'Street Children' group members ordered released after more than 150 days in custody

Wednesday 07-09-2016 04:07 PM

Members of Street Children group. Photo from the group's Facebook page

CAIRO, Sept. 7 (Aswat Masriya) – A Cairo court ordered on Wednesday the release of four members of the satirical group Street Children after more than 150 days in pre-trial detention, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression said.

The group, known as "Atfal al–Shawarei" in Arabic, films mostly satirical, selfie-style videos that tackle different social phenomena. 

The fifth and youngest member, Ezzedin Khaled Mohamed, was the first to be arrested in May and subsequently released days after. The rest of the group was arrested days after his release.

The prosecution accused the members of joining a group that aims to "resist the fundamental principles of the state," incite against authorities, broadcast false news and instigate the overthrow of the regime.

Defence lawyer Tarek al-Awady told Aswat Masriya that the pre-trial detention was replaced by precautionary measures which include a travel ban and regular visits to the police station.

Awady added that it was highly probable the charges against the group members would be altered and some of them removed altogether, making it a misdemeanor rather than a crime.    

The group had posted several satirical videos, ridiculing political notions as well as societal and religious practices. The last video before their arrest in May directly poked fun at the president and his supporters.

Their work managed to reach a wide audience, thus putting the group members under the spotlight.

They were featured in television interviews including with Ontv's "The Complete Picture," or al-Sura al-kamla in Arabic.

Following their arrest, hundreds of social media users showed their support through a campaign on social media, whereby users posted selfies using the hashtag 'Does the phone camera shake you?'.

Rights groups previously decried the group's arrest and criticized what they deemed a grave breach of the freedom of artistic and literary creativity and the freedom of expression as guaranteed by Egypt's constitution.

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