Egypt: More than 20,000 detainees to start 'uprising'

For the first time since the July 3 coup, thousands of Egyptian prisoners announced they would join an “uprising” against the politicization of justice in post-coup Egypt.

In a statement obtained by Middle East Monitor Friday, the detainees claimed their numbers exceed 20,000. According to the statement, the detainees include 1232 medical doctors, 2574 engineers, 124 university professors and scientists, 5342 Al-Azhar University affiliates, 3879 students, 704 women, 689 children and thousands of workers in different sectors. All of them are facing a myriad of charges, including terrorism and violence, brought against them by “a bunch of power-hungry killers and coup commanders who carried out a bloody coup that claimed the lives of thousands.”

The statement slammed the unprecedented repression by “military coup militias”, citing arbitrary arrests and trumped-up charges brought against “patriotic citizens”.

The statement condemned Egyptian judiciary for becoming a tool for the military, politicizing courts and issuing verdicts based on the whims of military coup leaders.

“Court rulings are based on fake, unsubstantiated charges, which leads to verdicts that contravene the law, constitution, and all international standards of fair trials. For instance, one court, in two sessions, sentenced 529 detainees to death over the killing of one police officer. Another court handed down a life sentence for other defendants from the first session. Such speedy justice are illegal but above all illogical,” the statement added.

According to the statement, the “torture machine” employed by the military included electrical shocks, removing nails, severe beating and cutting parts of the body. The statement claims that 21 prisoners died of torture inside detention centers since the July 3 coup, 618 are suffering serious diseases, including 53 children suffering from Parotitis but authorities still refuse to release them.

Based on the above, the prisoners declared an uprising in all Egyptian prisons to bring down the coup. “It’s time to declare anger,” the statement read. The uprising will start with a hunger strike and a sit-in inside all cells, boycotting prosecution hearings, and personal visits. It is slated to start on April 30.