First day of solidarity with political prisoners in Egypt in years

The Civil Democratic Movement in Egypt organised a day of solidarity with prisoners of conscience on Thursday evening, in what appears to be the first time in many years that a number of politicians have succeeded in organising a press conference attended by several political prisoners’ families.

During the conference, academic Laila Sueif, mother of activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has been on hunger strike for more than 135 days to demand her son’s freedom, spoke. Sueif said that she cannot back down from her decision to go on hunger strike in response to attempts by some to convince her because, as she puts it, she is: “Saving her children’s lives.”

Sueif said that she lived a prosperous life in her scientific and academic fields, in her marriage to the late human rights activist Ahmed Seif Al-Islam Abdel Fattah, in public work, and other aspects of life, but her children Alaa, Mona and Sanaa have had their lives have been on hold for about ten years, while Alaa has been in prison.

During the press conference, Rafida Hamdi, the wife of the well-known political activist Mohamed Adel, spoke about the suffering of the families of prisoners, especially women, including wives, sisters or mothers, as they bear a burden that no human being can bear. In her speech, she talked about the details surrounding a number of tragic cases of children and families of political prisoners that she met on her trips to prisons with Adel over the past 11 years.

Hamdi referred to her postponed dreams about the imprisonment of her husband, who moved between several prisons, but the worst of them was the maximum security Gamasa Prison, from which he was recently transferred after many heinous violations.

She added that there is no room to discuss whether her husband is guilty or not because he has already served his entire sentence, in addition to the fact that she knocked on all doors to obtain a presidential pardon for her husband, to no avail. She is still appealing to the president to release her husband.

Nada Moghit, wife of cartoonist Ashraf Omar, also elucidated: “What is happening is much more than just a political feud; it has become a daily violation directed at the families of political prisoners who are now forbidden from objecting or expressing their pain.”

The mother of political prisoner Sami El-Gendy, who has been in pretrial detention since October 2023 due to demonstrations in support of Palestine, also spoke at the conference, explaining that the Egyptian authorities: “Do not respect the law, although respecting the law is the first step towards security and safety for any society.”

El-Gendy’s mother stated that she had taken all legal means to enforce the law and release her son and that she had filed a grievance with the Public Prosecutor, who in turn referred her complaint to the Supreme State Security Prosecution for examination.

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