By NOURHAN MAGDI
CAIRO: Amateur photojournalist Esraa el-Taweel will remain in prison for another 15 days after the prosecution renewed her detention Monday, her Lawyer Halem Hanish told The Cairo Post.
Taweel, a 23-year-old student, was remanded pending investigations over charges of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news. Her detention was previously renewed Sept. 9 by 15 days.
Hanish added that lawyers were banned to enter the State Security Prosecution today, unless during investigations, per a decision by the prosecution.
Seven media practitioners, including journalists and photographers, were briefly detained while taking pictures of Taweel, he said.
Taweel has spent more than 100 days in prison after she was reported by her family to be missing for over two weeks in June along with two others; Omar Mohamed and Sohaib Saad.
Mohamed and Saad were referred to military trial over terrorist-related charges and their first court hearing took place Sept. 6.
Before her arrest, Taweel was recovering from a serious leg injury after she was shot during a protest in 2014. Her health status has been reportedly deteriorated in prison, where she is currently unable to walk alone, due to lack of adequate care.
A wave of enforced disappearance cases have recently been brought to light by rights groups on social media, where activists and people with Islamist affiliations were argued to be “illegally arrested” by security forces. In June, the Freedom for the Brave group spotted at least 163 cases in two months.
Azhar Cleric Anas Sultan, who is known for his participation in 2011 revolution, was released along with his two brothers after they reportedly disappeared in May and then appeared four days later with accusations of “belonging to terrorist group, attacking public utilities and inciting against police and army.”
Different human rights organizations condemned the illegal incarceration process and demanded the immediate release of detainees.
Lawyer Mohamed Baqer slammed that the prosecution, which he says “turns a blind eye to the period of his enforced disappearance,” in previous statements.