1. Personal information
a. Birth: The child Mohamed was born in 15th of May City, Helwan, on 29 September 1996. He was arrested at the age of 17 on charges in the “Helwan Brigades” case.
b. Upbringing: He grew up in the United Arab Emirates with his family, made up of his father, who works as a teacher, his mother and four siblings. He usually visited his hometown in Helwan for a few weeks a year, when his father took him to see the family in Egypt.
c. Occupation: Secondary school student at a school in the UAE.
d. Political activity/affiliation: He has no political activity or affiliation. He happened to be in Egypt during the 30 June 2013 protests against Brotherhood rule and took part in them with his family.
2. Previous arrests: The child Mohamed had not been arrested in any previous case.
3. Timeline from the arrest to the verdict
a. Background of the arrest:
– 23 August 2014, arrest: The child Mohamed was arrested at his home in 15th of May City, Helwan, after returning from a trip to Ain Sokhna, because he had taken part in the Helwan protests after his friend Abdelrahman Nader was shot dead by police forces during the dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adawiya sit-in. The police seized as evidence his black clothes and some Palestinian scarves he used in military education classes at his school in the UAE, as well as a photo of his martyred friend.
– 27 August 2014, appearance before the Supreme State Security Prosecution: He was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution after three days of unlawful detention at Helwan Police Station, and was added to the case known in the media as the “Helwan Brigades” case.
b. Background of the case: Case No. 4459 of 2015 Helwan Felonies, registered as No. 451 of 2014 Supreme State Security Inquiry, known in the media as the “Helwan Brigades” case.
The case began on 14 August 2014, as protests grew after the killing of a protester at the time (Alaa El-Kammash), when a video appeared showing a group of people calling themselves the “Helwan Brigades”. They were carrying weapons and threatened violence in protest against killing and torture by the security forces, the army and the Ministry of Interior, especially during the Rabaa, Nahda and Manassa events, which, in their words, went as far as killing and the rape of women.
In late August 2014, the Ministry of Interior announced that the “Helwan Brigades” plan was led by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Following that, the police arrested 214 defendants (men and children) and one woman, Ms. Aliaa Awad. It should be noted that the number of defendants in the case is far greater than the number of people who appeared in the video, which did not exceed a few dozen.
c. Charges: Several charges were brought against the child Mohamed, defendant No. 109 in the referral order:
– Joining and taking part in an armed group founded in violation of the law, with knowledge of its aims.
– Taking part in an assembly aimed at committing murder and sabotage.
– Deliberate destruction of buildings and theft of public property.
– Using force, violence and threats against public servants to unlawfully prevent them from performing their duties.
– Endangering public land transport.
– Possession of firearms and ammunition.
d. Trial and sentences:
– 19 February 2015, referral to the competent criminal court: The late Public Prosecutor Hisham Barakat referred the case to the Criminal Court, Fifteenth Terrorism Circuit, sitting at the Police Academy and presided over by Judge Fathy El-Bayoumi, and set the session of 30 August 2015 for it.
– 30 August 2015, first trial hearing: The first trial session of the “Helwan Brigades” defendants was held before the Criminal Court, Fifteenth Terrorism Circuit, sitting at the Police Academy, presided over by Judge Fathy El-Bayoumi, with Counselors Osama Abdel Zaher and Khaled El-Zanaty as members.
– 28 June 2022, verdict: The Criminal Court, First Terrorism Circuit, sitting at the Police Institute in Tora and presided over by Judge Mohamed Sherine Fahmy, sentenced the young man Mohamed Shaaban to 15 years in prison.
4. Detention conditions
a. Places of detention: The child Mohamed passed through several places of detention, including Helwan Police Station. He was moved to one of the prisons of the Tora complex after turning 18, and was recently moved to the newly built Badr 3 Prison. There have been reports that the “Helwan Brigades” defendants were moved to the Minya and Wadi El-Natrun prisons.
b. Violations:
– Unlawful detention for 3 days.
– Insults and physical torture by beating all over his body during his detention at the police station.
– Falsification of the arrest report by the officer who wrote it. The authorities claimed he was arrested on 26 August 2014, while in fact he was arrested on 23 August 2014.
c. Living conditions in prison: The young man Mohamed suffered many violations, along with the other prisoners in Badr 3 Prison: a total ban on exercise and visits, scarce food that does not satisfy hunger, a ban on bringing in medicine, poor health care for prisoners, and no shaving tools at all. Conditions inside Badr 3 Prison became so bad that 55 prisoners attempted suicide because of the poor detention conditions, according to a letter sent by one of the prisoners in Badr 3. The “Helwan Brigades” defendants were recently moved to the Minya and Wadi El-Natrun prisons.