The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights

On 28/4/2010,  Cairo Criminal Court -State Security of Emergency issued its decision in case No. 66 – 2009 known by  Hezbollah case which included  26 defendants :two Lebanese, five Palestinians and 19 Egyptians including 4 fugitives. The court  sentenced defendants to imprisonment  terms ranging from six months up to life imprisonment as three fugitive defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment , three defendants to 15 years imprisonment, one defendant to 11 years imprisonment, 15 defendants to 10 years imprisonment, one defendant to 7 years imprisonment,  one defendant to 3 years imprisonment and another  one to 6 months imprisonment.

The case goes back to 2009 as the above mentioned defendants were arrested and transferred to  the State Security Prosecution, which took over the investigation, and the Attorney-General decided to refer the case to the Court of the Supreme State Security of  Emergency.

The charges were brought against them as stated in the referring decision for the trial as follows:
First: the first and second defendants:
Joining defendants( from the third to twenty two ) through funding and assisting  in committing spying crime.

Second: the defendants from the third to the twenty-second
Spying  with those who work for the benefit of an organization outside the country to carry out terrorist acts in Egypt,  as they agreed with the first and second defendants to cooperate with them in carrying out terrorist acts against ships and warships crossing the Suez Canal, and against tourists.
Third: defendants from the first to the fourth and the nineteenth defendant:
Possessing  with unknown others  such  materials considered  a sort of  bombs without a license and intended for using  in an activity that disturbs the peace and public order.
Fourth: The first defendant
Manufacture, and gained with another anonymous five explosive devices without a license and intended for using  in an activity that disturbs the peace and public order.
Fifth: The fourth defendant,
Participating through funding and assisting  with the first defendant and another unknown in the crime of manufacturing and possessing  of explosive  devices for use in an activity that disturbs the peace and public order.
Sixth: the twenty-third defendant

1. Digging with  others unknown an underground tunnel in the east border area  of the country to connect to a foreign country.
2. Sneaking out of the country from the eastern border to Rafah, the Palestinian town.
3. Helping  the twenty fourth and  twenty-fifth defendants and sheltering them  with the evidence on the seriousness of committing a crime to sneak into the country.

Seventh : twenty-sixth defendant:
Participating  through funding and assistance with the twenty three defendant in committing a crime of digging a tunnel under the ground.

Eighth: the third and fourth defendant, thirteenth, sixteenth and nineteenth defendant:

Helping the twenty four and twenty five defendant and cover them with the reliable evidence that they  committed a crime of sneaking  into the country. 

Tenth: the six defendant

Possessed without license two white weapons. 

EOHR monitored several violations during the follow-up to the events of the case since its inception which contradict with the general principles of fair trial as follows:
1. Referring defendants to the State Security Prosecution, who were  referred to the Emergency State Security Court.

2. Detaining defendants in such places belonging to the State Security Investigation.

3. Referring defendants for investigation  by the State Security Prosecution at night and without the presence of lawyers, in the first sessions of the investigation.

4. Preventing  lawyers from meeting with defendants  or to visit them in spite of prosecution’s permission .

5. Preventing defendants’ families to meet them inside places of detention despite that they have a permission to meet them.

The trial of defendants started  in August of 2009 before the Supreme State Security Court of Emergency,  and the hearings of trial took place during 14 sessions, as  it issued its last decision.

In this regard, EOHR expresses its deepest worries  on the continued phenomenon of referring civilians to military courts and the courts of the Supreme State Security of Emergency, in a clear violation to the right to stand before the natural judge and to appeal before higher court and the right to stand before an independent court established under the law. EOHR calls for referring the mentioned defendants to be trialed before the natural judge. Also it appeals to the president of republic to stop implementing the decision.

Decisions issued against defendants as follows:

Mohamed Youssef Ahmed  
Lebanese

15 years

 Muhammad Kabalat
 Lebanese “fugitive”
life imprisonment

 Nasser Khalil Muammar Abu Omar
 Palestinian
 15 years
 Nimr Fahmy Mohamed
 Palestinian
 15 years
 Ihab Al Sayed Mohamed
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Ayman Mustafa Khalil
 Egyptian
 11 years
 Nassar  Gabriel, Abdel-Latif
 Palestinian
 10 years
 Hassan Al-Sayed Al-Sayed

 Egyptian
 10 years
 Adel Seliman Mousa
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Mohammad Ali Wafa Abdel-Hamid
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Muslim  Ismail  Muslim
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Mohamed Abdel-Fattah Mustafa Shalabi
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Ihab Abdel-Hadi Mohammed
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Khater Abdullah Mokhtar
 Sudanese
 10 years
 Ibrahim  Essam Saad
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Hani Al Sayed Motlak  
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Saad Abdul Rahman Mohamed Sharif
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Ehab Ahmed Ahmed Hassan
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Salim Ayed Hamdan
 Egyptian  ”fugitive”
life imprisonment  
 Mr. Medhat Hassan
 Egypt “fugitive”
life imprisonment   
 Shahin Mohammed Shahin
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Hussein Mohammed Hussein Khalifa
 Egyptian
 10 years
 Salman kamel Hamdan
 Egyptian
 4 years
 Nedal Fathy Hassan  
 Palestinian
 3 years
 Mohamed Ramadan Abd El Raouf
 Palestinian
 6 months
 Ahmed Al-Husseini Hamdan
 Egyptian  ”fugitive”
 5 years