19 April 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor
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.
Link: middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/10992-egypt-more-than-20000-detainees-to-start-uprising.
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