Egypt refers hundreds of detainees to terrorism courts amid 'unprecedented' expansion

Egyptian human rights groups say authorities have referred hundreds of detainees to terrorism courts in recent days, despite official claims of a political "opening" in the country.

Lawyers and rights organisations documented a sharp rise in cases transferred from the Supreme State Security Prosecution to the Terrorism Criminal Court, noting that the charges being repeated contradict claims by pro-government voices that Egypt is experiencing a political thaw.

On 3 December, rights groups reported that the Supreme State Security Prosecution referred 108 defendants, including two women and a child, to the Terrorism Criminal Court in the case known as "Midan", registered as No. 3865 of 2025.

They are accused of "establishing and participating in a terrorist group established in violation of the law, as well as financing this group in clear contravention of the Egyptian constitution and law".

According to the referral order, the defendants allegedly created and used websites and pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X, in addition to their personal accounts, to promote ideas calling for gatherings, violence and hostile acts against state institutions.

The order said they also incited people not to deposit money in the banking system or pay taxes, which prosecutors argued was intended to harm Egypt’s financial system and national economy.

The defendants include Suha Omar Suleiman Mofaddal Hisab, Rawda Salah al-Din Abdelhay Youssef, and a child, Khaled Sherif Gaber Ibrahim Mohammed.

A few days earlier, on 29 November, rights groups tracked the referral of fifty citizens - some present and some in absentia - to the criminal court in Case No. 1282 of 2024 (Supreme State Security), on politically related charges.

Those referred include political activist Anas Habib, accused of leading and funding a group established in violation of the law; opposition figures abroad Islam Lotfi, Abdelrahman Fares and Mohammed Affan; and Egyptian cassation lawyer Fatima al-Zahraa Gharib Mohammed Hussein Ali.

On 2 December, Egyptian rights organisations reported that 11 more defendants had been referred to the Terrorism Criminal Court in Case No. 1568 of 2024, including journalist Yasser Abu al-Ala and his wife, Najlaa Fathi Shamil, whose pre-trial detention continues. The accusations relate to "joining a group established in violation of the law" and "committing a financing crime".

Rights groups, including Belady, also documented the referral of four women - Timna Youssef Mahmoud Hashim Dokhan, Asmaa Fathi Shamil Hassan, Asmaa Abdelrahman Abdelkader Abdelkader, and Salsabil Hassan Gharbawi Shehata - on similar charges.

Meanwhile, after almost seven years of pre-trial detention, the Cairo Criminal Court has set the first hearing in Case No. 800 of 2019 for 9 December. The case includes human rights lawyer Huda Abdel Moneim and Aisha Khairat al-Shater, and will be heard by the Second Terrorism Circuit.

Khalaf Bayoumi, director of the Shehab Centre for Human Rights, described the developments as an extraordinary escalation.

Speaking to The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, he said the judicial scene in recent weeks witnessed "a surprise without precedent", marked by a large expansion in referral decisions from the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which "has so far exceeded the threshold of 500 cases, referred to the Terrorism Criminal Court".

He added that the shift "was not expected at all", especially amid repeated discussions about amending Egypt’s pre-trial detention law and a supposed trend toward "dismantling the detainee file".

Bayoumi said the approach suggests that "the authorities are proceeding with keeping pre-trial detainees inside prisons, by continuously referring them to trial, without addressing the detention issue at its roots".

He argued that the surge in referrals "reflects a clear political will to close the door to any serious moves that could signal an opening for detainees in general, and pre-trial detainees in particular".

He added that terrorism circuits have already begun hearing several of the cases and issuing rulings "largely characterised by conviction based on National Security investigations, without regard for the individual circumstances of each defendant or the guarantees of a fair trial".