– fordi tiden kræver et MODSPIL

30. Jun 2006

Appel fra Alaa: Hjælp med at få flere fri

 
Alaa El-Fatah,den egyptiske aktivist, der i lang tid sad fængslet efter at have deltaget i en fredelig demonstration d. 7. maj og først fornylig blev løsladt, opfordrer nu folk til at støtte de aktivister, der stadig sidder fængslet - set på Human Rights First:
I write to you as a free man. But many of my friends and fellow human rights activists are still in detention, and need your help.

Mohammed al-Sharqawi and Karim al-Sha'ir were detained in Cairo on May 25, while taking part in a demonstration commemorating the anniversary of police violence against journalists and protestors the previous year. Only two days before the protest, both Mohammed and Karim had been released from prison for their earlier participation in protests. They were forcefully taken away by groups of plain clothed security officers, and beaten. Mohammed al-Sharqawi was later tortured and sexually harassed by security officers.

They remain unjustly imprisoned and subjected to torture and ill-treatment for criticizing the lack of democratic freedoms in Egypt. Mohammed has smuggled letters from his prison cell that were published on his blog which describe the torture and sexual abuse that he has suffered, and he continues to be denied necessary medical care.

I can testify to the impact of international support, both in providing hope to imprisoned human rights defenders and in securing their release. Please join Human Rights First in calling for the immediate release of Mohammed al-Sharqawi, Karim al-Sha'ir, and all other courageous advocates of human rights in Egypt.
Sharqawi blev anholdt efter en fredelig demonstration 25. maj til støtte for bl.a. Alaa. På Human Rights First fortælles følgende omsharqawis anholdelse:
Al-Sharqawi, the blogger of http://speaksfreely.net, was attacked while leaving the Egyptian Press Syndicate. About 20 State Security officers dragged him into a building where he was severely beaten, before transporting him to Qasr el-Nil police station where police continued to beat him for hours, and then raped him with a cardboard tube. In letters smuggled from his prison cell, al-Sharqawi has provided written testimony of the torture and sexual abuse he has suffered while in detention: http://arabist.net/archives/2006/05/28/a-letter-from-sharqawi/.

One of his lawyers, Gamal Eid, stated after seeing him that night: "I hadn't seen anyone that badly tortured in 12 years." Repeated requests for medical treatment were denied by the prosecutor for four days, and the treatment eventually given to al-Sharqawi has not been satisfactory. No criminal investigation has yet been opened into al-Sharqawi's torture while in detention.

Al-Sha'ir, head of the "Egypt is Free" Blog and a trainee journalist at the al-Karam newspaper, was dragged from his car by plain clothed policemen who, according to the testimony of BBC journalists who were with him, beat him violently before throwing him into another car.

I en artikel i The Guardian om ytringsfrihedens tilstand i Mellem-Østen generelt beskriver Brian Whittaker også situationen omkring Alaa og Sharqawi:
Alaa was arrested at a
peaceful demonstration, though many of his supporters believe he was targeted because of his blogging activities.

Two other Egyptian bloggers, Karim al-Sha'ir (http://misrhura.blogspirit.com) and Mohamed al-Sharqawi (http://www.speaksfreely.net) are also detained without trial. Sharqawi was dragged from a taxi by plainclothes police as he left a demonstration on May 25. Later, he described his treatment by the police. It doesn't make pleasant reading:

They unbuttoned my trousers quickly, while he shouted "You are a fag, wearing colored underwear." Inside, I wanted to laugh, but the injuries my face sustained and the blindfold they had on my eyes prevented my facial expressions. After that, he started rubbing my left testicle, I think, with great pleasure. The pain was terrible. He kept on doing it for three minutes, during which I was screaming asking him to stop so that I can catch my breath. He took down my underwear, and tore it to pieces, and kept on hitting me on different parts of my body asking me to bend down. I refused, but they forced me. Then, this man, the one with the angry rough voice, inserted a paper in my anus. They kept doing their job, beating me, till I heard him say, "Lift his trousers up. May God curse he who looks, and he who's being looked at." I couldn't help but appreciate so much the faith this man might have had sometime.

Karim al-Sha'ir was in car with two BBC journalists when the vehicle was attacked by government thugs. He was badly beaten up, then taken away by police.

Så .. hvis du har to minutter til overs, ville de være godt anvendt på at gå ind på Human Rights Firsts kampagne og sende også din protest til den egyptiske indenrigsminister og den egyptiske ambassadør i USA!

Kommentarer: