Egypt: Schoolboy detained, as supports ex-president

 Khaled Mohamed Bakara, a 15-year-old high-school student who attended Balteem Secondary School in Kafr el-Sheikh governorate, was arrested on 25 November at his school.  

 He was arrested simply because he was using stationery with a symbol supporting Egypt’s ousted president, Mohamed Morsi. He is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

The security forces were called after teachers discovered that the child had a ruler, notebook and diary with the four-finger “Rabaa” – a symbol used by supporters of the ousted president.

The following day the Public Prosecution in el-Borolos, a village near Balteem, questioned the child and subsequently referred him to its head office in the city of Kafr el-Sheikh.  

The prosecution then ordered that the child be detained for 15 days while it investigated allegations that he belonged to a “banned group” and possessed “stationery with a symbol that inspires violence and abuse against the armed forces”. On 8 December, the prosecutor ordered that the child be detained for a further 15 days.

In breach of international, the child was held in police stations with adult criminal suspects during his arrest and questioning, and is now being held in a military prison in Kafr el-Sheikh.

According to the child’s lawyer who is in contact with Amnesty International, there are atleast another seven children being held in the same prison.  Khaled Mohamed Bakara’s family have only been able to visit him once because of the difficulty of obtaining permission to visit detainees in military prisons.

Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:

* Calling on the authorities to release Khaled Mohamed Bakara immediately and unconditionally as he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression;

* Calling on them to drop all charges against Khaled Mohamed Bakara.

Public Prosecutor

Hesham Mohamed Zaki Barakat

Office of the Public Prosecutor

Supreme Court House, 1 “26 July” Road

Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt

Fax: 00202 2 577 4716 ;
00202 2 575 7165

(switched off after office hours, GMT+2)

Salutation: Dear Counsellor

Interim President

Adly Mahmoud Mansour

Office of the President

Al Ittihadia Palace

Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt

Fax: 00202 2 391 1441

Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:

Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Human Rights

Mahy Hassan Abdel Latif

Human Rights and International Humanitarian and Social Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Corniche al-Nil

Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt

His Excellency Mr Ashraf Elkholy, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, 26 South Street, London, W1K 1DW

Fax: 020 7491 1542                     Tel: 020 7499 3304 / 2401            

 Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]