Amnesty International called Friday for the “immediate and unconditional release” of three Egyptian Social Democratic Party members detained by military police after taking part in a peaceful awareness event about the drafting of the new constitution.
A party official told Egypt Independent Friday that the members were detained Thursday evening after participating in a human chain organized by the Save the Constitution campaign in the east Cairo neighborhood of Nasr City.
On Thursday evening the same neighborhood witnessed a different protest outside the home of a military police leader, Hamdy Badeen, to advocate for the release of people detained by the army during the transitional period.
Al-Badil, a leftist news website, reported on Saturday that the military prosecution remanded the three activists in custody for four days pending investigation. The website said that the prosecution charged the detainees with trying to assault a public employee, thought to mean Badeen.
"The three men, all civilians, are possible prisoners of conscience and at risk of torture or other ill-treatment in detention," Amnesty said in a statement. "They are likely to face an unfair trial before a military court."
The rights group called on the Egyptian authorities to ensure that Karim al-Kanani, Mohamed Saad and Islam Amin are well treated.
It also called on the authorities to stop any investigations by the military prosecution in relation to the three activists and to release them or refer them to the ordinary civilian judiciary through the office of the Public Prosecutor.
