1. Personal information:
a. Birth: The child Sahar was born on 4 May 2005. She was arrested at the age of 15.
b. Upbringing: She grew up in North Sinai Governorate and lived in the area taken over by the Sinai Province, affiliated with the terrorist group ISIS, with her father Mr. Ahmed Mayouf, her mother Ms. Hoda Odah Hussein, and her half-sisters Ms. Fatma Mayouf and Ms. Zainab Mayouf. Between the ages of 13 and 15 she was forcibly married off 3 times, and she then gave birth to her baby “Hamdy”.
She was arrested together with her half-sisters and her mother even though they had not committed any act of violence or terrorism, as part of a campaign the authorities launched against a large number of men and women living in North Sinai, whose only crime is being relatives of people accused of joining armed groups.
Recently, her two brothers, the child Adam Ahmed Mayouf, aged 13, and the child Noah Ahmed Mayouf, aged 14, handed themselves in to the competent authorities, and they have not appeared in any case.
c. Occupation: Housewife.
d. Political activity/affiliation: She had no political activity or affiliation.
2. Previous arrests: She was not arrested in any other case.
3. Timeline from arrest to the end of detention
a. Background of the arrest
– 13 February 2021, arrest: The child mother Sahar was arrested together with her baby “Hamdy”, her mother Ms. Hoda Odah Hussein, and her half-sisters Ms. Fatma Mayouf and Ms. Zainab Mayouf with her daughter “Rahaf”. This happened after they passed through the village of El-Matalla in Bir El-Abd, North Sinai, having managed to get out of the Sinai Province area after deciding to take refuge in her mother’s home in Ismailia to escape the hardship of life there.
– 7 March 2021, appearance before the prosecution: After an enforced disappearance that lasted 22 days, she was brought before the prosecution together with her baby and her mother, Ms. Hoda Odah Hussein. The prosecution ordered them detained in Case No. 620 of 2021 Supreme State Security Inquiry. One day later, her sisters Ms. Fatma Mayouf and Ms. Zainab Mayouf with her daughter “Rahaf” were brought before the prosecution and added to the same case. The prosecution also ordered that the children “Rahaf” and “Hamdy” be handed over to their relatives.
b. Background of the case: Case No. 620 of 2021 Supreme State Security Inquiry, known in the media as the “Sinai Province” case.
This case includes a large number of men, women and girls from Sinai. Instead of the authorities protecting the civilians living in this area, especially the children and women, many of them were arrested. It is one of the cases that include civilians who were not involved in any violence or terrorism but were arrested only because of their relatives.
c. Charges:
– Joining the terrorist group ISIS with knowledge of its aims.
– Providing logistical support by financing this group.
d. Trial and release:
Her detention was renewed before the Supreme State Security Prosecution and then before the Criminal Court by several terrorism circuits, including the Second Circuit presided over by Judge Moataz Khafagy, the Third Circuit presided over by Judge Mohamed Kamal Abdel Sattar, and the Fourth Circuit presided over by Judge Mohamed El-Saeed El-Sherbiny.
– 24 November 2021, release decision: The Criminal Court ordered her release, together with her mother, with precautionary measures, as there were no longer grounds for her pretrial detention. The decision was not carried out at the time.
– January 2022, measures lifted: The Supreme State Security Prosecution lifted the precautionary measures and released her with her place of residence as guarantee.
– 7 July 2022, release carried out: Nearly 7 months after the decision to release the child Sahar was issued, it was carried out.
4. Detention conditions
a. Places of detention: She was held in an unknown location until she was moved to Abu Sweir Police Station in Ismailia, where she stayed until the release decision was issued and carried out.
b. Violations:
– Enforced disappearance for more than 23 days.
– Unlawful detention at National Security premises.
c. Living conditions at the police station: She remained in pretrial detention at Abu Sweir Police Station in Ismailia until she left in July 2022.
5. Follow-up
a. Personal life: The child Sahar is carrying on with her life with her young son “Hamdy”, after leaving behind the suffering she lived through in detention.