( Photo – courtesy of his family )
Alexandrian procurement manager and political activist Hassan Mustafa is to be released on the charge of physically attacking a prosecutor.
Mustafa was arrested in January and sentenced to two years hard labour in March on charges of assaulting prosecutor Ahmed Darwish. The charge was later reduced to one year of hard labour in mid-June.
Hamdy Khalaf, Mustafa’s lawyer and a witness to the alleged attack, said Darwish withdrew his complaint against Mustafa on Sunday. The case is therefore annulled following Darwish’s complaint withdrawal, Khalaf added.
Abdel Rahman Al-Gohary, another lawyer defending Mustafa, met with Alexandria’s Prosecutor General for the Appeals Prosecution on Monday. Al-Gohary stated that the prosecutor general promised him that Darwish would withdraw his complaint as a form of reconciliation with Mustafa.
Mohamed Salem, Mustafa’s brother, said the withdrawal proves that the case was reflective of the vengeance between Mustafa and the former Muslim Brotherhood regime. Salem stated that Mustafa always stood against the prosecution’s unjust decisions.
“The case was nothing but political pursuance from the former regime taking a seemingly legal form,” Salem said.
Mustafa remains preventively detained pending a separate trial. On 7 May, Sidi Gaber prosecution referred Mustafa to the criminal court for inciting citizens to block the railway and helping detainees escape. The trial’s session is due on 4 August.
Khalaf said Mustafa’s lawyers will submit a request on Monday to the head of Alexandria’s Court of Appeals calling for the release of Mustafa pending trial.
“There’s no need for preventively detaining Mustafa in the latter case,” Khalaf said, adding that this point will be made clear in the request.
Darwish had accused Mustafa of slapping his face, causing a “reddened left cheek,” according to a medical report. Mustafa and several eyewitnesses repeatedly denied the accusation.
Hassan Mustafa is a prominent Alexandrian activist most famous for helping shed light on the Khaled Said murder case in 2010. He has started a hunger strike twice since his imprisonment.
