Category: Blog

Mubarak’s crackdown on the Brothers continues

Posted on By 3arabawy

From Al-Jazeera:

The Egyptian authorities have detained 25 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, bringing to 39 the number arrested in 24 hours.
A security official said on Monday that 11 members of the group were arrested late on Sunday in the southern province of Beni Sweif, 120km south of Cairo, on charges of holding “a secret meeting”.
Fourteen others were detained in dawn raids in the province of Sharqiyah, including Abdel Aziz Abdel Qader, who heads the group’s Sharqiyah office.
On Tuesday, Egypt will close the door for candidate nominations for the election of parliament’s upper house on June 11.

For updates on the crackdown, turn to Ikhwan Web, Ensaa, and Said’s blog.

Abu Omar threatens hunger strike in response to security hassles

Posted on By 3arabawy

One hundred days have passed since Abu Omar’s release from State Security custody, and his saga continues.

Abu Omar was kidnapped from Milan, by the CIA in February 2003, part of their extraordinary renditions program, and was flown to Egypt where he was brutally tortured by the Mukhabarat and State Security Police.

Abu Omar أبو عمر

Abu Omar is still banned from traveling outside the country. Moreover the government refuses to issue him a National ID card. This basically means he cannot open a bank account, issue a passport, or conduct any sort of transaction. He basically does not exist any more in the eyes of the law.

Abu Omar says he sent a letter to State Security Police demanding his documents, but they have ignored him completely. “If my problem does not get solved soon, I’ll travel to Cairo to protest and stage a hunger strike,” he told me tonight. “I’m expecting my arrest any minute, and have already prepared my bag with items I’ll need in prison.”

500 workers in Suez to start hunger-strike tomorrow

Posted on By 3arabawy

500 workers on strike at the Suez Al-Zoyout Al-Motakamla company have announced they are starting a hunger-strike tomorrow Tuesday 3pm, after the owner threatened to send in the police to smash the industrial action.

The workers staged a sit-in last Wednesday, and then brought production at the factory to complete halt since Saturday, demanding their bonuses and profit shares unpaid since 2004.

The company owner Ahmad Alam Eddin sent a fax from Cairo on Monday accusing the workers’ industrial action of bringing losses to the firm, which produces cooking oil, worth LE3 millions up till now, and threatening to send in the Interior Ministry troops to break the strike. In response, the workers announced they will be starting a hunger-strike tomorrow Tuesday 3pm.