English
June 22, 2014Police, thugs violently disperse #NoProtestLaw march
#NoProtestLaw march in Cairo before it was dispersed by police and thugs
21 June 2014 was the global day of solidarity with over 41,000 Egyptian detainees held between the July 3rd coup until May 2014, many of which have been convicted under an anti-protest law passed in November 2013. Prominent revolutionary activists sentenced to terms as high as 15 years in prison for protesting, include activists like Alaa Abdel Fattah, Mahienour El-Masry, Ahmed Doma, Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Maher, and thousands more.
Activist communities around the world and in Cairo organized solidarity rallies and marches against the protest law calling for the release of the detained. In Cairo, unfortunately, the peaceful march in Heliopolis towards the presidential palace was viciously attacked by plain-clothed thugs together with riot police, where tear gas was fired and many arrested and beaten. 28 activists where arrested and transferred to Masr El Gedida and El Nozha police stations including prominent human rights activist and sister of Alaa Abdel Fattah and Mona Seif, Sanaa Seif.
The list of names of those detained for interrogation by prosecutors early this morning for “breaking the protest law” are Ibrahim Mohamed, Abu Samra, Mohamed Miza, Islam Tawfeek, Omar Ahmed, Ahmed Oraby, Islam Oraby, Abdulla Hassan, Moaataz Belallah, Karam Zakaria, Mohamed El-Beily, Mostafa Ibrahim, Omar Ibrahim, Hanan Mostafa, Salwa Mehrez, Samar Ibrahim, Sanaa Seif, Rania El-Sheikh, Yara Salam, Nahed Bebo, Fekria Mohamed, Bassam Mohamed, Yasser El-Kot, Mohamed Masood, Mohamed Alaraby, Mohamed Diab, Ahmed Finky, and Hossam El-Nagar.
Despite the demoralization of the failed march to the presidential palace, many of the revolutionaries are not losing hope and fighting for those detained even if that means that they themselves face arrest. In the first march post Sisi officially becoming the new installed dictator, the message is clear, “no protest is allowed,” however; this didn’t stop the several hundreds who took to the streets yesterday knowing the great risk that comes with protesting post coup.
Groups like the Revolutionary Front Thuwar, 6 of April, Revolutionary Socialists, independents, and most importantly families of those detained showed a courageous fight that they will not stop fighting for the revolution to continue, the protest law to end, and the detained to be released no matter what risk they may have to take.
