“Don’t be mad at me … I could die in prison.” With these words, the 40-year-old Egyptian activist, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, summed up his suffering in Egyptian prisons, in a short message he sent to his mother, Laila Soueif, announcing his latest hunger and alcohol strike. , seriously threatening his life, which led to the appeal to organize several movements, the last of which is today. Monday in Beirut, in conjunction with the Egyptian organization of the World Climate Summit.
a decade of detention
Since the start of the Egyptian revolution in 2011, Alaa has been arrested several times due to his opposition to the regime. In December 2021, he was again sentenced to five years in prison for “spreading false news” after posting information on social media about the death of an inmate in Egyptian prisons under mysterious circumstances. The issue was considered by the Egyptian authorities as “affecting the impartial judiciary”.
Abdel Fattah’s case has sparked widespread controversy on social media in Lebanon: pioneers of the virtual world circulated images of Abdel Fattah during his trials and published his words and phrases reflecting the reality of prisoners and inmates at the interior of narrow prisons, where they are subjected to torture and ill-treatment to death, according to a previous conception and design of safety devices, with the aim of silencing mouths, suppressing freedoms and murdering speech. Their souls now depend only on the mercy of the regimes and their unjust decisions.
the last decision
On the eve of Saturday 5 November, a climate of anger, sadness and fear prevailed in Egyptian and Arab society and human rights associations, following Abdel-Fattah’s recent decision to abandon a partial strike that lasted more than 200 days, and to enter a complete hunger and alcohol strike, and his refusal to enter any heat unit. to his body starting on the morning of Sunday 6 November.
Abdel-Fattah has fired his last shot in the face of repression, and it is his only and last way to shake public opinion and put pressure on the Egyptian judiciary to restore his freedom. For this reason, Alaa’s friends have circulated in the cellars of the prison his previously published sentences about his suffering and torment, in which he explains the daily struggle that the prisoner lives: “… here in my cell I struggle with my dreams and nightmares, and I do not know which is more painful, despair and hope quarrel with me together, but I never betray. “Therefore, the activists organized several movements in various countries, the last of which was the gathering of the family of Abdel Fattah and their companions outside the British Embassy in London after Alaa obtained British citizenship about seven months ago through his British-born mother.
In Beirut ..
In this context, some civil groups and human rights associations in Lebanon have organized a solidarity stand in front of the British embassy in Beirut, entitled “Save Alaa”, “Freedom for Alaa and for the detainees”.
At four in the afternoon, the stand was attended by dozens of solidarity activists, with the aim of declaring a clear position in front of the British embassy on what prisoners are subjected to in prisons, considering that the Sisi regime is a repressive regime that tries to gag the mouths of its opponents.
Many headlines for the booth today, but it contained a basic message, which is “Save Alaa’s Life”. Protesters raised photos of Alaa, who became a father in prison and could not see his child at the time of his birth. In addition to several slogans raised in front of the British embassy denouncing the sentences issued by the Egyptian judiciary, and others calling for the freedom and protection of political prisoners.
Protesters chanted several slogans they used during the October 17 revolution to demand the release of the detainees, when the military authorities decided to shoot them with rubber bullets and bullets and close their eyes. Among them: “Egypt and Lebanon against Sisi, we don’t want a police regime”, “They don’t want … the government of the military, we want to be destroyed”.
A group of Palestinian women of Syrian origin joined the demonstrators from the “Families for Freedom” association to participate in the solidarity stand. They assured Al-Modon that their solidarity today is a cry from Lebanon to the whole world, to prevent dictatorial regimes from killing their prisoners, while they considered that the Egyptian regime has become similar to the Syrian regime, which seeks to kill and exterminate. all prisoners.
little hope …
In a telephone conversation with Al-Modon, Sanaa Abdel-Fattah, sister of Alaa Abdel-Fattah, said that “Alaa’s health condition is never reassuring and she could lose her life in a few days due to loss of fluids and nutrients from his body “. She pointed out that she became similar to her skeleton, as she lost a lot of weight until her bones appeared clearly. To date there is no news about him, especially since Alaa’s mother has been waiting for this morning in front of the prison entrance, but she has not received any new information. She reported that the British minister has contacted them, promising them to put pressure on President Abdel-Fattah Sisi during the meeting of world leaders to attend the UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.
