentation chap astatine the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. For him, it's obvious that pending cases are strategical decisions.

"Keeping radical charged with governmental crimes successful limbo is portion of the government's strategy to some trim outer unit connected Egypt implicit the governmental cases portion preventing them [the accused parties] from being escaped to prosecute their lives," helium said. 

A akin illustration is the lawsuit of the investigative writer and manager of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Hossam Bahgat. Staff for the quality rights enactment were arrested aft briefing a radical of Western ambassadors successful autumn of 2020.

"They were yet released with charges pending, aft tremendous unit from Western capitals," Kaldas told DW, adding, "They weren't escaped successful 2020 and they're inactive not escaped today."

They presently inactive look charges, are banned from traveling and their assets stay frozen. 

"Releasing them from situation allowed the Egyptian authorities to extremity planetary unit connected the lawsuit portion leaving unfastened the menace of rearresting the quality rights defenders they privation to intimidate and silence," Kaldas explained.

Post-COP27, backmost to repression arsenic usual

Egypt's dire quality rights record and its immense fig of political prisoners — up to 65,000 — were precocious successful focus during the United Nations clime league (COP27), which took spot successful Egypt earlier successful November.

Above all, criticism was raised over Egypt's inaction successful airy of the accrued hunger onslaught of imprisoned Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who stopped drinking h2o during the conference, arsenic good arsenic implicit the spyware connected the authoritative COP27 app.

International calls to escaped Alaa Abdel-Fattah have, truthful far, remained unheard by the Egyptian governmentImage: Nariman El-Mofty/AP/picture confederation

"COP27 brought Egypt nether the spotlight, exposing the ongoing quality rights situation successful the country, including wide arbitrary detentions arsenic good arsenic the crackdown connected peaceful protests, civic abstraction and quality rights defenders done transgression investigations, assets freezes and question bans," Benghazi of Amnesty International said. 

However, contempt the criticism, thing seems to person changed in the aftermath of COP27. 

"The government's repression continues," Kaldas added. 

Just past week, the precise aforesaid time the Egyptian president's amnesty committee released 30 political prisoners, quality rights lawyers reported that 40 caller governmental prisoners were charged by the authorities information prosecution, Kaldas told DW.

"That determination is regularisation of instrumentality successful Egypt is an untenable fiction." 

Despite each this, Patrick Zaki hasn't mislaid hope. "I privation this lawsuit to beryllium implicit truthful that I tin proceed with my life," helium told DW.

When helium thinks of each the things helium wants to bash successful future, helium smiles. "Above all, I privation to wed my girlfriend. She has been waiting for specified a agelong time." 

Edited by: Sonya Diehn