UPDATE | Detained activist Ahmed Douma's wife denies ending his hunger strike

Sunday 28-09-2014 10:33 AM
UPDATE | Detained activist Ahmed Douma's wife denies ending his hunger strike

Political activist Ahmed Douma of the 6 April movement looks on behind bars in Cairo, December 22, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

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CAIRO, Sept 27 (Aswat Masriya) - Detained activist Ahmed Douma's wife, Nourhan Hefzy, denied her husband has ended his hunger strike in a statement posted on her Facebook profile Saturday evening.

Colonel Mohamed Elewa, head of the Prison Authority’s Public Relations Unit, said Douma ended his hunger strike earlier on Saturday after receiving "advice and guidance" from prison administration.

"Douma has responded [to advice] and eaten light meals, such as soup and yoghurt, in light of his medical state," Elewa told Aswat Masriya, adding that Douma has admitted resuming eating prison food in a signed declaration.

Hefzy meanwhile denied any truth to Elewa's words, stressing that she is "certian" her husband did not suspend his hunger strike. She added that she visited him in prison on Thursday and he strongly rejected the idea of suspending his hunger strike, despite his worsening health condition.

"I hold the minister of interior responsible for any assault Douma might have faced to force him to end his hunger strike or sign any fallacious declaration saying he has ended the strike," Hefzy said in her statement.

Douma had previously undergone medical examination at Manial University Hospital, which proved his health condition stable and within normal levels, Elewa added.

The activist went on hunger strike on August 28 to protest his imprisonment. He arrived in an ambulance car to the court where his trial was held on September 17 due to his deteriorating health condition, a security source told Aswat Masriya.

Douma's lawyer said his client lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time and looked exhausted. 

Hefzy called on the state- affiliated National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) to immediately visit Douma in prison and provide details about his hunger strike through an official statement.

The NCHR recommended medical supervision at an external hospital for Douma and other hunger-striking prisoners earlier this month. 

Douma's wife had filed a report to the prosecutor-general against the interior minister and his deputy for prison affairs for their tenacity in the matter of transferring Douma to the hospital after his health condition worsened. 

Hunger strikes have lately become a common tool to protest detention, used by those arrested for political reasons.

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