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 Muslim Brotherhood coinciding with the anniversary of the 30 June protests which led to the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Former Social Democratic Party MP and lawyer Ziyad al-Alimi, labour journalist Hisham Fouad and Omar El-Shenety, executive director of Multiples Group Investment Bank were reported to be among those arrested. Another prominent figure seized in the raids was said to Hossam Moanis, who was campaign manager for Nasserist political Hamdeen Sabahy during his presidential election bid in 2012.

Hisham Fouad is a well-known figure on the Egyptian left. A leading student activist in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he went on to play a key role in the mid-1990s in a campaign by young journalists to resist control of the Egyptian Journalists’ Union by media owners and managers. Over the following decades his journalism was vital in mobilising support for the workers’ movement, including for the independent unions which emerged in the late 2000s. Hisham was also a prominent organiser in the movement against war on Iraq in 2003 and in Palestine solidarity activism.

What you can do: 

• Call, fax or email the Egyptian Embassy in your country calling for the release of all those detained on 25 June and other political prisoners
• Pass a resolution in your trade union branch condemning the repression in Egypt