Sisi promises Alaa Abd El-Fattah trial if attorneys can guess his charges

The magnificent, one-of-a-kind president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, generously assured the family of the political detainee, Alaa Abd El-Fattah, that he would face a fair trial in a real court, with a jury, attorneys, and a judge with a gavel, on condition that attorneys guess the accusation the Egyptian judiciary plans to charge Alaa with. 

Sisi stated that Alaa would remain an honored guest in Egypt’s most excellent prisons without any trial for a few more years to enable the largest number of lawyers to participate in the riddle.

Sources said the competition would not be easy; the participants must guess Alaa’s crime first and specify why that crime is considered a crime, before proposing potential punishments. 

The president said Alaa’s riddle would be open to all attorneys, but that integrity was vital.

“We will not tolerate any cheating attempts by having lawyers crib from the list of charges for previously convicted detainees; the consequences will be that Alaa will not have his long-awaited trial and the authorities will arbitrarily detain citizens that will have no trial too,” he said."

The riddle is part of a broader effort by the government to encourage jurists to think out of the box by guessing charges that will not have crossed the minds of Egyptian officials and prosecutors, inspiring them with new innovative charges for future cases.

Such a competition will refresh the judicial system and add some diversity, given that charges that have been used for decades like association with the Muslim Brotherhood, relations with foreign governments, and spreading false news have become boring and staid.

Analysts predict that riddles will increase the judicial system’s efficiency in Egypt and offer an alternative form of entertainment to citizens.