Pictures: Egyptian political prisoners and their families!

Families of political prisoners in Egypt communicate with their loved ones through sign language because they can't get any closer. Look at the pictures and try to put yourself in their place. 

"Your mother is sending her greetings to you".

Human Rights in Egypt after the military coup: A detailed report

Do you hear about Egypt in the news anymore? If you are someone who followed Egypt after the military coup in 2013 you probably came across very few articles here and there. 

News updates on explosions, bombing, and infrastructure accidents usually get the most attention, if any. However, barely anything is said in English on the unprecedented scale of human rights violations, political persecution, and the social frustration and pressure affecting the lives of millions of Egyptians.

For decades and especially after the revolution in 2011, the Egyptian people who are experiencing human rights violations who are not English speakers, who reside outside of the center of attention don't get the same recognition internationals and celebrities receive when they are under the grip of the Egyptian state.

Unfortunately, this is something international news agencies and many of the advocacy groups fail to understand and as a result it has been one of our main motivations to do our translation work.

Earlier this year and for several months, members of our initiative coordinated with an aspiring human rights organization which shares the same concerns. For two years now The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms has been trying to offer a neutral grassroots documentation of the human rights crisis in Egypt regardless of the ideology, political affiliation, or social class of the victim or their families. 
Their incredible work received the attention and was cited in several human rights reports and news articles but they still struggle so much to reach a wider audience due to their limited resources and linguistic abilities. 

The following post is a translation by one of our members for a summary and an introduction to one of their major projects so far. 
The project was a detailed report on human rights violations since July 2013 and up until the end of 2015. We worked for a few months on re-writing and editing the English translation of the Arabic report. It was a very challenging piece of work. Unfortunately, the original translation was done by a group of Egyptian recent graduates who were arrested afterwards. 

This is highly important work that didn't get the attention it deserved then, it's almost 2016 now but much of what's in the report hasn't changed yet. 

After reading this summary, you can easily download the English PDF version of the report here:
http://ecrfeg.org/en/2016/05/21/human-rights-in-egypt-where-to/

The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms

The Summary of 2015 

Human Rights in Egypt: What could possibly be worse?

Since the establishment of the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms, it has issued more than 40 reports over the course of the past 18 months. In addition to the annual and semi-annual periodical reports, a special annual report was issued for the year 2015, monitoring and documenting the violations of the Egyptian authorities against its citizens over 2015. This report notably is the most comprehensive report on the state of human rights in Egypt since the events of July 3, 2013.

The methodology of the reports is based on information gathered on a daily basis within "The Monitoring and Documentation Units" in the organization. These units are connected to another team within the Coordination, the team of human rights activists and lawyers who are based all over Egypt and are working to monitor all violations against the rights of the Egyptian people, following websites and official publications. In addition, these different units are communicating directly with the victims of the violations and their families.

The annual report is divided into three main sections each of which includes several chapters and subsections:

-The first section deals with: "Violations of civil and political rights", and discusses the following violations: Murder, arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, torture in prisons and detention places, death penalties on political basis, the siege of villages and towns, violations against the most vulnerable groups (Children and women) and people with special needs, violations against immigrants and refugees, military trials for civilians, violations against students and university professors, violations against lawyers and professionals, and violations against human rights activists and journalists.
- The second Section deals with: "Violations of economic and social rights", and discusses dismissals from work places as well as another phenomena in the Egyptian society which is suicide.
- The third section includes an explanation of the general environment or legal framework for human rights research.

Egypt: Human Rights Violations in Numbers

Arbitrary Killing: In 2015, the Egyptian Coordination monitored 335 cases of extrajudicial killings where: 7 citizens were killed by execution; 27 citizens were murdered through torture; 87 citizens were murdered by medical negligence; 50 citizens were murdered during protests; and 143 citizens were killed by live ammunition or by throwing them from the rooftops or by killing them in an unknown explosive accidents; apart from 21 dead due to sectarian violence.

Torture: In 2015, 387 cases of torture were documented based on complaints received directly from victims’ families; a total of 876 cases of torture were documented, including cases without verification from victims’ families.

Death Sentences on a Political Basis: We monitored 1763 cases that were referred to the Grand Mufti, including 1758 males and 5 females, of whom 4 defendants died in detention after referral to the Mufti. During the time period of the report, 729 death sentences were issued; of whom 427 were sentenced to death and their appeal has not yet been considered; 260 were sentenced to death and granted an appeal, granting a retrial; 7 were sentenced to death, their appeal was granted with a retrial, and then they were sentenced to death for the second time; 56 were sentenced to death, and they face retrial on lesser penalties or have been acquitted.

Arbitrary Detention: We observed during 2015 approximately 23,000 cases of arbitrary detention of Egyptian citizens. Most of these citizens are under temporary detention, or have been referred to trial - military or civilian trials - in which they are not guaranteed a fair trial.

Enforced Disappearances: We observed 1840 cases of enforced disappearance of Egyptian citizens during the period of observation; approximately 366 of these cases are still regarded as enforced disappearances at the time of this report’s publication, and we will attach to the report a detailed list about people who are still considered cases of enforced disappearance based upon testimony gathered from the families of the victims.

Referral of Civilians to Military Trials: We observed about 6,048 referral of civilians to military courts including 578 students and minors, 74 doctors, 181 teachers, and 30 lawyers. Around 163 of these cases received a ruling, wherein 18 civilian citizens were sentenced to death, more than 1000 were sentenced to life imprisonment, and thousands more were sentenced to serve prison terms ranging from 7 to 15 years. 

Violations against the Most Vulnerable Groups

Women: Our report confirms the continuation of state-supported oppression of the Egyptian women since July 2013 and until today. Oppression of women included all kinds of abuse, ranging from murder, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, violations against minors, mothers, and wives, and arbitrary sentences. There have been more than 2,000 women and girls detained in the period from July 3, 2013 until the end of 2015.

As of this report’s publication, there are still sixty (60) women subjected to arbitrary detention by the security forces, some of whom have faced fabricated accusations on political basis.

Children: Egyptian minors are exposed to sever amounts of violations, over 2015 there were 630 arrests, 16 cases of extrajudicial killings, 250 cases of torture, 121 cases of enforced disappearances, and 89 cases medical negligence inside prisons.

People with special needs: The Coordination monitored 480 cases of detention, arrest and court rulings against people with special needs or disabilities.

Refugees: According to official sources, there are 80,000 Syrian refugees in Egypt, other sources indicate that the number of Syrian refugees in Egypt has increased to 250 thousand. Refugees were exposed to serious violations including arbitrary arrest and forced disappearances, in addition to restrictions on the issuance of residence permits which forced many of them to escape Egypt through different ways. We managed to monitor the presence of 44 Palestinians in Egyptian prisons and four cases of enforced disappearance.

Freedom of Movement, Thought, and Expression

Media and journalism: We documented the following violations against journalists and media workers:

1.   The killing of 4 journalists in different violent incidents.

2.   The enforced disappearance and torture of 14 journalists.

3.   193 instances of physical abuse during media and press coverage.

4.   50 cases of arbitrary detention of journalists.

5.   38 journalists and media workers were referred to criminal trials, whether civilian or military trials.

6.   12 TV programs were prevented from airing.

7.   Egyptian security and/or police raided the headquarters of 14 newspapers, satellite television channels, and news websites.

Freedom of Movement: During this period the siege of several villages and cities was observed in various governorates of Egypt, preventing citizens from moving freely, restricting them, and arbitrarily detaining a large number of citizens. In addition to this, a large number of citizens were prevented from traveling, particularly jurists, journalists, and community figures. The number of Egyptian prisons increased from 42 to 51 after nine new prisoners were built in 2015.

Economic and Social Rights

The rise of suicide rates and incidents in Egypt raised red flags and media attention last year. The Coordination monitored 215 suicide cases in 2015 alone, 174 of which of were males and 41 females. 52% of the suicide cases are for people between the ages of 18-35.

In the same context, the report monitored that the administrative body of the Egyptian state has listed more than 5,000 government employees working in various ministries and ordered their dismissal based on charges of “belonging to political and/or religious organizations” without evidence of any crimes. Among these names were 51 judges, 671 media worker and journalists, 46 university professors, and 200 teachers who were all dismissed from work on political basis in 2015 alone.

Recommendations

At the end of the report, The Egyptian coordination recommended that a neutral investigation committee needs to be established in order to examine all the reports and complaints regarding the violations of the political, human, and social rights of the Egyptian citizens.

The Coordination demanded the assertion of the right to freedom of expression, the immediate cancellation of military trials for civilians and the release of all civilians convicted in military trials, the immediate cancellation of “Protest law” and other similar restrictive laws and releasing all political prisoners who’re arrested under their pretext, and finally reviewing all political death sentences in the past 3 years and asserting the right of those sentenced to death to fair civilian trials.

The Coordination also demanded that the United Nations and the international community have a serious participation in pressuring the Egyptian state to abide by and respect international human rights covenants, measurements, and laws.

Finally, the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms asked that the UN and the international community should have an open position and not be silent on the violations of human rights taking place in Egypt. The Coordination emphasized the dire need to support and amplify the efforts of local civil society and human rights organizations operating under critical conditions so that they can continue to do this work and be committed to serving the Egyptian people and the victims of human rights violations. 

Children turning into adults in Egyptian prisons

Sohaib Emad was 15 when he entered prison 3 years ago because of protesting the martyrdom of his other teenager friend in a peaceful protest.

This is what prison made him look like in a few years.

He's doing his final high school exams inside prison and his health condition is deteriorating. There are so many other Egyptian children like Sohaib in Egyptian prisons.

Egyptian children are aging inside US funded Sisi prisons because of the military coup. 

All the Egyptians who had dreamed of a better Egypt are being punished by a way or the other because of daring to dream!

Egypt fear of the beard: A missing perspective

Egyptian men grew beards all the time whether for religious reasons or as a habit, what went wrong in the past few years?

How do people view bearded men when they are Muslim? What happens when a society becomes very hostile to men with facial hair? Can you be a hipster with a hipster beard and pass as a hipster, not as a Muslim Brotherhood, and survive in today's Egypt?

What's taking place in Egypt can give you an idea about a dark scenario, where media and authority campaigning effort lead to stereotyping and vilifying a very diverse group of people. For more background check out this other piece we have written: 

Egypt fear of the beard:

This is an important perspective on the struggle of bearded men in Egypt who have fallen victims to an extremely harsh Islamphobic campaign after secular army general Abdul Fattah El Sisi took over the country. This feature piece discusses the different experiences of Egyptian young men from various perspectives, some of them have beards for religious reasons, some are affiliated with political Islamic movements, and others are doing it simply for the style, just like how any man anywhere in the world grows a beard.

At the end, they all face a similar degree of harassment and discrimination for how they look like.

From Middle East Eye, by: Maged Abul Dahab

http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/fear-beard-1007632928

The campaign against Islamic political movements has extended to appearance, and the beard is one of the main targets. 

Since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi rose to power, officially one year ago but in practice since the armed forces' declaration of 3 July, it was clear that his policy towards Islamic political movements was different from former presidents Hosni Mubarak or Anwar Sadat.

Sisi's policy is closer to that of Gamal Abdel Nasser - total and complete obliteration of Islamic movements, with a particular focus on the Muslim Brotherhood. One of the main tools to execute this policy was the use of the media - government-backed media specifically - to terrorise the Islamic political movements which seized the political initiative after the 25 January revolution.

The campaign against Islamic political movements was expanded to include a generalised crackdown on Islamic practices and outward Islamic appearance. And nothing symbolised the idea of the Islamic opposition and fear of "terrorism" more than the beard. The media emphasised the idea that bearded men were terrorists, or at least Muslim Brotherhood members.

Many lives were affected by this idea and subsequent reprisals that were taken against men who wore beards.

The student

Abdullah Farouk Kenibar, An Egyptian student, who was attacked while travelling from kafer El Sheikh to Cairo, because of his beard and Islamic appearance (MEE/Belal Darder)

Abdullah Farouk Kenibar is a 22-year-old student of medicine at the University of al-Azhar in Cairo. Kenibar is from Kafr al-Shiekh governorate, but he travels to Cairo every year to study. He comes from a religious family that considers the beard as a Sunnah (religiously prescribed practice). His home in Kafr al-Shiekh is near the house of the famous Islamic preacher Abu Ishak al-Houiny, who Kenibar holds in extremely high regard.

“In my first year of high school, I used to pray al-Fajr [the morning prayer] regularly at the mosque, and every time I met Sheikh Ishak, he would tell me to grow my beard to be similar to the Prophet Mohammed,” Kenibar explained. He started to grow his beard during his third and fourth years of high school.

It was 2011 when Kenibar was enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine at al-Azhar University. Everything was going well for him. Most of the students around him were bearded, and he had no problems interacting with the people of the city. He enjoyed being treated in high esteem on and off the university campus.

But things changed three months after Morsi became president. The aggressive tone of the media escalated against Islamists with each passing day. Kenibar and his friends began to feel the growth in animosity from those around them.

“I was in the bus going to the university. An old woman carrying a heavy parcel climbed into the bus. I got up from my seat to help her, and she immediately freaked out," Kenibar told MEE.

"She started calling me bad names, saying that I was Ikhwan [a member of the Muslim Brotherhood] and that we were the reason for the sabotage of the country.”

"That was the first time I realised how bad the situation was. It was also the first time I felt that my beard was a burden on my shoulders. If I wasn’t bearded, her reaction would have been totally different.”

Six months after this incident, Morsi was removed from power, and the Muslim Brotherhood alongside other political Islamic movements called for their adherents to take part in a sit-in demonstration in two main squares. During this sit-in - which lasted for about 40 days - media attacks on Islamists reached unprecedented levels.

At this time, Kenibar was at his family home in Kafr al-Sheikh. He would have stayed there all summer, but he needed to travel back to Cairo to complete some tasks at the university. “I’d heard that bearded men were targeted along the way from Kafr al-Sheikh to Cairo, but I felt that those who told me about this were exaggerating. Though I had learned that bearded men were treated differently, I didn’t think for one minute that I would really be targeted just because I wore a beard.”

Along the way to Cairo, Kenibar’s car was stopped by a group of men. Kenibar was attacked violently under the assumption that he was “Ikhwan”, and afterwards he was taken by the gang of men to a police checkpoint, again under the assumption that he was a member of the Brotherhood heading to Cairo to participate in the sit-in. Kenibar was detained briefly for this, and would have stayed in jail if it wasn’t for the interference of his uncle, a judge, who managed to get him out after three days of detention.

When Kenibar was released, the first thing he did was shave his beard. “I hated to shave it, but I was not going to risk that danger again. I was fortunate enough to have an uncle who was a judge, but what about the hundreds and thousands who have no important relatives and were subject to the same treatment?”

The photographer

Ahmed Fouad Hendawy is a 24-year-old photojournalist for Etfarag, an Egyptian news website. He has been working as a photojournalist for five years now, and has worn a beard since he was 18 years old. “I just like the way I look with a beard. I respect those who grow their beard for religious reasons, and I wish I could say that I grew my beard so God would be pleased with me, but it is simple in my case - I just like my appearance as a bearded man,” Hendawy explained.

Ahmed Fouad Hendawy, An Egyptian photojournalist, who was suspected and detained because of his looks (MEE/Belal Darder)

Hendaway’s job requires him to travel all around Egypt. He spends most of his days on the street. Wearing a beard never posed a problem for him. To the contrary, he used to get positive comments about his beard and his hair, which he was growing long as well.

But then Hendaway started to face difficulties doing his job. "When Morsi became president, so much negative light was shed on the Brotherhood and the Islamists. Our society is easily influenced and led, and it started to stigmatise all bearded men as Islamists and members of the Brotherhood,” he explained.

Some people even refused to be photographed by Hendaway, simply because he was a bearded man. “It was certainly a load on me. Many times I wasn’t able to do the tasks I was appointed to do. My boss kept asking me to shave my beard, and I kept refusing. I exerted double effort to get my tasks done without shaving my beard.”

Ahmed Fouad Hendawy, An Egyptian photojournalist, who was suspected and detained because of his looks (MEE/Belal Darder)

The breaking point was on the night of 7 July 2013. Hendaway was covering clashes between Morsi supporters and Sisi supporters in downtown Cairo, near Ramses Square. According to Hendaway, after about an hour, police forces intervened in favour of the Sisi supporters. Hendaway was able to capture images of police attacks on Morsi supporters. On his way to the office of the website, he was stopped at a checkpoint.

“People were passing by the checkpoint without getting stopped at all, but when I was seen, I was immediately stopped. It was clear that it was because of my long beard. Five minutes later I was ransacked, and of course the data on my camera was discovered, and I was beaten mercilessly, though I kept repeating that I am a journalist, and that I was just doing my job.”

Hendaway was led to a police station where he was detained for about a month, till the efforts of his website were fruitful, and he was released. He is now working extensively on documenting violations police forces carry out against journalists. He has also shaved his beard.

The Salafist

Ayman Osama, An Egyptian technician, who was forced to leave his work due to his long beard and opposed political views (MEE/Belal Darder)

Ayman Osama is 26 years old. He currently works as a technical consultant for a multinational corporation in Cairo. Formerly a student in the faculty of computer science at the University of Ain Shams, Osama used to be a member of a Salafi group. Before he joined the group he was a typical student, who spent his time hanging out with girls and joking around with his friends. After joining the Salafi group, he became more conservative, grew his beard, and became a regular attendant at the mosque on campus. This was noticed by Egypt's National Security apparatus.

“That was before the revolution of 25 January, so the National Security was interfering in the daily lives of the students,” Osama explained. “After about a month of growing my beard, I was summoned to the National Security office, where I was questioned about those with whom I spent my time, and why exactly I was growing my beard. They threatened to report me to the police.”

Then the revolution came. National Security was expelled from the university and Osama got a job in an Egyptian company right after graduation. That was before the election of Mohamed Morsi. “It was a good job, and I did well there, and I kept working there for about a year and a half, but after Morsi was ousted, and the whole Rabaa thing, I started to notice that my colleagues were talking about me behind my back. The way they interacted with me was gradually changing. Then one day my manager called me to his office and told me that I was going to have to shave my beard. They also said that it was preferable if I left the company because they didn’t want any affiliation with those who are like me.”

Osama was shocked by the rudeness of his manager. “I’ve had heated discussions with my colleagues about politics, I knew that most of them were Sisi supporters, but I never thought that I would be treated like that, only for having different ideas, opinions and appearance,” said Osama.

“I believe that what happened to me at the company is far more dangerous than what happened to me at the university. In the old days, the regime was targeting Islamists and bearded men, and it was understandable, as the regime was afraid of any kind of organised, committed opposition groups. But what happened at my work is that they managed to create dissidence and hate between different segments of society, which is, in my opinion, far more dangerous.”

Osama got a different job, one that allowed him to grow his beard. But he still shaved it, and says he will remain without a beard until the situation in Egypt gets better.

The Brotherhood activist

Ibrahim Abdo Ibrahim (R), a leading member of the Brotherhood at a protest held by the Brotherhood, a week or two after the raid on Rabaa Al Adawia sit -in, Ibrahim is now a fugitive, as he was sentenced three years in absentia (MEE/Belal Darder)

Ibrahim Abdo Ibrahim is 38 years old and a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Abdo experienced detention during Mubarak's rule. “I was detained two times during the days of Mubarak," Ibrahim told MEE.

"Both times were just before the elections of the parliament. The first time was in 2005, when was detained for about two weeks. The other time was in 2010 for three days.”

After the events of 3 July 2013, Abdo and all members of the Brotherhood were called to go and participate in the sit-in at Rabaa Square. The calls changed after the raid on the square by police forces. The orders now were for everyone to participate in the processions held by the Brotherhood.

In October 2013, security forces raided Abdo’s home. This was expected to happen, because it was known that he was a member of the Brotherhood in his neighbourhood. Fortunately, Abdo was out the night the police raided his house. Since then, he has been a fugitive.

His wife took their two children and is staying with her parents. Abdo changes his location every two or three weeks, especially after he was sentenced in absentia for three years in prison for his affiliation with the Brotherhood.

“I am wanted right now, I haven't seen my family in about a year. I have to take many precautions so that I won’t be caught. But the most important one is to shave my beard. The police only suspect bearded men," he said. "Shaving my beard has gotten me out of many difficult situations.”

En Egipto: todo el mundo es condenado a 10 años de cárcel!

For the English version:

www.unheardegypt.com/2016/05/in-egypt-everyone-gets-10-years-in.html

Esta publicación es un ejemplo de cómo condenar a los jóvenes en Egipto a 10 años por acusaciones políticas se ha convertido en un veredicto muy común desde el golpe militar.

Decenas de miles de Egipcios están presos por sus posiciones políticas y enfrentan entre 10 -  25 años de prisión.

Los cargos más comunes que tienen para todo el mundo por lo general son "pertenecer a una organización terrorista" o "destrucción de la propiedad pública".

Vale la pena mencionar que los estudiantes de estos casos,  acudían todos a universidades privadas tales como la Universidad Alemana o Británica y que provienen de familias de clase media-alta y no están afiliados a ningún grupo político. Estas son algunas de las caras de esta horrible realidad y hablaremos sobre algunos de estos jóvenes.

(Todo el mundo en esta foto ha sido condenado a 10-15 años de prisión después de haber sido detenidos en una protesta).

Ayman Ali Mousa

Tiene 21 años, asistía a la Facultad de Ingeniería de la Universidad Británica en Egipto. Ayman fue detenido en Octubre del  2013 y permaneció en prisión desde entonces hasta que recibió una sentencia de 10 años. El padre de Ayman sufrió tanto por el encarcelamiento de su hijo que, como resultado,  murió el año pasado.

Ayman y su familia recurrieron a la administración de la prisión y al Fiscal General antes de la muerte de su padre,  pidieron que Ayman pudiese verlo cuando estaba enfermo, pero las autoridades se negaron. Después de la muerte de su padre, también intentaron apelar por su liberación temporal para que pudiese asistir al funeral de su padre, pero se negaron de nuevo.

Esta no es la primera vez que ocurre algo así. El estado egipcio se niega constantemente a permitir que los presos vean a los miembros de su familia, incluso en las visitas regulares. No sabemos cuántos padres murieron por el encarcelamiento de sus hijos adolescentes y sus pequeños hijos(as). 

Ahmad Al Khateeb

Estudiante de Biotecnología en Universidad Misr de Ciencia y Tecnología, de 21 años. Al igual que muchas universidades de Egipto, la administración de esta escuela privada tiene estrechos vínculos con la seguridad del Estado y facilitan información sobre las actividades políticas de sus propios alumnos.

Ahmad fue sacado de su casa hace un año y medio, y condenado hace dos días a 10 años de trabajos forzados.

Abdulrahman El-Gendy

El 6 de Octubre del 2013, después de una gran movilización contra el golpe militar, Abdulrahman (19 años) y su padre fueron detenidos en la calle en una detención masiva con otras 62 personas. Un año más tarde fueron condenados a 15 años de prisión. En Marzo del 2016, se rechazó su apelación final, y cumplen ahora ésos 15 años de prisión.

Durante dos años y medio, la madre de Abdulrahman ha estado viajando entre dos cárceles de Egipto para poder ver a su hijo y esposo. Su hijo está en la prisión de Wadi El-Natroun, y su marido está en la prisión de Al-Aqrab (Escorpión). ¡Ambos han sido condenados a 15 años de prisión por razones políticas!

Abdulrahman era estudiante de la Facultad de Ingeniería, en la Universidad Alemana de El Cairo. Fue expulsado de la universidad como resultado de su encarcelamiento y ha sido transferido a una universidad pública, en la que no puede hacer bien sus estudios debido a la dificultades de su encarcelamiento.

Omar Yaseen

Estudiante universitario que ha sido condenado a 10 años de prisión por un tribunal militar excepcional egipcio. ¿Por qué dar a un joven en su primer año de universidad 10 años de prisión?

Fathy Azmy

Preso político en la prisión de Wadi El Natrón que es sometido a violaciones dentro de la prisión. La administración de la ésta, le impide hacer ejercicio, y tampoco permiten medicamento. Utilizan perros policía cuando distribuyen los alimentos a todos los presos y esto hizo que Fathy y otro prisionero Mohamed El Sayed iniciaran una huelga de hambre debido al trato humillante que han estado recibiendo en la prisión. 

Cabe mencionar que Fathy fue trasladado a "La sala de disciplina" de la prisión durante más de 5 meses, y que ha sido aislado del resto de los presos políticos. No le han permitido ver a sus familiares y le quitaron todas sus pertenencias.

¡También fue condenado a 10 años de prisión por cargos políticos! Esta información es de su esposa, Aisha El Sherbiny,quien fuera, anteriormente presa política.

Sentencia a un preso un año después de su muerte bajo custodia: 

El Dr. Fareed Ismail era miembro del parlamento;  murió en la prisión de ‘’El Escorpión’’ debido a una negligencia médica cuando las autoridades se negaron, obstinadamente, a proporcionarle el tratamiento necesario.

¡Esto no evitó que le hayan condenado a 10 años de prisión! Se le dio una sentencia hace unos días por un tribunal de la provincia de Sharqiyya, sí,  un año después de su muerte en la cárcel.

Abdulrahman Al Barr, an Egyptian professor in Al Aqrab

This is a direct translation from a report posted in Arabic on the Facebook of Al Aqrab prisoners families: 

Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulhameed Al-Barr: A leading Islamic scholar on hunger strike in Al Aqrab prison.

-He's 53 years old, married with five children.

-Professor of Science of Hadeeth (Prophetic Tradition) at Al-Azhar University, after the revolution he was elected to be the dean of the faculty of Usool Al-Deen and Da'wah ( Foundation of the Islamic Religion) at Al-Azhar University, El-Mansoura Branch.

-An active and high ranking member of several international and Egyptian Islamic organizations such as:

-Member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.

-President of the International Coalition for the Support of Al-Quds and Palestine.

-Member of the Al-Azhar Scholars.

-Member scholar in one of the oldest and largest Islamic charity societies in Egypt, Al Jameyya Al Shareeya. 

-He was arrested by the military coup forces on June 1, 2015, and he was forcibly disappeared for 22 days, during which neither his family nor his lawyers knew anything about his situation or whereabouts. 

After that he appeared in the prosecutor's office in Cairo, and he was transferred to the maximum security Scorpion Prison. He was placed in a solitary cell at the Scorpion Prison, and was denied the simplest rights accorded by law to anyone whose freedom is curtailed.

The prison administration is conducting an intentional program of extermination in what activists and families of prisoners called: "the Scorpion Cemetery." 

Visits by relatives and lawyers are denied to prisoners there for long periods, personal belongings allowed by law - such as clothes, bed covers, paper, pens, and even toothbrushes or watches - are also denied. 

Even personal hygiene tools such as nail clippers and shavers are not allowed, forcing them to share tools provided by the prison, which exposes them to diseases such as Hepatitis C.

Professor Al-Barr started an open hunger strike on May 3, 2016, protesting the stripping of the detainees' cells from everything that belongs to the detainees, and the prevention of any visits, food or medicines from the outside since April 21, 2016. 

These actions stopped what little food detainees depended on to avoid prison food, which was poor in quality, in addition to infecting some detainees with intestinal diseases, or causing cases of food poisoning.

For more information about Al Aqrab prison and a detailed report please check out our article here:

http://www.unheardegypt.com/2016/03/Aqrabprison.html

#مقبرة_العقرب

#أغلقوا_العقرب

‪#‎ShutDownAqrab‬

‪#‎DyingToLive‬

In Egypt: Everyone gets 10 years in prison!

This post is an example for how sentencing young people in Egypt for 10 years in prison over political charges has become a very common verdict since the military coup. Tens of thousands of Egyptians are imprisoned due to their political positions and are facing 10 to 25 years of prison. 

The classical charges they have for everyone are usually "belonging to a terrorist organization" or "destruction of public property". 

It's worth mentioning that the students in these cases were all attending private universities such as the German and British university, they come from upper middle class families and are not affiliated with any political groups.

These are some faces of this horrific reality and we will talk about some of these youth.

(Everyone in this photo is sentenced to 10-15 years in prison after being arrested from a protest).

Ayman Ali

Ayman Ali Mousa is 21 years old, he was attending the faculty of Engineering at the British University in Egypt. Ayman was arrested October 2013 and remained in prison since then until he received a 10 years sentence. Ayman's father struggled so much because of his son's imprisonment and died as a result last year. 

Ayman and his family appealed to the prison administration and the general prosecutor before his father died and asked that Ayman could see him when he was sick but the authorities refused. After his father's death, they also tried hard to appeal for his release temporarily so that he can attend his father's funeral and service, but they refused again. 

This is not the first time something like that happened. The Egyptian state constantly refuses to allow prisoners to see their family members even in regular visits. We don't know how many parents died over the imprisonment of their teenager and very young sons and daughters.   

Ahmad Al Khateeb

Ahmad Al Khateeb is a 21year old student of Biotechnology at Misr University for Science and Technology.

Like so many universities in Egypt, the administration of this private school has close ties to the state security and they facilitate reporting on the political activities of their own students. 

Ahmad was taken from his home a year and a half ago, and sentenced two days ago to 10 years at hard labor. 

Abdulrahman El-Gendy

On October 6, 2013 after a large mobilization against the military coup, Abdulrahman ( 19 years old) and his father were both arrested in the street in a mass detention with 62 others. 

A year later they were sentenced to 15 years in prison. In March 2016, their final appeal was rejected, and their 15 year sentences were confirmed.

For two and half years, Abdulrahman's mother has been traveling between two of Egypt's prisons so that she can see her son and husband. Her son is in Wadi El-Natroun Prison, and her husband is in Al-Aqrab (Scorpion) Prison. And they have both been sentenced to 15 years in prison for political reasons!

Abdulrahman was a student at the faculty of Engineering, at the German University in Cairo. He was expelled from the university as a result of his imprisonment and transferred to a public university but he can't do well in his studies because of the difficult imprisonment situation.  

Omar Yaseen

Omar Yaseen is another university student who was given 10 years in prison by an exceptional Egyptian military court! Why give a freshman in college 10 years in prison?

Fathy Azmy

Fathy Azmy, a political prisoner in Wadi El Natron prison is subjected to violations inside the prison. The prison administration prevents him from exercising, and they also don't allow medicine. They are using police dogs while distributing food to all prisoners which made Fathy and another prisoner Mohamed El Sayed start a hunger strike because of the humiliating way they have been receiving from the prison administration.

Its worth mention that Fathy was transferred to "The Disciplinary Ward" in the prison for more than 5 months now, and he has been isolated from the rest of the political prisoners. They haven't allowed him to see his family members and they took away all his belongings.
Fathy was also given 10 years in prison over political charges!
This information is directly from his wife, Aisha El Sherbiny, who's a former political prisoner herself.

Sentencing a prisoner a year after he died in custody

Dr. Fareed Ismail is a former member of the Parliament who was killed in the Scorpion Prison through medical negligence when the prison authorities obstinately refused to provide him with needed treatment. 

This didn't prevent them from given him the 10 years sentence! He was given a ten-year sentence a few days ago by a Sharqiyya Province court, one year after his death in prison.