- Human RightsMilitary TribunalPrisoners of Conscience
- December 14, 2007
- 4 minutes read
One full Year Behind Bars
For a full year, we have been unjustly thrown behind bars. Thirty three Egyptian businessmen, scientists, university professors and professionals who have exerted their utmost effort to develop and improve their country have been sent to prison for only one charge: that they called for reform and faced tyranny and corruption and supported people”s causes. Their stances made the regime refer them to the military court.
Throughout the past year, it has been proven that there was no case, no evidence and on charge against those referred to justice by the regime. When the fair civilian justice backed and acquitted the defendants, the regime refused to accept the judicial ruling of releasing us and referred us to the military tribunal turning a political disagreement into a political enmity in which laws, court rulings and human rights are violated .
During the past year, the Egyptian regime shut down about seventy businesses that were supporting the national economy, the Egyptian regime sent employees and workers to jobless rolls and deprived hundreds of families of salaries, the Egyptian regime deprived students of their professors, the Egyptian regime deprived professionals of their professions.
Throughout the past year, innocent people are behind bars while real criminals are on the loose. Real criminals who stole billions of money from banks, deprived Egyptian people of their country”s wealth and sold it to Zionists and foreigners for so low prices, real criminals who drowned hundreds of Egyptians who were seeking money abroad after their country has been stolen. These real criminals are the ones who must stand trial before justice.
When we fight the corruption and tyranny of the regime, we fight them with all sections of the society demanding reform topped by judges, journalists whose freedom of speech is violated by the regime, Egyptian workers who continue staging strikes and sit-ins to restore their usurped rights, university professors and students who fight security intervention in university affairs, professionals whose syndicates have been suspended and are who are denied the right to elect their boards, and employees who fight those oppressing them and denying them the right to lead a decent life.
In a nutshell, this isn”t our case alone; it is a case of the Egyptian people that they want to humiliate, a nation that they want to silence, a homeland whose wealth is continuously stolen. It is a case of all freemen of this country. We will continue call for people”s right. Our people have sacrificed so much and we see that the reform supporters are doubling every day.
While we pay the cost of calling for freedom, we still call for carrying out reforms, topped by supporting rights of the poor and deprived, judicial independence, freedom of the press, fair and just elections, lifting the state of emergency, ending suffering on all sections of the society (workers, employees, professionals, …), and releasing all prisoners of conscience.
We are sure that we will enjoy the prevalence of justice and freedom and all hopes will be met and we will witness a better future for us and our sons and generations to come.
” And Allah hath full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not “
Muslim Brotherhood leaders referred to the military court