CAIRO: Twenty-seven-year-old Esraa Abdel Fattah, who was taken into custody by security forces for allegedly masterminding the April 6 general strike, received a detainment order from the Interior Ministry for an unspecified period of time, Amir Salem, Abdel Fattah’s lawyer told Daily News Egypt.
According to Salem, Abdel Fattah was detained at the Qasr El-Nil prosecution office on Monday, the same day she was supposed to be released in accordance with an order from the Prosecutor General.
Abdel Fattah was detained pending investigation after she was picked up from a coffee shop near her workplace in Nasr City.
“We know that she [Esraa] has received a detainment order but we have no clue for how long or where she is, Salem said.
Abdel Fattah, who is also a member of Al-Ghad party, was accused of organizing the strike by creating a group on the social networking website Facebook, where messages were posted calling for a nationwide general strike.
In the days leading up to the strike, anti-government groups sent mobile phone messages and emails to people around the country to hold protests, stay home from work, avoid shopping, wear black clothes and hang the Egyptian flag from windows and balconies in a show of support for the strikers.
While Salem has no doubt about Abdel Fattah’s innocence, he does believe she is “more likely to be found guilty and receive a jail sentence.
The government is currently looking for anyone to blame for the protests that have been taking place across the country by workers in different sectors over the last few months, he said.
Sources in Al-Ghad said that Abdel Fattah is not “one of the most politically active members of the party, and that she is more interested in the educational and cultural aspects of the party.
When contacted by Daily News Egypt, Abdel Fattah’s family refused to talk, citing their concern that any statements that make might harm their daughter’s case.
