25th January is a symbolic day in Egypt’s calendar. On that day in 2011, the Egyptian revolution or Arab Spring began. Alaa Abdelfattah is an icon of that revolution. Because of his outspoken support for political change, he has been in prison for most of the past decade. You have probably heard of him as his…
COP27 has thrown a spotlight on Egypt’s police state, where under Sisi’s repressive regime tens of thousands of people have been detained, and torture, enforced disappearances and deaths in custody are rife. The case of Alaa Abd El Fattah, a writer, software developer and activist who is jailed on “terrorism” charges for writing a Facebook…
In response to the UN COP27 climate talks in Egypt 7-18 November Middle East Solidarity magazine is publishing a series of articles previewing a special feature in the next issue on the struggles for climate justice and democracy.>> Get active, go to https://egyptsolidarityinitiative.org/cop27toolkit/ – take action for political prisoners in Egypt, including British-Egyptian activist Alaa…
Our new toolkit of resources on COP27 is now live. More will be added during the countdown to COP27, but you’ll already find links to statements, petitions, prisoner solidarity, a video and social media graphics. >>COP27 toolkit
Major climate organisations in Scotland and Britain are calling for a week of solidarity with Egyptian prisoners of conscience in order to highlight the Sisi regime’s horrific abuses of human rights. Climate Justice Coalition, Friends of the Earth Scotland and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland are hosting an online meeting to kick off the week’s activities…
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had profound effects on the Middle East. Irang Bak and Anne Alexander look at how rising food costs and shortages are hurting the poor, while the rich profit from oil prices and arms deals. This article is republished from Middle East Solidarity Magazine. This year’s Ramadan, for many in the…
The Italian CGIL union federation has announced a boycott of COP27 under the presidency of Egypt in protest at ongoing repression by the Sisi regime and in memory of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni who was tortured to death in Egypt in 2016. The CGIL statement notes that the Sisi regime continues to grant “impunity to…
As Egypt prepares to host the COP27 climate summit in November 2022, Egyptian activists have issued an urgent appeal to the global climate justice movement not to be taken in by the regime’s claims to speak on behalf of ordinary people in the Global South. In a statement published by Egypt Solidarity Initiative, the Egyptian…
Family and friends of jailed activist Alaa Abdelfattah, a British citizen who has been jailed unjustly in Cairo by the military regime for nearly 9 years, will gather outside the Foreign Office in London to call on the British government to act and push for his release on 22 June. Alaa has been on hunger…
Alaa Abdelfattah, a leading figure in the 2011 Egyptian revolution and well-known political activist has been on hunger strike since 2 April. His life is in danger, yet the Egyptian authorities continue to deny him basic dignity and rights. According to the FreeAlaa campaign website: “Alaa is a writer, software developer, award-winning human rights blogger,…
Three prominent opposition activists, former MP Zyad el-Elaimy, journalist and socialist activist Hisham Fouad, and Nasserist activist Hossam Moanis were given between 3 and 5 year jail sentences on trumped up charges by an emergency court in Cairo on 17 November. Just a day later, Prince Charles and Camilla were photographed by the world’s media…
Journalist Hisham Fouad has been detained for over two years since being arrested on 25 June 2019. Although the legal limit for ‘pre-trial’ detention in Egypt has now expired he remains in jail, incarcerated in a windowless cell without proper access to medical treatment. Along with former MP Zyad el-Elaimy and journalist Hossam Moanis and…
Dozens of leading figures in the Greek trade union movement, lawyers and activists have spoken out in solidarity with Egyptian political prisoners, following the news of hunger strikes by prominent activists over their continued detention. These include journalist Hisham Fouad, graduate student Ahmed Samir Santawy and Ola al-Qaradawi, who has been detained in solitary confinement…
A message from the socialist activist Hisham Fouad from inside prison announcing his hunger strike which has been ongoing since Saturday 10 July in protest against his continued imprisonment despite having spent more than two years in ‘pre-trial detention’, the maximum period specified in Egyptian law. Hisham was arrested and detained on 25 June 2019. He…
Tuesday 8 June 6-8pm Since 2011 the Middle East has witnessed popular uprisings and revolutions in a wide range of countries. Lawyers have often been at the forefront of these radical movements for change, from Tunisia, Syria, Egypt and Libya in 2011 to Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria today. They have also paid a heavy price during…
Egypt Solidarity 