Freedom for Laila Soueif, Ahdaf Soueif, Mona Seif, and Rabab El-Mahdi

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

This afternoon, police forces arrested Professor of Mathematics at Cairo University, Laila Soueif; the internationally renowned novelist and writer, Ahdaf Soueif; the human rights activist, Mona Seif; and the Professor of Political Science at the American University, Rabab El-Mahdi, in front of the Cabinet building where they organized a sit-in demanding urgent decisions regarding prisons in light of fears of the spread of the Coronavirus.
The Revolutionary Socialists demand their immediate release and call on the judicial authorities to implement the recommendations of the World Health Organization to alleviate overcrowding in prisons and detention centers by releasing tens of thousands of prisoners through humane mechanisms that respect their rights and those of their families to ensure their safety in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Eastern Mediterranean Office of the World Health Organization held a press conference this afternoon, where a representative of the organization responded to a question about the organization’s recommendations to countries regarding prisons and detention centers, emphasizing the need to reduce overcrowding in cells and to remove any obstacles to personal hygiene practices, disinfection, and handwashing. The recommendations also stressed the need to arrange detention places to ensure a distance of one to two meters between each prisoner.