Egyptian officials hold meetings on detention policy after extending pre-trial detentions of those caught in new wave of arrests

Egyptian officials convened on Tuesday to discuss the nation’s detention policies, according to human rights lawyers and groups cited by Reuters.

The discussions followed the recent extension of pre-trial detentions for at least 125 individuals by an additional 15 days, along with the arrest of two journalists, according to rights groups.

The bulk of those detained were apprehended following a call for protests on July 12 against the economic policies of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Under his tenure, Egyptians have faced soaring inflation, a 300% increase in the price of subsidized bread and regular power outages.  

Though the protests never materialized, dozens of people were reportedly taken from their homes. They were accused of spreading fake news, using social media to promote terrorist ideas and belonging to a terrorist organization, a human rights lawyer told Reuters.

Rights groups say over the past week two journalists were arrested: a cartoonist for Al-Manassa, an independent news outlet and a reporter for the online outlet Arabic Post.

Critics argue that the government uses pre-trial detentions excessively to keep individuals incarcerated for extended periods.

Egypt's State Information Service said recommendations from the dialogue session will be sent to al-Sisi for review, according to Reuters.

"Until the state shows genuine intent to release all prisoners in pretrial detention, there is no point in attending a dialogue session," political scientist Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid told Reuters.