EGYPTIAN MASSES AND REVOLUTIONARY MILITANTS I EL-AKHBAR'S REPORT The following article, published under the headline, "Arrest of a Communist Organization Having Relations With Communist Organizations in Lebanon and France, appeared in the August 3, 1975, issue of the Cairo daily el-Akhbar. The subtitles are el-Akhbor's. The intelligence services of the State Security have sueceeded in arresting a communist organization having connections with communist organizations in Lebanon and Paris. Twenty members of the organization have been arrested, among them Five young women. The name of this communist organization is the Internationalist Communist League; its aim is the overthrow of the political and economic regime in the country and the imposifion of an extremist "Trotskyist" communist regime. The security services followed the activities of the organization from August 1974 to the arrest of its members last July. This communist organization had connections with the Revolutionary Communist Group in Lebanon and the Fourth International in France (which is on extremist communist group). The state intelligence services presented photographs, tapes, printed matter, and documents proving the activ-
EGYPT ity of this communist organization in Egypt. A typewriter was also found, as well as several pamphlets ready for distribution, in the apartment of the organization in Cairo. Yesterday the prosecutor's office of the State Security distributed details about this organization during the examination of a request for the release of Randa Abdel Ghaffar el-Boassi, an agronomy student and member of the organization. The request was considered by the State Security Court, Counsellor Hussein Mustafa Omar presiding; the prosecutor's office was represented by Abdel Mogid Mahmoud. An organization of a new type At the beginning of the session, Randa denied the accusation that she belonged to the organization. In his deposition, Abdel. Magid Mahmoud said, "At a time when it is necessary to strengthen the internal front, this League has come along to destroy any progress on the road to the strengthening of that front. " And he added, "This League is trying to found a secret, destructive communist organization, not of the traditional type, but an extremist Marxist Trotskyist organization that establishes relations with foreign communist organizations. This organization has thus voluntarily ogreed to become the agent of outside forces foreign to our convictions." He also said, *This organization contacted several Marxist Trotskyists abroad, after which they formed a communist organization including the accused, the aim of which is to overthrow the political and economic regime of the country and to impose on extremist communist regime. Their activities began during the summer of 1974; at the same time, the observation of their activities by the security services began. The intelligence services of State Security presented thirteen reports to the State Security prosecutor's office, and the organization was then arrested last July 3." Support from abroad The accused admitted having contacted the Revolutionary Communist Group in Lebanon, which is regarded as a section of a communist party in France (the Fourth International). They formed a communist organization following these two organizations and began their activities by creating what they called the "Mustafa Khamis Communist Group. " Then the organization transformed itself into the Internotionalist Communist League and adopted the Marxist Trotskyist line; they depended on and subordinated themselves to the Revolutionary Communist Group in Lebanon; contact and support were maintained between the two organizations. The Lebanese organization sent two delegates with directives to the organization in Egypt, and they met with the members of the Egyptian group and were arrested; their names are Mozahim Takriti and Abdel Kader Shakir. The Lebanese organization 30 offered financial support for the purchase of a typewriter for printing pamphlets and leaflets; the members of the Egyptian organization were also trained in the use of disappearing ink and writing in code. The Lebanese organization also sent books and journals for the education of the Egyptians, among them el-Munadil, which is published by the organization in Lebanon. The members of the organization rented an apartment in which to hold their meetings. The prosecutor requested that Randa be held in prison unfil the investigation was finished and until other accused members of the organization, who have fled, are apprehended. He then explained the role of the accused Randa Abdel Ghaffar el-Baassi, a 19-year-old student in the agronomy school of Ains Shems University, and he mentioned that leaflets and pamphlets had been found in her desk. Adel Amin, attorney for the accused, moved for her release on the grounds of her young age and the absence of evidence proving that she participated in meetings; her only role, he said, was that her sister, Najwa Abdel Ghaffar el-Baassi, a student at the engineering school of Ain Shems, and Ibrahim Azzam, Najwa's husband, were accused in the affair. He added that the printed matter found in her apartment did not prove that she belonged to the organization. The court decided to release the accused but to keep her under constant surveillance. It is known that the release of those accused in such offairs takes place only after confirmation of the decision; the prosecutor has the right to oppose the decision of the court. (The article continues by attempting to make an amalgom between the