Egypt: Death of MP in jail erupts anger among social media activists 

The death of former Egyptian MP Hamdy Hassan, 63, inside his prison cell has caused a widescale social media campaign against the Egyptian regime led by Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Arabi21 reported on Friday.

Activists from inside and outside Egypt criticised Al-Sisi’s regime and accused it of adopting a policy of “deliberate medical negligence” for his political opponents incarcerated in his jails across the country.

Hassan served three terms in Parliament between 2000 and 2012 – primarily during the era of the late Egyptian dictator, Hosni Mubarak.

He was the spokesperson of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentarian bloc between 2005 and 2010, which included 88 MPs. He was detained on 19 August, following Al-Sisi’s coup against the first freely-elected Egyptian president, the late Mohamed Morsi.

“Allah released you, my father,” his son Baraa wrote on social media. “We hope that Allah would have accepted you a martyr, my father, as you had been chosen by Him after eight years in prisons of the oppressors.”

Baraa stated that the Egyptian regime had prevented the family from visiting Hassan in prison for the five years before his death, and allowed only six people to take part in his funeral, which was arranged under strict security measures.

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“My father, you have lived strong, jailed as a champion and died as a martyr,” Baraa wrote, according to Arabi21. “They refused to allow funeral prayer for you. I wish that all your lovers will pray for you. I hope that Allah would accept you and take revenge on those who killed you.”

Arabi21 reported that activists prayed for the MP and called for Allah to take revenge on the jailers, prosecutors, courts, government and president of Egypt.

The activists pointed out that Al-Sisi is adopting a “hellish policy” to eliminate his political opponents, sending them to prison and adopting a “slow death policy”, which includes starvation, medical negligence, and bans on healthy food, medicines and sunlight.

Activists and rights groups have stated that 119 political prisoners have died so far inside Egyptian prisons.