The Supreme State Security Prosecution at the Fifth Settlement Court extended on Thursday the detention of eight detainees accused of being Black Bloc members for 15 days. The eight detainees were arrested in early morning police raids on their homes in April after the prosecutor general issued warrants for 22 alleged Black Bloc members. Ahmed Atef, member of the Front to Defend Egypt's Protesters, attended the detention renewal session. He stated that the prosecution handling the session is the same prosecution which renewed their detention before. "The detainees were sent back to Tora prison immediately after the session," Atef said. Before the prosecution's decision was issued, Sayeda Qandil, a lawyer following the detainees' case, said there was "no hope in the Supreme State Security Prosecution to release them". A protest was organised outside the Fifth Settlement Court in solidarity with the eight detainees. The detained include 6 April Democratic Front member Abdel Rahman Mohsen and Youssef "Joe El-Ostura" Ali, who has close ties to the front. Abdel Rahman Al-Araby, a 16-year-old Al-Tayar Al-Sha'aby member, is also in custody. The prosecutor general issued arrest warrants for alleged Black Bloc members in April. Seven of the accused were arrested after the police raided over 22 homes. An eighth person turned himself in one day later. The Black Bloc emerged in Egypt around the second anniversary of the 25 January Revolution. Since then, dozens of protesters have been accused of belonging to the Black Bloc, a group the government has designated as a “terrorist organization". Atef claimed at least 50 people were arrested for allegedly being Black Bloc members since January.
