Ultras leader acquitted after six months’ detention over homecoming celebration

The Cairo Criminal Court’s First Terrorism Circuit, convening in Badr, acquitted Ultras White Knights leader Sayed Ali Fahim El-Azab, known as Sayed Mushagheb, and five others on Tuesday of charges including “rioting, obstructing public traffic, disturbing citizens, and possessing flares,” following more than 6 months of arrest and detention.

Security forces arrested Mushagheb and his co-defendants in mid-April, just after a crowd of youths gathered to celebrate his return to his home in Bulaq Al-Dakrour. The celebration followed a release order issued roughly 10 days after a Supreme State Security Prosecution decision ended 11 years in prison.

Throughout the trial and detention-renewal sessions, the defense team for Mushagheb and his co-defendants argued that the arrest and investigation procedures were invalid. Osama El-Gohary, a member of Mushagheb’s defense team, previously told Al Manassa that his client and the rest of the defendants were arrested inside their homes rather than on the street, denying any prior criminal agreement to organize the gathering. “It is impossible to even imagine, because people did not know the release date,” he said. “No one knew at all when he would be released because the matter was with National Security.”

The lawyer also explained at the time that the gathering was spontaneous, reflecting his client’s popularity in his neighborhood and had no political dimension or chants. “Rioting must have a political purpose, and there is no political purpose in the paperwork; they gathered out of joy,” he said, noting that the seized evidence amounted to “a single unused flare.” What happened was nothing more than a minor infraction stemming from joy over his release, he added.

In late May, a number of politicians and human rights advocates urged President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Prosecutor General Mohamed Shawky, and Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfik in a joint statement to grant Mushagheb “a real opportunity for life and freedom” after many years spent behind bars.

The statement noted that Mushagheb’s mother had endured the harshness of separation for years and was still looking forward to seeing her son live a stable life with his family, calling on authorities to consider the human and social dimensions of the case and apply the spirit of the law, which balances justice and mercy.

Earlier this month, Mushagheb’s mother wrote a letter calling on President El-Sisi to release her son, describing his re-arrest as “a shock that the family has not comprehended until now.” She emphasized that the welcoming scene in the neighborhood was spontaneous and joined by area residents after an absence of more than 11 years.

She said her son was surprised by the celebration and did not seek it out, and had repeatedly asked attendees to disperse. She noted that after his release, he had been preoccupied with trying to compensate his family for the long years of absence and the resulting suffering, especially following his father’s death during his imprisonment.