Case History: Taher Mokhtar
On 3 August, the South Giza Criminal Court ordered doctor and activist Taher Mokhtar to be released on LE5,000 bail, after lawyers filed a motion to protest his continued detention beyond the legal pretrial limit.
Taher Mokhtar is a human rights defender and member of the rights and freedom committee at the Doctors’ Syndicate. He has been an outspoken critic of health conditions in places of detention in Egypt, and is a member of the campaign titled “Medical Neglect in Places of Detention is a Crime”.
On 31 January, the public prosecution renewed the pre-trial detention of Dr Taher Mokhtar and his colleagues Mr Hossam Eldin Hammad and Mr Ahmed Hassan for 15 days pending investigation. The Abdeen prosecution in central Cairo had already renewed their detention for 15 days on 17 January 2016, on charges of “possession of publications that call for the overthrow of the regime".
Taher Mokhtar was originally detained on 14 January 2016, after state security officers raided his residence in Falaki Street in central Cairo. The security officers inspected the human rights defender's flat and arrested him, along with two of his friends, Mr Hossam Eldin Hammad, a student at the faculty of engineering, and Mr Ahmed Hassan, a student at the faculty of law. The three men were subsequently taken to Abdeen police station, where they were interrogated by state security officers for 9 hours without being provided access to a lawyer. On 15 January 2016, the human rights defender and his friends were questioned by the prosecution who ordered their detention for 4 days pending investigation.
The arrest of Taher Mokhtar was based on a report prepared by the National Security Agency, alleging the involvement of the human rights defender in the preparation of protests to incite action against the state and its institutions, and to encourage people to spread chaos on 25th of January. His detention comes in the wake of a crackdown by Egyptian authorities against young activists and pro-democracy movements, in an attempt to prevent protests from arising during the fifth anniversary of the 25th of January Revolution.
On 17 January 2016, the Abdeen prosecution in central Cairo renewed the detention of human rights defender Dr Taher Mokhtar for 15 days pending investigation on charges of “possession of publications that call for the overthrow of the regime”.
He is currently detained at Abdeen police station. Prior to his arrest, he was coordinating an advocacy campaign for the release of Dr Ahmed Said, a fellow human rights defender who was sentenced to two years' imprisonment on 13 December 2015 for participating in a protest without a permit.
Taher Mokhtar was originally detained on 14 January 2016, after state security officers raided his residence in Falaki Street in central Cairo. The security officers inspected the human rights defender's flat and arrested him, along with two of his friends, Mr Hossam Eldin Hammad, a student at the faculty of engineering, and Mr Ahmed Hassan, a student at the faculty of law. The three men were subsequently taken to Abdeen police station, where they were interrogated by state security officers for 9 hours without being provided access to a lawyer. On 15 January 2016, the human rights defender and his friends were questioned by the prosecution who ordered their detention for 4 days pending investigation.
The arrest of Taher Mokhtar was based on a report prepared by the National Security Agency, alleging the involvement of the human rights defender in the preparation of protests to incite action against the state and its institutions, and to encourage people to spread chaos on 25th of January. His detention comes in the wake of a crackdown by Egyptian authorities against young activists and pro-democracy movements, in an attempt to prevent protests from arising during the fifth anniversary of the 25th of January Revolution.
