Releasing pretrial detainees helps ensure national dialogue’s success: Board

CAIRO – 7 August 2023: The Egyptian Public Prosecution’s decisions to release more pretrial detainees help ensure further positive atmospheres to ensure the success of the National Dialogue, said Diaa Rashwan, the dialogue’s general coordinator.

The dialogue’s board of trustees has welcomed the prosecution’s decisions on Monday to release a group of pretrial detainees, said Rashwan.

He added that the board looks forward for the continuation of such positive atmospheres through the issuance of similar decisions in a way that ensures the steady march toward the “New Republic.”

Monday’s releases

The Egyptian prosecution released on Monday 33 pretrial detainees, including businessman Omar El-Sheneity.

Sheneity was accused of joining a terrorist cell known as “Al-Amal” and was arrested along with other individuals in June 2019.

Al-Amal cell detainees faced charges of joining an outlawed terrorist group and funding this group to achieve its purposes. They were also accused of coordinating with fugitives and using social media to incite against the state.

Moreover, the detainees faced accusations of calling for obstructing the constitution, spreading false news and planning to harm the national economy.

Lawyer Youssef Mansour, who was detained in 2022 over accusations of spreading false news and joining a terrorist group in the case 330/2022, is among the 33 detainees released today, according to Awady.

Over the past year, the Egyptian prosecution has released hundreds of pretrial detainees, while many others have been granted presidential pardons since President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for the National Dialogue and reactivated the Presidential Pardon Committee in April 2022.