Egypt to prosecute high-profile activist Hisham Kassem next month over 'alleged libel' charges

Egyptian high-profile political activist Hisham Kassem will stand trial before a Cairo court on 2 September over the alleged charges of defamation as he continues to remain in custody after he had rejected to be released on bail over the weekend.

"Kassem has also been accused of misusing social media platforms and slandering civil servants, the policemen at Sayyidah Zaynab police station where he has been held [in Cairo]," his lawyer Hoda Abdel-Wahab posted on her Facebook page.

Earlier last month, a war of words erupted on social media platforms between Kassem and Kamal Abu-Eita, a former minister of workforce and a prominent labour rights defender, over their political allegiances.

Abu-Eita eventually pressed charges and accused Kassem of public defamation via social media. 

Abu-Eita, who used to be an opposition leader during the reign of late long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak, is now known for being loyal to the current regime of Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and a member of the presidential pardon committee of prisoners.

On Monday, a Cairo prosecutor ordered that Kassem, also the former publisher of Egypt's once-leading independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, be remanded in custody for four days, pending further investigations into the charges against him.  

"One day later, Hisham was surprisingly referred to trial, apparently, before investigations were even finalised and the two complaints against him were joined," a prominent activist told The New Arab on condition of anonymity.

"It was very clear from the beginning it was a means to nail him and crush the opposition, especially after his recent political activities and daring posts on social media about the regime," the activist added.  

Kassem has been a vocal critic of Sisi's regime and an internationally award-winning defender of free press and freedom of expression in Egypt.  

Most recently, he has been designated as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of "The Free Current," an independent political group of several liberal political parties, former politicians, activists and intellectuals.

About 60,000 political prisoners are estimated to have been behind bars in Egypt; many face abuse, torture and medical neglect, per the estimation of local and international human rights groups.