They said that Supreme State Security prosecutors and criminal court judges have renewed detentions, including for scores of their clients, without transporting detainees to hearings or giving lawyers the opportunity to enter pleas.
Between May 2 and May 9, Supreme State Security prosecutors and criminal courts - responsible for reviewing pretrial detention beyond five months - extended pretrial detention almost automatically for all detainees who were up for renewal.
A lead lawyer at a local human rights organization said that on May 4, 5, and 6, the Cairo and Giza terrorism circuits of the criminal court system renewed the detention of roughly 485, 745, and 414 defendants in over 100 cases.
A senior lawyer at the Cairo-based Arab Network for Human Rights Information told Human Rights Watch that Supreme State Security prosecutors have, since May 2, similar to the criminal courts, renewed the detention of almost all defendants in cases they oversee without hearings.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution and criminal courts rarely release detainees from pretrial detention or present evidence justifying continued detention.
