‘Nation without torture’ teen in Egypt released on bail

Egyptian authorities released on Tuesday a teenager who was arrested two years ago over what some believe was his wearing of a shirt denouncing torture, his lawyer said.

A Cairo court released Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed Hussein Tuesday evening on EGP 1,000 bail (approximately $112) pending investigations, his lawyer Doaa Mostafa told Ahram Online.

Hussein, who was 17 years old at the time, was arrested on 25 January 2014 as he was on his way home from a demonstration commemorating Egypt’s 2011 revolution.

He was detained at a checkpoint in northern Cairo while wearing a T-shirt that read “A nation without torture.”

Hussein, who has not been tried, faced charges of illegal protesting, possessing Molotov cocktails and “belonging to a terrorist organisation.”

Several news reports suggest that Hussein’s release came hours after his case was brought up at a meeting between President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and a group of prominent intellectuals earlier on Tuesday.

His detention has sparked widespread condemnation from political activists and human rights advocates, with Amnesty International launching a petition in late 2015 calling for his release.

Egyptian law allows pre-trial detention to last up to two years.

source:Ahram Online