Egypt: Activists demand release of political detainees

A list of 192 detainees from different movements and trends and affiliations mostly from the Muslim Brotherhood bloc, was made as activists stressed the importance of implementing the Government’s commitments made in Parliament to release all detainees arrested under emergency law on June 1st

During a press conference,  Ahmed Seif Hamad, director of the Hesham Mubarak Center for Law warned of the consequences if the authorities continued to neglect their promises and ascertained that further sit-ins and protests would be organised in front of the Attorney-General’s office; demanding the release of all political detainees

Hamad stressed that the regime felt empowered in imposing the ’emergency law’ which was illegitimately implemented and enforced by the Interior ministry through its security forces it  also controlled the state-run media which was used to tarnish the image of political opposition

Wives of political detainees asserted that their husbands remained in custody indefinitely, although no real charges were leveled against them. Shaymaa Muslim married to Mossad Abu Fagr who has been in detention stressed that her husband has been harshly treated and has been denied basic visitation and human rights. She questioned the system which treated the innocent members of society more harshly then convicted criminals claiming that political prisoners were much worse off than murderers with convicted felonies