On 28 August human rights defender Malek Adly was released from a police station in Shubra al-Khaimah, three days after a court ordered his release and rejected an appeal by the Public Prosecution against the decision.
While the court did not set bail as a condition of Malek Adly’s release, it did require him to specify a place of residence as he faces an ongoing criminal investigation.
On 28 August human rights defender Malek Adly was released from a police station in Shubra al-Khaimah, three days after a court ordered his release and rejected an appeal by the Public Prosecution against the decision.
While the court did not set bail as a condition of Malek Adly’s release, it did require him to specify a place of residence as he faces an ongoing criminal investigation.
The Public Prosecution has not dropped charges against Malek Adly which include spreading “false rumours”, “inciting protests” and attempting to overthrow the government. The charges are aimed at punishing Malek Adly for peacefully exercising his human rights, as well as defending the rights of others as a lawyer and a director of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights.
Malek Adly spent 115 days in detention following his arrest last May for challenging the government’s decision to transfer control of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. He was remanded in custody in Tora Prison, where he was held in continuous solitary confinement and hospitalized several times for high blood pressure. Security forces transferred him from the prison to a police station in Shubra al-Khaimah ahead of his release.
Malek Adly’s release followed sustained public pressure both from his thousands of supporters within Egypt and internationally. In a post on Facebook, he thanked his supporters for backing him during what he described as the “most horrific ordeal” of his life.