Prosecution releases 9 underage suspects in ‘Wilayat Sinai 2’ case

CAIRO – 20 April 2018: Egypt’s State Security Prosecution released on Thursday nine underage suspects in the case No. 502 of 2015, publicly known as the "Wilayat Sinai 2", under precautionary measures after the end of their pre-trial detention limit in the case.

The released suspects are Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed, Ahmed Magdy Ahmed, Anas Hossam El Din, Khaled Mohamed Mohamed, Atef Sayed Ali, Khaled Abdelkader El Desouky, Abdel Rahman Abdullah Youssef, Omar Abou El Hassan Ahmed and Fouad Hossam Ahmed.

The prosecution had charged the suspects with joining a terrorist group established contrary to law, assaulting members of the Armed Forces and police, targeting state establishments, and possession of weapons and ammunition without a license.

Wilayat Sinai (Sinai Province) is an offshoot of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which emerged in North Sinai after the 2011 upheaval, and orchestrated major attacks following the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The government labeled the group a terrorist organization in April 2015, after it had already pledged allegiance to ISIS in November 2014.

Since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, 2013, Egypt has put a number of people on a proscribed terrorist list, because of their attempts to incite chaos across the country; the list was updated on March 6, 2018, and 319 new names were added.

As part of Egypt’s efforts to fight terrorism, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi issued a new law in 2015 that gives a broad definition of terrorist entities, and the sentences against them.

The law defines a terrorist entity as a group or an individual that "through any means inside or outside the country, seek to call for the disabling of laws, or to prevent state institutions or public authorities from functioning, or seek to attack the personal liberty of citizens or other freedoms and rights granted to citizens by law and constitution, or to harm the national unity and social peace."