A letter

Posted on By 3arabawy
I received this letter from a sister of an Islamist detainee, who’s been incarcerated since 1993…
اعتقل أخي عبد المنعم جمال الدين عبد المنعم منيب في 21/2/1993 و كان يعمل صحفي بالقطعة بجريدة الشعب و قدم لمحاكمه عسكرية و برئته في 30/10/1993 وكان وقتها محبوس بسجن شديد الحراسة بطره.و منعت عنه الزيارة بل عن السجن كله و انتظرنا أن يسمح لنا بزيارته و نقل دون علم الأسرة الي سجن الوادي الجديد في فبراير 1995 و كان والدي يرسل له حوالة بريدية على سجن شديد الحراسة الى أن عادت حوالة في عام 1996 و عليها ختم بريدي من الوادي الجديد و كان يصعب علينا أن نتحرى عنه ان كان نقل أم لا و قمنا بعمل تصريح زيارة الى معتقل الوادي الجديد فاذا بنا نجده هناك وكانت الزيارة سيئة و مهينة لنا و له جدا مما يشير الي وجود تعذيب مستمر وشديد للمعتقلين، و كانت زيارة من خلف الأسلاك لم نستطع رؤيته جيدا ولا سماعه فاذا بأمي تنهار و يرتفع ضغط الدم حتى يسبب لها جلطة في المخ أدت الى شلل نصفي طولي و بدأ أخي أضراب عن الطعام تقدمنا خلاله بمحاضر الى النائب العام و نيابة الخارجة و حتى رئيس الجمهورية و وزير الداخلية ووزير العدل و رئيس مجلس الشعب و وزير الصحة تلغرافيا دون جدوى، و أرسلنا خطاب استغاثة الى مفتي الديار المصرية ثم نقل المستشفى بعد أن أوشك على الموت من الاضراب و كان ذلك في منتصف عام 1998 و بعد عدة أشهر ذهبنا لزيارته بالمستشفى حيث أننا كنا نزوره كل 15 يوم فاذا به نقل الى استقبال طره حيث انه قدم الى محاكمة عسكرية أخرى تسمى العائدون من ألبانيا و قد برئته المحكمة العسكرية العليا للمرة الثانية و لكن دون جدوى حيث صدر قرار باعتقال جديد و كانت برائة المحكمة العسكرية للمرة الثانية في 18/4/1999 وقد قمنا بعمل تظلمات لم نستطيع حصرها من كثرتها و لكن دائما يعاد اعتقاله مرة ثانية و بشكل دائم دون أن يخرج من محبسه و لو ليوم واحد بالطبع كلما عاد اعتقاله تسوء حاله والديه أكثر و بعد ذلك أصيبت والدته بجلطة أخرى بالقلب و تكاثرت جلطات القلب مما سبب لها قصور شديد بالشرايين التاجية وكذلك ارتفاع في ضغط الدم و كذلك ارتفاع سكر الدم و قد اصيبت منذ الجلطة الأولى بالمخ بثقب في أذنها اليمنى و في ديسمبر الماضي أصيبت في أذنها اليسرى بثقب مما جعلها لا تستطيع السمع الا بسماعة طبية و كذلك ارتفاع السكر جعلها لا تستطيع أن ترى الا أشباح و أصيبت منذ العام الماضي بهشاشة بالعظام و تأكل في بعض غضاريف العمود الفقري و كذلك أبي يعاني أمراض الشيخوخة وتأكل في الفقرات كما أن زوجة عبد المنعم كانت تحمل طفلهم الأول و قد وضعته في سبتمبر 1993 و الآن ولده يعاني من بعض أزمات نفسية بسبب بعد والده عنه و كان يرى والده لأول مرة في مستشفى ليمان طره 1998 و لديه مشكلة في التواصل مع والده بسبب اعتقاله.عبد المنعم موجود الآن بمستشفى سجن استقبال طره و يعاني من مشاكل في غضروف العمود الفقري و قد أحاله طبيب السجن في الصيف الماضي الى مستشفى القصر العيني حيث أجريت له اشعة و عرض على الطبيب المختص بمستشفى القصر العيني وقد قرر له علاج و عودته بعد شهر كامل يوم 15/9/2006 و رغم نزول معتقلين وبشكل دائم الى مستشفى القصر العيني الا أنه منع من استمرار علاجه و قرر له و بشكل شخصي طبيب العلاج الطبيعي بالسجن أنه اذا أستخدم جهاز معين للعلاج الطبيعي الغير موجود بمستشفيات السجون و موجود بالقصر العيني سيتم شفائه.
بثينة جمال الدين عبد المنعم منيب
بطاقة رقم 2100168

There’s another letter, I had posted last summer from a former Islamist detainee, you can find here.

The tale of two amendments

Posted on By 3arabawy

Re Mubarak’s speech to the People’s Assembly and Shura Council, the day before yesterday, here’s an AP report by Nadia Abou El-Magd:

Mubarak: Amend constitution article criticized as opening way for succession of his son
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ Egypt’s long-serving president asked parliament Sunday to amend an article of the constitution that critics say was tailored to allow his son to succeed him.
President Hosni Mubarak told parliament the article should be changed to make it easier for candidates from registered political parties to run for president. He did not provide details.
Mubarak, 78, also dismissed speculation that he would step down before his term ends in 2011. He has been in power since 1981.
“I will carry on with you, crossing to the future, shouldering the responsibility, as long as my heart is beating and I’m breathing,” Mubarak told parliament in a speech marking the beginning of the new session.
The opposition claims the article, which was rewritten last year to permit Egypt’s first multi-candidate presidential election, opens the way for Gamal Mubarak, the president’s youngest son, to become Egypt’s next leader by making it impossible for anyone to compete against the ruling party in the 2011 election.
The article requires that independent candidates obtain 250 recommendations from members of parliament or city councils to be eligible to run. Those offices are overwhelmingly held by members of Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party, or NDP.
The article also stipulates that only political parties representing at least 5 percent of parliament can put forward a presidential candidate _ a requirement no political party achieved in last year’s legislative elections.
Egypt’s largest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, which holds nearly 20 percent of parliament, is officially banned. Its lawmakers ran as independents.
Egypt’s opposition said the NDP’s previous refusal to amend the article demonstrated that it was clearing the way for 42-year-old Gamal Mubarak, who has risen rapidly in the party in recent years and is now deputy secretary general. Hosni Mubarak denies his son is being groomed to replace him.
The United States has called greater democracy in the Middle East a top priority, and at one time wanted its ally Egypt to be the centerpiece of reform. But critics say President Bush has recently backed off pressuring Cairo as concerns have escalated over the war in Iraq and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
In his speech, Mubarak said the upcoming parliament session would witness “the biggest and widest range of constitutional amendments since 1980.” He said changes would also highlight Egypt’s commitment to free market policies and social justice.
But political analysts say Mubarak’s speech adds little to his earlier statements.
“People don’t expect anything new or serious from this government or this party, and there is nothing new or serious from them. The only serious things are coming from the opposition forces _ Islamists, secularists and the judiciary,” said Osama el-Ghazali Harb, a former NDP member and political scientist.
Another political expert, Diaa Rashwan, said the speech was similar to Mubarak’s platform ahead of the September 2005 elections.
“It was as though he hadn’t heard people’s objections to it,” he said.

MB activist dies shortly after his release from prison

Posted on By 3arabawy

Dr. Hassan el-Hayawan, an academic with the Muslim Brotherhood released Wednesday from extended detention, died last night of a heart attack.

UPDATE: AP report by Nadia Abou El-Magd:

Senior Muslim Brotherhood member dies days after he is released from prison
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ A senior Muslim Brotherhood leader who had been imprisoned for nearly a year died three days after his release of heart attack, the group said Sunday. He was 48.
Hassan el-Haiwan was released from prison Wednesday and died Saturday night, the Brotherhood’s Web site said.
He was arrested during last year’s violent legislative election season during which at least 10 people were killed. Many of the deaths were blamed on security forces trying to block opposition voters from reaching the polls.
El-Haiwan, a university professor and doctor, was tried on charges of possessing weapons and plotting to use them during Egypt’s parliamentary elections in November and December last year.
A state security court ordered he be released in June, but el-Haiwan remained in custody. He was released in October, but a few days later el-Haiwan was re-arrested. The court again ordered his release on Sunday.
Thousands attend el-Haiwan’s funeral Sunday in the Sharqiyya Province, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Cairo.
Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members have been detained since the elections in a new crackdown on the banned group. In June, police detained about 220 members who were attending a protest in support of el-Haiwan.
The Muslim Brotherhood increased its seats in parliament sevenfold in last year’s legislative elections. The Brotherhood, which holds 88 seats in parliament _ still well short of a majority _ is Egypt’s largest Islamist group.
Founded in 1928, the Brotherhood has been banned since 1954, though it renounced violence in the 1970s. It is not allowed to run as a party in the elections, but it endorses “independent” candidates who openly declare their allegiance to the group.