The Appeal court in Egypt has overturned the 5 year jail sentences handed down to 47 of the detainees arrested during the April 25 protests, but left them with a collective fine of 4.7 million Egyptian pounds to pay. If they cannot pay the fine they will have to remain in jail for two more months. Nagy Kamel, Mohamed Nagy and Mahmoud Ezzat are among those whose jail terms have been quashed, along with others convicted in the Doqqi and Al-Agouza cases.

The court’s decision follows a wave of solidarity with the prisoners, who had launched a hunger strike in protest at the sentences. Although the regime continues to lash out viciously at its opponents, campaigners and activists in Egypt will draw the conclusion that solidarity and resistance can make a real difference, even in the most desperate circumstances.

International solidarity is a crucial part of this struggle. We need to build as big and broad a campaign as possible to demand freedom for the thousands who remain behind bars on trumped up charges, and justice for the hundreds who have disappeared in the last year alone.

What you can do:

• Join the protest on Friday May 27 – Truth for Giulio, Justice for Egypt’s Disappeared, 530pm, outside Birkbeck college, Bloomsbury, Central London (more details and a leaflet here).
• Sign the statement against the crackdown, calling for the release of Haitham Mohamedain and other activists who remain in jail.