A/HRC/WGAD/2021/45 24. On 23 September 2019, Ms. El-Masry was interrogated by the prosecutor. She was charged, under case No. 488/2019, with cooperating with a terrorist group and publishing false news that endangered the public safety and interest. 25. During the investigation, Ms. El-Masry enquired as to which group she was accused of belonging and what false news she was accused of publishing. The prosecutor refused to answer her questions. In addition, Ms. El-Masry’s lawyer asked the prosecution to present the alleged arrest warrant. The prosecutor denied the lawyer’s request. The prosecution ordered Ms. El-Masry to be held for 15 days in pretrial detention, pending investigations. 26. Since her first appearance before the prosecution, Ms. El-Masry’s pretrial detention was renewed every 15 days, until 29 January 2020, after which her case was transferred to the counselling chamber at the Criminal Court of Cairo, which has the authority to renew the pretrial detention for 45 days. Since then, the pretrial detention has been periodically renewed every 45 days. 27. Following her detention, Ms. El-Masry has been prevented from communicating with other prisoners and was put under strict surveillance. From 10 March to 22 August 2020, she was cut off from the outside world as a result of the suspension of prison visits, due to restrictions related to COVID-19. Although prison visits resumed on 22 August, they were still greatly restricted, as they took place under strict surveillance. Ms. El-Masry has been denied the right to be visited by her lawyer in prison. 28. On 30 August 2020, Ms. El-Masry was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution for interrogation, where she learned that a new case, No. 855/2020, had been filed against her, in which she was accused of joining an illegally established organization. She was ordered to be held in pretrial detention under the new case. 29. The pretrial detention on the first case against Ms. El-Masry was later renewed for 45 days, pending investigations. The preventive detention of Ms. El-Masry on the second case will start once she is released from her first case or the two-year limit on pretrial detention is reached, if no trial date is set. 30. Since then, Ms. El-Masry’s pretrial detention has been continuously renewed every 45 days, most recently on 19 January 2021. During her last court hearing, Ms. El-Masry informed judges about the situation in Al-Qanater Prison, where she has been detained since her arrest. She pointed out that the prison had been overcrowded recently, which could exacerbate risks related to COVID-19, due to the absence of physical distancing and hygiene precautions. 31. Amr Mohamed Adel Imam Mohamed Mostafa is an Egyptian citizen, born in 1980, who used to live in Cairo. Mr. Imam used to work as a human rights lawyer at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, a local Egyptian human rights organization. 32. According to the information received, on 16 October 2019, at 2 a.m., Mr. Imam’s house was raided by 12 agents, comprising four policemen in uniforms and eight national security agents in plainclothes. They inspected the house, seized Mr. Imam’s mobile phone and personal laptop, and arrested him without showing him a warrant or providing a legal explanation for his arrest. Reportedly, he was then subjected to enforced disappearance for 35 hours by national security agents. On the morning of 16 October 2019, Mr. Imam’s family sent official telegrams to the Office of Public Prosecution and the Minister of Interior about his abduction and disappearance; however, they received no response. 33. The source claims that, throughout his enforced disappearance, Mr. Imam was illtreated. He was handcuffed and blindfolded with a piece of cloth saturated with gasoline, which caused severe pain in his eyes. The ill-treatment was allegedly a means of threatening him. The national security agents further told him that his arrest was due to his work on case No. 1338/2019, and because he announced his intention to go on a hunger strike in solidarity with a famous activist. The activist in question had allegedly been kidnapped by security forces in the street while driving her car, detained and tortured a week earlier, leading her to go on a hunger strike. 34. On 17 October 2019, at 1 p.m., Mr. Imam was brought before the Supreme State Security Prosecution. He was charged, under case No. 488/2019, with joining a terrorist 4