Egypt: trial of revolutionary socialists organization

The trial of five Egyptian activists, including four fleeing, accused of forming the "al-Ishtitakyeen and al-Thawreyeen" (revolutionary socialists) illegal organization to topple the regime, started on Saturday before the supreme state security court.

The state supreme security attorney accused the five activists of "forming a communist organization aimed at toppling the regime, and seeks to obstruct the constitution, the law ,and disseminate false information that will defame Egypt outside the country through contacting international human rights organizations," according to judicial sources.

The attorney demanded at the beginning of the trial utmost penalty against the five convicted men, expected to be 15 years imprisonment.

Present before the court which was attended by representatives for Egyptian and international human rights organizations and just one of the acuused persons: Ashraf Ibrahim ( 35 year old), an engineer. The other four coicted fleeing men are Yahya Fekri Zahra ( an engineer), Mustafa Basyouni ( employee), Nasser al-Buheiri ( a researcher at one of the human rights centers) and Rimond Edward Jindi,a student at the faculty of law at Cairo university. The court decided to resume its sessions today to listen to witnesses.