Ten years after the Egyptian revolution shook the world, a vicious military regime has detained tens of thousands without trial in dire conditions. This briefing for trade union activists highlights the cases of six socialist activists who are currently detained on spurious charges. They include journalists, a public transport worker, lawyers and a human rights…
Family members and lawyers are growing increasingly concerned for the health of journalist Hisham Fouad, detained on trumped-up charges of “economic conspiracy” in Egypt for that last one and half year. Hisham has been denied medical examinations and treatment for both a pre-existing pathology in his back vertebrae and new health conditions, including digestive and…
Human rights workers from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights whose arrest and detention on spurious ‘terrorism’ charges sparked a major international campaign were released on 3 December. Leading trade unionists from Britain and Canada were among those who added their voices to the growing pressure on the Egyptian authorities to release the men –…
Well-known human rights NGO, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) is facing a coordinated assault by the authorities following the arrest and detention of key members of staff last week. Two of those arrested Karim Ennarah, head of EIPR’s Criminal Justice Unit, and administrative director Mohamed Bashir, have been added to a case opened…
This is an article from the current issue of Middle East Solidarity magazine – help us continue our work by donating £2 for a digital copy online On 15 January 2020, Israel and Egypt announced that Egypt was beginning importing natural gas from Israel. According to Reuters, the agreement entails Israel exporting to Egypt 85.3 billion cubic…
Middle East Solidarity magazine is now available to download. During the Covid-19 crisis we are suspending our print publications temporarily, but you can help support our work by making a donation for your copy below. Click to take out an annual solidarity subscription. Download your pdf of the current issue here. Check here for previous issues. In this issue ……
Four years on from the disappearance, torture and murder of Cambridge University PhD student Giulio Regeni while doing fieldwork in Egypt, human rights organisations, students and academics have raised the alarm as another graduate student and human rights researcher is snatched by Egyptian security forces. Thousands of people have already signed a petition in support…
Academics whose research and teaching is being leveraged to maximise transnational student revenues and whitewash human rights abuses are speaking out in protest at UK HE senior management’s collusion with the Egyptian regime. Over 200 academics, including many from the University of London, have launched an open letter condemning the crackdown against the regime’s critics…
Middle East Solidarity magazine issue 12 available from October 2019 Middle East Solidarity magazine is now available to order from Bookmarks bookshop for £3 or can be downloaded as a [ME_Solidarity_issue_12_FINALWEB] Contact Bookmarks if you would like to make a bulk order for your trade union branch (discounts available). Cover story Outsourcing Fortress Europe: Sounding the Alarm…
Human rights lawyer Mahienour el-Masry is one of hundreds who have been arrested in recent days, as part of an escalating crackdown in response to protests in a number of Egyptian cities demanding the resignation of Egyptian president Abdelfattah al-Sisi. According to reports from a friend who was speaking to her on the telephone during…
Leading figures across the trade union movement in Britain have thrown their weight behind a campaign in solidarity with journalist Hisham Fouad and lawyer Haitham Mohamedain who have been detained by Egypt’s military regime on trumped up charges. Trade Union Congress president Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists Michelle Stanistreet…
Security forces in Egypt arrested at least 8 activists and politicians in dawn raids this morning, local media and human rights activists said. According to statement by the Egyptian interior ministry, they are facing charges of directing a “economic conspiracy” aimed at siphoning funds from 19 companies towards activities planned by the banned opposition group,…
The killing by medical neglect of former president Mohamed Morsi has highlighted the dire conditions for tens of thousands of political prisoners in Egyptian jails. Morsi collapsed and died in court on 17 June after years in jail, many of them spent in solitary confinement, without access to adequate medical care for his diabetes. In…
Almost exactly a year after his arrest in 2018, labour lawyer Haitham Mohamedain has been detained again after being wrongfully accused of violating his probation terms after release from prison in October. On 13 May, he was summoned to the police station in Saf, south of Cairo, and detained without access to a lawyer, before…
Increasing market competition between UK universities and declining student numbers from Europe is prompting a new round of investment in branch campuses in the Middle East. An investigation for Middle East Solidarity magazine looks at the background to Coventry University’s announcement of a partnership with a private education firm in Egypt for its campus in…
