(Photo courtesy of Facebook)
The family of comatose protester Mo’awad Adel addressed the Administrative Judicial Court on Tuesday, demanding state-funding for Adel’s treatment abroad.
Adel has been in a coma for around 14 months. He is a pharmacy student who was assisting injured demonstrators in a field hospital during the Mohamed Mahmoud Street clashes in November 2011.
The family delegated the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights to file a law suit against the president, the prime minister, the health minister, and the secretary general of the National Council for Assisting Families of those Killed or Injured during the Revolution. They are accused of failing to do their job in helping the injured and the families of those killed.
“We call upon the cabinet to provide for Mo’awad’s treatment abroad,” said Nagat, Adel’s mother.
The cabinet had approved Adel’s treatment at the expense of the state worth £12,000 for a period of 15 days in the United Kingdom. The hospital that was going to offer Adel treatment refused to take him in and said his treatment would take months and the medical costs would not be less than £75,000.
“Mo’awad needs to go to a centre for people in comas,” said Mahmoud Mustafa, Adel’s colleague. “Such centres are not available in Egypt.”
Mustafa was part of a protest held in solidarity with Adel and his family’s demands outside the Administrative Court on Tuesday. Almost two dozen protesters gathered outside the court since 10am, holding huge flags with pictures of revolutionary victims and chanting for the state’s responsibility towards victims and their families.
The case was postponed to next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Adel remains in a coma at Al-Qasr Al-Eini Hospital, suffering from quadriplegia and in critical condition. His doctors recommend he receives treatment abroad as soon as possible, Nagat said.
Adel was shot in the head during the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes in 2011. He ran to help a protester who had fallen to the ground. Before Adel could reach him, the protester was shot in the head. Adel tried to carry him to an ambulance before also being shot twice in the head.
