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Egyptian-Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath denounced Egypt as a “big cell” release from prison and departure for France, saying he had decided to continue fighting for the Palestinian cause despite threats against his family.
The 50-year-old was a prominent figure in the 2011 uprising in Egypt and was the country’s chapter coordinator for the Boycott, Divestment and Punishment (BDS) movement against Israel.
“Egypt is a big cell today and we were in a much smaller cell,” Shaath said after spending almost two and a half years in prison in Paris. “It’s becoming a state of terror in every sense of the word.”
It was Shaath He was arrested in July 2019 Accused of supporting a “terrorist organization”.
He said of the hundreds of people he shared in his cramped, crowded prison, “they all had the same exact accusation with absolutely no evidence, no substance, no incidence, nothing.
“They’re just telling you a few words and it’s enough to keep you in custody.”
Shaath said his fellow inmates were initially civil society activists or Islamists in favor of internal Muslim Brotherhood groups. Mohamed Morsi, a member of the organization, held power before 2012-13 removed by the military.
But while in prison, more and more people were arrested for more arbitrary reasons for “liking” the wrong person or page on social media, according to Shaath.
He said a maximum of 32 people share 23 square meters (250 square feet) of cells where a single hole in the ground served as a shower head with a toilet on top.
The detainees did not receive a proper trial and complained that they were being held incommunicado, he added, adding that one of his friends had died in a one-square-meter prison cell.
‘Rotten in Hell’
After his release, “there were threats and warnings not to open his mouth, and especially not to open his mouth about prison conditions and legal conditions,” Shaath said.
Although he said that threats were also made against his family in Egypt, he added: “Personally, I can’t go to bed every night thinking that hundreds and thousands of innocent Egyptians are still rotting in hell and I’m not talking about them.”
But Shaath still hopes for “a better Egypt, a more humane Egypt, where I can return and live, where my daughter can live safely with her family.”
He said BDS It was “a non-violent occupation and a way to deal with the dictatorship” and “the growing regional relations between Egypt and Israel have made the Egyptian government unwilling to hear anything about Palestine.”
Shaath said his opposition to the rapprochement between Israel and the Arab nations, led by the previous Trump administration in Washington, was the latest motive for his arrest.
“It simply came to our notice then [Jared] Kushnerren ‘century agreement‘And my position on the Egyptian paper is what finally decided,’ he said.
After the opening up to Israel, “these dictators who oppress their people are suppressing the desire for a freer Palestine,” he added.
However, Shahat said he doesn’t think so Arab Spring uprisings it has failed in the last decade.
“The Arab Spring began in 2011, but the end is nowhere near it. Change is essential, it will happen, ”he said.
“I see the Egyptian regime as frightened and oppressive, and bloody, because they realize that what happened in 2011 has changed the Egyptians in a way that they can’t back down.”
‘Rules of the game’
in a interview with CNN, Shaath called on the European Parliament to change the rules of the game in its policies for Egypt, and called for the protection of freedoms and human rights as part of an approach to seeking stability.
“As long as you do not take action against the regime and are not responsible for its violations, it will disregard your previous appeals and demands,” he told the European Parliament.
“Real action will have a direct impact on the reality and future of human rights in Egypt,” he added.
In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Shaath made the same appeal.
“It simply came to our notice then. If you want strategic relations with Egypt, you must first commit to defending freedom of opinion and expression and respect for human rights, ”he said.
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