27/01/2025
Today, our colleague Mohamed Adel continues to endure a long journey of suffering behind bars, having spent over 11 years in prison. Adel, who was arrested in December 2013 on charges of violating the protest law, served a three-year prison sentence and was released in January 2017 under probation conditions. However, he was rearrested in 2018, spending an additional five years and three months in pretrial detention until a verdict in September 2023 sentenced him to four more years in prison.
Based on legal calculations, the period of pretrial detention he served from June 19, 2018, to January 27, 2021, along with the time served from September 2, 2023, to today, January 26, 2025, means that he has effectively completed four years of his sentence. Consequently, under the law, this necessitates the immediate release of Mohamed Adel on January 27, 2025. Article 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that “the duration of the sentence begins from the day the convict is detained based on the enforceable judgment,” with consideration given to deducting pretrial detention periods. Thus, the pretrial detention Adel served from June 19, 2018, to January 27, 2021, and from September 2, 2023, to January 26, 2025, confirms that he has completed the legally required duration of his sentence.
According to Article 484 of the same law, “the deduction of pretrial detention periods applies in cases of multiple custodial sentences, starting with the lightest sentence.” Therefore, the time Adel spent in pretrial detention must be deducted from his actual sentence.
Based on this, and in accordance with accurate legal calculations, Adel has fully served his sentence as of today, January 26, 2025. Nevertheless, the prosecution insists on an illegal interpretation, claiming that his sentence extends until September 2027, which constitutes a clear injustice.
We, in the April 6 Youth Movement, call for the enforcement of the law that grants Adel his right to immediate release. The pretrial detention of Adel and other prisoners of conscience is unjustifiable after years of suffering. We strongly support the efforts of Adel’s wife, Ms. Roufaida Hamdy, who has submitted a request for presidential pardon, urging the President to exercise his authority to grant it.
We stand in solidarity with Mohamed Adel today, as we continue to support all prisoners of conscience in Egypt. Our demands go beyond Adel’s release; they are a call to reaffirm everyone’s right to freely express their opinions without fear of repression or imprisonment. We need the rule of law, not oppression.
Freedom for Mohamed Adel and all prisoners of conscience in Egypt.
April 6 Youth Movement
January 26, 2025

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