°®Âþµº

Egyptian authorities have extended the pretrial detention of at least 125 people and arrested two journalists shortly before holding a national dialogue on Tuesday to discuss pretrial detention policies, rights lawyers and groups say.

Most of those detained were swept up in a wave of arrests following calls for protests on July 12 over economic conditions under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, they said.

Although there were no protests, dozens were arrested from their homes and held on accusations including spreading false news, using social media platforms to promote terrorist ideas, and belonging to a terrorist organisation, rights lawyer Nabih El-Genady said.

On Sunday and Monday, the public prosecution extended their detention for 15 days, he and another rights lawyer, Khalid Ali, said. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, a rights group, confirmed that at least 125 people were being held.

Authorities have also arrested two journalists in the past week, one a cartoonist for independent news outlet Al-Manassa, missing since plain-clothed officers raided his house on Monday, the other a reporter for the Arabic Post news website said Ali.

There was no immediate comment from the public prosecution or Egypt's State Information Service.

Rights groups have long criticised the extensive use of pretrial detention to keep people jailed for years. They say it should be a last resort, not standard procedure.

The topic was discussed on Tuesday in a national political dialogue launched by Sisi in April 2022.

Over the past decade, Sisi has overseen a sweeping crackdown on dissent across the political spectrum. Officials say the judiciary acts independently, and authorities are taking steps to protect human rights.

Ahmed al-Sharkawy, a member of parliament who sits on the dialogue's board, said it had facilitated the release of some 1,500 people after years of pretrial detention, including 79 freed on Monday.

"I'm not saying everything is perfect. There are still issues, but we are seeing good results," Sharkawy said.

Others, including the Civil Democratic Movement (CDM), a liberal opposition bloc that suspended its involvement in the dialogue in June over a lack of progress, have been more sceptical, especially on the issue of freedom of expression.

"Until the state shows genuine intent to release all prisoners in pretrial detention, there is no point in attending a dialogue session," said CDM co-founder and political scientist Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid.

(Reuters)