Zyad’s arrest was part of a widespread arbitrary arrest campaign launched at the end of June 2019 that targeted those coordinating to participate in the parliamentary elections next year through an opposition alliance called “Hope.” The Ministry of Interior issued a statement accusing Zyad and others of a plan “to carry out violent and disorderly acts against State institutions simultaneously with creating a state of revolutionary momentum,” financed by the Muslim Brotherhood. He was added to state security case 930/2019, known publicly as the “Hope” case, on charges of engaging with a terrorist group to help achieve its goals and spreading false news and statements. On 4 August 2019, Cairo criminal court accepted a request submitted by the public prosecutor to seize the funds of the defendants in this case.
On 10 March 2020, Zyad was sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 20,000 EGP in a second case related to a TV interview he gave to BBC Arabic in 2017.
Cairo Criminal court decided to put Zyad on the terrorism list in an arbitrary and unfair ruling on 16 April 2020. The decision was not communicated to Zyad’s family or lawyer until 18 April. The ruling will mean that Zyad’s membership of the Egyptian Bar Association will no longer be valid, following amendments made to the Terrorist Entities Law approved on 3 March 2020 by the parliament.
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