During their trial, the judges deliberately ignored the fact that these individuals were secretly detained when the events they were accused of occurred; basing their judgment on the sole confessions extracted under the severe torture they suffered at the Azouli military prison, and did not investigate any of the victims' report of torture. Instead, the Grand Mufti of Egypt approved their respective sentences; as for the appeal filed by one of the accused, it was ultimately rejected by the Defence Minister, Sedki Sobhi, on 24 March 2015, which means that their sentences are enforceable at any moment.

The facts

According to the authorities' official version, the six men were arrested on 19 March 2014 by the Security Forces during a raid against a terrorist cell on an abandoned warehouse in Ezbet Arab Sharkas – in the Qalyubia Governorate north of Cairo – during which two officers died.

When these events occurred, however, the six men were secretly held 150km east in Ismailia, in Azouli military prison, a detention centre infamous for its systematic practice of torture mostly against political prisoners detained in secret. The six men had, in fact, been arrested between November 2013 and March 2014 and had been missing since, as attested by the complaints of disappearance filed by some of the victims' relatives before March 2014, to which the authorities never responded and that the military judges never took into account. It is only after the raid that they were moved to Tora prison, an Egyptian prison complex for criminal and political detainees located in Southern Cairo, so as to make their detention public.

Mohamed Ali Afifi Badawi, a 33-year-old Law graduate and owner of a restaurant in Al-Helmiah, a neighbourhood in Cairo, was arrested at his home by members of the Security Forces on 19 November 2013, together with his wife and one their children who were both released after 15 days in detention where they were ill-treated, while he was secretly detained elsewhere. It is only in April 2014 that his wife heard that that he was detained inside Tora prison and was accused of having taken part in the 19 March 2014 "Arab Sharkas" case.

Mohammad Bakri Mohammad Harun, a 31-year-old Vodafone employee was arrested on 28 November in El Asher City (also known as Tenth of Ramadan City), Sharkia Governorate, together with his wife and one of their children who were both released after 10 days spent in detention in the Zagazig State Security facility. The three attacks for which he was charged – the bombing of Cairo State Security facility, that of Dakalhia State Security and the "Arab Sharkas" event– happened while he was detained, respectively on 24 December 2014, 24 January 2015, and 19 March 2014.

Hani Mustafa Amine Amer, a 33-year-old chemist who used to work in Ismailia public hospital before starting to work in programming, was arrested on 16 December 2013 while he was in the headquarters of Ismailia's third district for administrative reasons. He was then brought to Azouli military prison where he was severely tortured to force him to confess to no less than 43 different crimes, which he refused and was consequently beaten even further to the point that he had to be kept alive by other detainees. Despite the clearly visible signs of torture on his body, the public prosecutor renewed his detention on 27 January 2014. He was transferred to Tora prison on 20 March 2014 and detained with the other individuals accused in the 19 March 2014 "Arab Sharkas" case. Although he never confessed to the crimes he was accused of, the prosecutor stated that he had.

Finally, Abdul-Rahman Sayed Rizq, a 19-year-old student in secondary school, Khaled Farag Mohammed Mohammed Ali, a 27-year-old Commerce graduate, and Islam Sayed Ahmed Ibrahim, a 26-year-old Tourism graduate were arrested together by members of the Security Services on 16 March 2014, in a travel agency in the 6th of October city, in the Giza Governorate, west of Cairo, as they were applying for visas to Turkey – the Egyptian Intelligence services would have asked the owner of the travel agency to let them know when someone was applying for a Turkish visa. They were all brought to the State Security headquarters before being moved to Azouli prison where they were severely tortured to confess to their participation in the 19 March 2014 "Arab Sharkas" case. They were then transferred to Tora prison along with the other defendants in the case.

It can therefore be said unquestionably that the accused have been indicted for crimes they could not have committed. Moreover, the conditions of their prosecution and detention were such that these men did not have an unfair trial, which should, in itself, warrant for a new trial.

Unfair trial

In fact, the mere fact that these civilians were prosecuted before a military court, as prescribed under Article 204 of the Egyptian Constitution for crimes committed against the army, makes their trial unfair as the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has continuously stated that these courts are not impartial and independent enough to try civilians.

Moreover, the six individuals have been severely tortured during their secret detention in Azouli military prison, a form of detention that violates the Egyptian law and the international treaties to which Egypt is a party, including the Convention against Torture (UNCAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Egypt ratified in June 1986 and November 1989 respectively.

No investigation was even undertaken to verify the veracity of the victims' report of torture, although these exactions were reported to the military prosecutor and the judges, who admitted these "confessions" as elements of proof. Nor were the six men sentenced to death on 21 October even allowed to appeal the Court's decision, to the exception of Abdul-Rahman Sayed Rizq, a minor (the age of majority is 21 years old in Egypt), because of the Tora prison personnel's obstruction to file their appeal in time, and Abdul-Rahman's appeal was eventually rejected by Egypt's Defence Minister.

Taking into account the fact that the authorities have already carried their first execution since Morsi's ouster on 7 March 2015, also following an unfair trial, it can reasonably be feared that the six men are at imminent risk of death.

In view of this information, Alkarama called upon the UN SUMX to ask the authorities to halt their executions and to grant these men a fair, independent, impartial and civilian new trial. In light of the commitments taken by Egypt in front of the entire international community during its last UPR review, Alkarama urges the authorities not to implement these sentences and to take immediate measures to stop the military trials of civilians, to ensure that all international fair trial norms are respected in civilian courts and to consider abolishing the death penalty.

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