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Egyptian-American hunger striker hospitalised in intensive care

October 11, 2014 at 2:56 pm

Detained Egyptian-American national Mohamed Soltan was taken to El Manial University Hospital in Cairo on 7 October after medical personnel at Tora Prison refused to be held liable for his deteriorating condition, his family told Amnesty International. He is now thought to be critically ill and has been passing out frequently as well as bleeding from his mouth and nose. He is being treated in an intensive care unit.

Mohamed Soltan was arrested in August 2013 as part of a sweeping crackdown on supporters of Egypt’s ousted president, Mohamed Morsi. He’s a human rights activist who had previously worked with aid agencies, and was the first among Egypt’s post coup political prisoners to go on hunger strike.

Soltan is standing trial with 51 others on charges that include “funding the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in” and spreading “false information” to destabilize the security of Egypt. The trial will resume today, 11 October 2014. Meanwhile, Amnesty International has issued a statement pointing out that the charges against him do not constitute a recognizable criminal offence. At the last two hearings of his trial the US consul to Egypt was refused entry to the court. Soltan himself has been brought in by an ambulance to court for the last four sessions.