As renowned political activist Ahmed Douma turned 28 on Sunday, his wife called for medical treatment to be provided to him as his health has worsened inside prison.
“Erosion of his bones will be his companion on his birthday. Doctors advised that he must undergo an operation for a joint replacement,” wife Nourhan Hefzy posted on Facebook Wednesday.
Hefzy added that she filed a request to the state-funded National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) in order to get Douma transferred from prison to hospital, explaining that the pain has become unbearable for him and that the prison hospital only provides him with painkillers that, on the long-run, have negatively affected his stomach.
Douma, who uses a walking stick due to knee problems, also has stomach problems due to holding a hunger strike in protest of his ill-treatment.
The young activist has been detained since December 2013, on charges of protesting, which included resisting authorities and vandalism in front of Abdeen Court. However, he was actually arrested from his home. Douma received a sentence of three years in prison and a EGP 50,000 fine in the same month.
Douma’s trial, in the case of the cabinet clashes and the burning of the Institut d’Egypte in 2011, was among the most controversial in the post-revolution political scene. A harsh court decision sentenced Douma to life in prison and a fine of EGP 17m.
The trial, presided over by notorious judge Nagy Shehata, was characterised by intense conflicts between the judicial panel and defence lawyers. There were accusations of bias on the part of the judge, including Douma himself, who insinuated that the judge was taking orders from above to prosecute the defendants for their support of the 25 January Revolution.
As a result, he was sentenced to another three years in December 2014, after being charged with insulting the judiciary during the trial.
