Egypt’s activists campaign against solitary confinement

Sunday 19-06-2016 05:03 PM

Tora prison - Reuters

CAIRO, June 19 (Aswat Masriya) –  A campaign against solitary confinement has been gaining momentum on social media as more prisoners have been subjected to the punishment in Egypt’s prisons.

The campaign, which began on June 12 and is due to continue for a month, was launched by the two initiatives, “Freedom for the Brave,” and Askar Kazeboon, which translates into “Military Liars,” in Arabic.  

The campaign calls on families of detainees to document their loved ones’ stories and experiences with solitary confinement. Later, the cases are to be presented to public prosecution and the parliament, the groups said on the campaign’s official event page.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s minister of defense, Sedki Sobhi, said on Sunday that Egypt is capable of fighting the “seeds of extremism and dark terrorism.”

In a meeting with veterans and their families, Sobhi said that Egypt’s armed forces are “strong and capable of removing the seeds of dark terrorism from all Egyptian lands.”

International human rights organisations have been excessively criticising the human rights situation in Egypt since the military ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests against his rule in 2013.

Military insurgency has also since been on the rise, especially in Northern Sinai.

Amnesty international said in a May report that Egypt’s security forces have “conducted mass arrests” against the government’s critics and almost 12,000 people “were arrested on suspicion of ‘terrorism’ in the first 10 months of 2015 alone.”

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