In a presser organised Saturday by the independent group Freedom for the Brave, renowned activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah outlined the reasons he believes the interim government represents “a worse regime than that of [former president] Hosni Mubarak”.
According to Abdel Fattah, while Mubarak’s regime allowed for a “margin of tolerance for certain segments of the Egyptian people to avoid unrest,” the current government is “waging war against an entire generation,” regardless of political affiliation, background, and “even how they look.”
Abdel Fattah held the judiciary responsible for what he called “the current injustice”, adding that Egypt’s prosecution and judges are “only independent from society and the rule of law,” and not from government influence, as they often claim to be. Members of the judicial system, he asserted, “only care for sustaining their privileges and social status that are guaranteed by the current system”.
The activist also criticised the performance of the mainstream media, accusing it of organising “a defamation campaign against the youth” which has “intentionally overlooked the cases of detainees”.
Mohamed Abdel Kouddous, member of the National Council of Human Rights as well as the Freedoms Committee of the Press Syndicate, meanwhile said: “The youth’s only mistake is their opposition to the current regime.”
Abdel Kouddous also called on “his old friend” and current presidential hopeful Hamdeen Sabahy to pull out of the upcoming presidential elections, saying that running would only legitimise “staged elections.”
The press conference included testimonies from the families of other political detainees, including the wife of secular activist Ahmed Douma, who was detained for violating the Protest Law, among other charges. Douma’s health has been deteriorating in recent weeks while authorities have refused him permission to be transferred to an external hospital.
Mother of photojournalist and Cairo University student Mohamed Abdel Wahed said the unjust detention of students “turns them into time-bombs.”
AbdelWahed has been detained since being taken by security forces on 12 February from in front of the Faculty of Applied Arts where he had been photographing clashes between security forces and Students Against the Coup, who were protesting that day.
Mohamed Ahmed Hussein is the father of two detai
nees who were arrested on the anniversary of the revolution last 25 January from two different locations in Cairo. Hussein said one of his sons, a member of the liberal Al-Dostour Party, was accused of attacking the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in March 2013, yet is currently being detained for being a member of the same organisation.
