Opposition activists summoned for questioning last week by Prosecutor-General Talaat Abdallah on charges of inciting violence refused to attend interrogations, arguing that Abdallah lacks the authority to issue such summons after the Appeals Court annulled his appointment. On 25 March Abdallah issued arrest warrants for five activists and summoned a sixth for questioning after they were accused of inciting violence in front of the Muqattam headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood two weeks ago. The five wanted activists are blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah; Popular Current member Ahmed Doma; National Salvation Front member Hazem Abdel-Azim; Dostour Party member Ahmed Al-Ghoneimi and activist Karim Al-Shaer. “I don't recognise the prosecutor-general,” Doma told Al-Ahram Weekly. “I will not attend any investigation. The manner of his appointment by President Mohamed Morsi undermines his legitimacy.” Only a month ago Doma said on his Facebook page he intended to file a petition with Abdallah's office accusing the fanatic Sheikh Abu Islam of libel. “Yes, it's true I posted the statement but I didn't act on it,” says Doma. “I changed my mind the following day.” Abdel-Azim and Al-Ghoneimi said during a press conference called for by 20 opposition movements that they refused to recognise the authority of the prosecutor-general whose appointment had triggered nationwide strife. They added that the arrest warrants were an attempt to tarnish the image of activists. “This is nothing new,” said Abdel-Azim. “All fascist regimes take the same path. They all try to systematically undermine their opponents.” A widely circulated video shows Abdel-Azim throwing stones during the Muqattam clashes. Al-Shaer announced via his Facebook account that he recognised neither the subpoena nor “the Morsi-appointed prosecutor-general who issued it”. Nawara Negm was the sixth activist to be summoned for questioning. Negm, daughter of poet Ahmed Fouad Negm, said that she would not be responding. Abdel-Fattah was the only activist among the five wanted to respond to the prosecutor-general's warrant. He was detained for several months in 2011 on charges of attacking army personnel and stealing military property following clashes in front of Maspero during which 27 protesters were killed. The charges were later dropped. Abdel-Fattah appeared at the High Court on 26 March amid chants and cheers from protesters gathered in solidarity with the summoned activists. He arrived at the prosecutor-general's office in the white suit worn by detainees, clearly assuming that he would be detained pending investigations. He posted on his Twitter account that he was being questioned about tweets that tagged his name but which he did not write. He added that he had refused to answer questions and instead requested a neutral judge take charge of the interrogation. The prosecution subsequently issued a statement saying that Abdel-Fattah had been released pending a report by the Internet Investigation Authority to determine the authenticity of social media accounts in the activist's name. Abdel-Fattah was also served notice on Thursday that he faces trial, along with his sister Mona Seif and 11 other defendants, on charges of arson. They are accused of involvement in the torching of the presidential campaign headquarters of Ahmed Shafik in June 2012. Last week the Muslim Brotherhood's lawyer, Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud, filed complaints with the prosecutor-general against 169 individuals — including party leaders and other politicians — whom he accused of inciting violence. The prosecution listened to the testimony of a number of Muslim Brothers who claimed to have been injured in protests instigated by those named by Abdel-Maksoud. On 25 March the South Cairo prosecutor summoned Mohamed Abul-Ghar, head of the Social Democratic Party, along with other political figures, to reply to charges of instigating attacks on the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters. The opposition movement Kifaya responded by issuing a statement denouncing “oppression by the regime's militias against the opposition”. “The Brotherhood acts like Mubarak. But they will not cow us by filing reports,” said the statement. “What we are seeing,” says Dostour Party member Shadi Al-Ghazali Harb, “is a concerted attack on revolutionary youth.” Hassan Nafaa, professor of political science at Cairo University, said that Abdallah's recent actions served only to lend credence to speculation that he receives his orders directly from the Muslim Brotherhood. “Serving summonses and issuing arrest warrants and travel bans on opposition activists betrays a willingness to act in the absence of sound legal grounds. It is becoming clear that there is no intention to apply the law impartially,” Nafaa told Al-Ahram Weekly. “There are people who have been responsible for acts of violence but who have not been held to account because they are members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Only this week I was assaulted and prevented from entering Media Production City by Islamists. They have faced no legal action whatsoever. “Having been appointed by Morsi, Abdallah is acting as if he is in the employ of the Muslim Brotherhood. His actions are making a mockery of his position as prosecutor-general.”
