State Security renews detention of 9 Shiites on terror charges

Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of nine defendants for 15 days pending investigation in Case No. 5635 of 2026. The defendants face charges of “joining and funding a terrorist group,” according to a statement by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) on Monday.

The case involves more than 36 people arrested in a security campaign targeting Egypt’s Shiite Muslims ahead of Ashura. 

Rights groups have criticized the use of counterterrorism charges against individuals because of their religious beliefs, while authorities released 10 foreign defendants and kept the others in custody.

The arrests began on June 22, with the detention of journalist Haidar Kandil, according to a previous statement by the Egyptian Front for Human Rights. The statement said investigators questioned the defendants about their adherence to Shiism, how long they had followed the sect, where they met and the nature of their religious practices.

According to ECRF, prosecutors on Sept. 24 released 10 defendants of five nationalities, including four Yemenis, a Saudi, a New Zealander, a Libyan, and a Syrian, while ordering 19 others, mostly elderly, held for another 15 days. The commission said the defendants “appeared to be suffering from severe exhaustion during the hearing.”

ECRF added that “the defendants complained that they could not endure the hardship of detention, saying they did not belong to any groups or organizations and denying what appeared in National Security investigations.”

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said in a Sept. 28 statement that the release of the 10 non-Egyptian defendants was “a belated step toward closing the case,” and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and the dropping of all charges against them.

The initiative said its lawyers observed during investigations of some detainees that prosecutors focused on their beliefs, convictions and religious practices, as well as their views of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions and family. It said this amounted to a violation of freedom of belief guaranteed by the constitution.

Fifteen local and international rights organizations called for the release of 35 Shiite citizens, including Haidar Kandil, in a joint statement issued in August. They also called for an end to the use of counterterrorism laws against religious minorities and journalists because of their beliefs or journalistic work.

The organizations also called for detainees to be allowed to communicate with their families and lawyers and receive medical care, and for an independent investigation into alleged enforced disappearances.