Egyptian journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani has been referred from high state security prosecution to military prosecution over charges of belonging to an illegal organization and spreading false news, his lawyer Mokhtar Mounir told Ahram Online on Sunday. The 32-year-old Alexandrani, a freelance investigative journalist who specialises in Sinai affairs, has spent over two years in detention pending investigation since his arrest in December 2015 at Hurghada Airport upon his arrival from Germany. Mounir says that Alexandrani was referred to military prosecution on 13 December 2017 without the knowledge of his legal team. According to Egyptian law, the maximum preventative detention period allowed for a person without referral to trial is two years. "[Alexandrani] was supposed to attend a detention renewal session on 19 December, but he was not brought to court; and I learned from the military prosecution office on Saturday that his case had been transferred from the high state security prosecution to the military prosecution," Mounir added. According to his family, Alexandrani was giving lectures in Europe about the political situation in Egypt prior to his return in December 2015.
