Archive for Ahmed al-Gizawy

Gizawy’s trial adjourned to 2 January

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December 26th, 2012

A Jeddah court on Wednesday adjourned the trial of Ahmed al-Gizawy and Islam Mahmoud Bakr, two Egyptians, as well as Badr bin Nasser, a Saudi Arabian, to 2 January. They are charged with smuggling banned drugs into Saudi Arabia.

Their lawyer, Yasser Elwany, who is the legal advisor of the Egyptian Consulate, said the production date printed on the milk cans that contained the drugs reads 20 April 2012, whereas Gizawy was arrested on 17 April 2012.

The suspects are accused of smuggling banned Xanax tablets into Saudi Arabia.

A Yemeni witness alleged that Bakr told him to buy drugs from Gizawy for SR15,000 but was unable to specify the date that this happened. The court reviewed six witness testimonies alleging that Bakr had committed a criminal offense one year ago.

Yasser Elwany, legal adviser of the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah, was skeptical about some testimonies, saying that did not even get the names and features of the suspects correct.

Elwany is authorized by the defend the accused during the trial.

Gizawy was arrested on 17 April, and the trial’s first session was held on 18 July. Saudi prosecutors had earlier called for the death penalty.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Gizawy trial adjourned to 5 December

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November 14th, 2012

A Saudi court in Jeddah decided Wednesday to postpone the trial of Egyptian nationals Ahmed al-Gizawy and Islam Bakr and Saudi national Badr bin Nasser to 5 December, in order to give them a chance to respond to the evidence submitted by the prosecutor.

The suspects are accused of smuggling banned Xanax tablets into the kingdom. The court reviewed six witness testimonies alleging that Bakr had committed a crime a year ago.

Yasser Elwany, legal adviser of the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah, was skeptical about some testimonies for not giving the correct name and features of the suspect.

Elwany is authorized by the suspects to defend them during the trial. He will draft the legal response to the evidence during the next session.

Gizawy was arrested on 17 April, and the trial’s first session was held on 18 July. Saudi prosecutors had earlier called for the death penalty for Gizawy.

Edited translation from MENA

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Saudi court postpones trial of Egyptian lawyer

by admin
October 10th, 2012

The General Court in Jeddah has again postponed the next trial session of Egyptian lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawy on charges of smuggling drugs into Saudi Arabia.

The court pushed the next session to 14 November after the prosecutor presented a letter from  King Abdulaziz Airport customs authorities asking the court to summon Saeed Ali Mohamed Hatata, the airport's head of legal administration, to testify.

Yasser al-Olwany, the Egyptian consulate's legal adviser, attended the session and helped Gizawy write a memorandum in which he denied all the charges brought against him.

The trial started in July after Gizawy was arrested on 17 April. Authorities allege that he was in possession of more than 21,000 pills of the tranquilizer Xanax. But activists say the charges were fabricated because of his work with Egyptian detainees in Saudi Arabia.

The prosecution called for Gizawy's execution when the trial initially convened.

Edited translation from MENA
 

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Gizawy trial adjourned to October, Saudi prosecution denies torture

by admin
September 26th, 2012

A court in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Wednesday adjourned the trial of Egyptian lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawy to 10 October.

Gizawy faces charges of attempting to smuggle 21,000 tablets of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax into the country. Gizawy said in his 20-page defense note that he was forced to confess the crimes after he was tortured by Jeddah Drug Enforcement Administration.

Gizawy added that he was filmed in front of the seized pills seven days after his arrest and that the prosecution added a mobile SIM card to the case evidence and said it was his, while it was in fact used before he even arrived to Saudi Arabia.

The court also heard on Wednesday the prosecutor’s response to Gizawy’s defense. The prosecutor presented evidence that included a forged prescription for Xanax allegedly found in Gizawy's possession, which the prosecutor claimed confirms that Gizawy knew the pills were banned in the kingdom.

The prosecution added that the way Gizawy allegedly hid the tablets, in Quran cases, was similar to evidence found in the house of his Egyptian partner Islam Mahmoud Bakr in Riyadh.

Bakr has already been found guilty of smuggling 3,034 tablets of Xanax after being arrested in the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh coming from Cairo.

Gizawy was arrested in Abdul Aziz Internationals Airport in April. Rights activists say the charges against the lawyer were fabricated in retaliation for his work with Egyptians detained in the Gulf kingdom.

Sources told Saudi newspaper Okaz on Wednesday that the Saudi prosecutor denied Gizawy’s claim of being tortured and forced to confess, saying that the defendant had ratified the confession and approved it in the general court in Jeddah.

The source added that the photos taken of Gizawy show no signs of torture and a medical report confirms the absence of recent signs of torture on his body.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

 
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Gizawy attends Saudi trial with hands and feet shackled

by admin
September 5th, 2012

Ahmed al-Gizawy, the Egyptian lawyer detained in Saudi Arabia, attended his trial Wednesday with his hands and feet shackled and denied charges that he attempted to smuggle 21,000 tablets of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax into the country.

“The prosecution says I was arrested at 5:30 AM whereas I was arrested at 1:30 PM on my way out of the airport,” Gizawy said, requesting a representative of the Egyptian consulate in Jeddah to attend the trial.

“I do not blame the Saudi authorities. I do blame the media that made of me an enemy of the Saudi people,” he said.

The prosecutor showed Gizawy a picture of himself sitting in front of a group of milk cans that the prosecution claims was taken upon Gizawy’s arrival to the airport. Gizawy countered that it was forcibly taken seven days after his arrest.

The session was adjourned to 26 September.

The prosecution had requested the death penalty in the first hearing of the trial on 18 July.

Gizawy’s arrest had sparked angry protests outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo in April, leading Riyadh to recall its ambassador, who returned to Cairo a week later after a high-level Egyptian delegation visited Riyadh to assure the Saudi authorities of Egypt's commitment to the good relations.

Saudi Arabia is a major aid donor to Egypt, and closely coordinated with Egypt and the United States on policies during Mubarak's rule that lasted 30 years.

International human rights groups often say Saudi trials are conducted unfairly, a charge denied by Riyadh.

The Saudi judiciary usually gives the death sentence for murder, rape and drug trafficking convictions. Convicts are beheaded in a public square.
 

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Saudi Arabia to release 82 Egyptian prisoners

by admin
August 15th, 2012

 

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has pardoned and released 82 Egyptian prisoners on the occasion of Ramadan. Their names will shortly be sent to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Cairo, Ahmed Qattan, today.

President Mohamed Morsy was in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to attend the Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Mecca, along with leaders of Muslim countries, when the announcement was made.

It's not yet clear whether Ahmed al-Gizawy will be among the released. Gizawy, a human rights lawyer,  was arrested at the airport in Jeddah this year on 25 April for allegedly possessing large quantities of Xanax, a drug banned in Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors have sought the death penalty in his case, which has been adjourned to September.

In April, Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Cairo after thousands of Egyptian staged protests outside the embassy over Gizawy’s detention.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Saudi ambassador says Egyptian prisoners will be pardoned

by admin
July 19th, 2012

Saudi Arabia will issue a general pardon for some Egyptian prisoners being held in the kingdom on the occasion of Ramadan, but Ahmed al-Gizawy will not be eligible because he is still being tried, Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed al-Qattan said Thursday.

Qattan’s comments followed a meeting with President Mohamed Morsy in the presidential palace.

Morsy’s visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month bolstered bilateral relations, Qattan said, adding that Morsy accepted Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz’s invitation to attend a summit of Islamic nations on 14 and 15 August. The summit will deal with the challenges and dangers that face Islamic countries.

Qattan said during a press briefing Wednesday that the King and the Crown Prince will visit Egypt soon.

A Saudi court on Wednesday adjourned the drug possession trial of Gizawy, another Egyptian citizen and a Saudi defendant to 5 September. Prosecutors are asking for the death penalty.

Protests broke out at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo following Gizawy’s April arrest as activists alleged he was being detained for his work with Egyptian detainees in the kingdom. The unrest prompted Saudi Arabia to temporarily recall its ambassador.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Egyptian lawyer’s trial to begin in Saudi Arabia Wednesday

by admin
July 12th, 2012

An Egyptian consular official in Jeddah said Egyptian lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawy's trial on drug smuggling charges would begin on Wednesday.

The consulate said it expects to receive a copy of the official charges on the same day the trial begins. Saudi officials have given the consulate's legal advisor permission to attend the court sessions, diplomat Ali al-Esheiry said in a statement issued Thursday.

Gizawy was arrested on 17 April for allegedly bringing drugs into Saudi Arabia while traveling with his wife to perform the Umra pilgrimage. Egyptian human rights activists say Gizawy was detained for filing lawsuits defending Egyptians detained in the Gulf kingdom.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Amr Roshdy recently said reports claiming that Gizawy had been given a death sentence are false.

Gizawy’s arrest sparked protests at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo that led to the temporary withdrawal of Ambassador Ahmed al-Qattan from Egypt. The ambassador returned to his post after an Egyptian parliamentary delegation visited the kingdom.

 

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Wife of lawyer detained in Saudi Arabia hopes Morsy will free him

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July 10th, 2012

The wife of Egyptian lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawy, who is detained in Saudi Arabia on drug-related charges, voiced her hope that President Mohamed Morsy will free her husband during his trip to the Gulf kingdom on Wednesday.

“Morsy is the only hope I have after God, I hope they will both come back on the same plane,” Shahinda Fathy told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Gizawy was detained in April by Saudi authorities for drug possession, but Egyptian activists, who protested outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo, believe he was detained for criticizing the Kingdom’s treatment of prisoners.

Fathy told Al-Masry Al-Youm she expects Morsy will honor his pledge made through his spokesperson Yasser Ali, to intervene with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz for her husband’s release.

She said if Gizawy is not released before the holy month of Ramadan, which starts on 20 July, there will be fewer prospects for his return in the future.

In May, members of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which Morsy chaired before his election, headed to Saudi Arabia to calm tensions that flared after Gizawy’s imprisonment.

On Monday, the Saudi newspaper Al-Madina said authorities had approved charges against Gizawy and that a date for his trial would be set.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Saudi ambassador says Gizawy’s wife jeopardizing relations

by admin
July 3rd, 2012

Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed al-Qattan on Tuesday accused the wife of detained activist and lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawy of jeopardizing bilateral relations between his country and Egypt.

In a statement issued by the Saudi Embassy in Cairo, Qattan denied that the Saudi authorities decided to execute Gizawy.

He also said that the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy did not call the Saudi crown prince to discuss that issue.

Qattan said Gizawy’s wife, Shahenda Fathy, was not right in saying that her husband is on death row waiting to be executed by the sword.

“This aims to incite the Egyptian public and jeopardize bilateral relations,” the statement said. “She had earlier claimed he was sentenced to 20 lashes.”

“The Egyptian people will not believe these obvious lies that were refuted by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry,” he added.

He pointed out that Gizawy has not been sentenced yet. “Any sentence would be commensurate with the offense he committed, like the rest of the violators of the laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Gizawy’s arrest on 17 April sparked protests at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo that led to the temporary withdrawal of Qattan to Saudi Arabia. Prior to his arrest, Gizawy had filed a lawsuit against the Saudi authorities over their treatment of Egyptians.

The ambassador returned to his post in Cairo after an Egyptian parliamentary delegation visited the kingdom.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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