More updates from Mahalla:
State Security Prosecutor ordered the release of the Mahalla Five today sometime between 3 to 4pm. But the labor leaders are still in police custody as I write now, as they will have to be reviewed first by State Security Police.
More importantly, the state-owned management issued today a statement, decreeing that the days from 23 September to 30 September are “holidays”… which basically enforces the “illegal” status of the strike, as the workers according to the law, should not be present at all inside the factory.
The workers met the statement with wrath. “They tore the posted statements down from the walls, and started chanting against the management,” one activist inside the company told me. “But this could well be Step 1 towards crushing the strike. They declare your presence illegal, and then send someone in to set fire or sabotage something to give the excuse for the troops to storm the compound.”
Meanwhile the strike continues. There will be more reports and photos that I’ll upload later in the day.
Down with Mubarak… Victory to the Mahalla Strikers.