Suspected members of the Islamic Jihad group have made their first media appearance after nearly one year in detention.
The 11 men, arrested in the city of Mansoura last October on suspicion of involvement with the banned group, were brought before the State Security Emergency court in order to have their detention orders renewed.
The men also met with their respective families for the first time since their arrest. The detainees scribbled notes to their loved ones on tissue paper, while family members attempted to deliver food and drinks to the men before security forces stepped in to prevent the exchanges.
Permission to deliver food was eventually granted, however, after detainees made a plea to the court president.
The legal defense team–composed of lawyers Mohamed Shabana, Mohsin Bahnisi and Mohamed Abd al-Wahab–requested the release of the men.
The suspects told reporters that they had been tortured into making confessions by police interrogators.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
