Photojournalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada was reportedly stabbed by an unknown assailant with a penknife in downtown Cairo Friday night, and his brother Mohamed Ziada described the incident as an “assassination attempt”.
Ziada was previously detained over charges of assaulting police officers, illegal protests, violence, and setting fire to the Faculty of Commerce building in December 2013 before being acquitted and released in May 2015.
Ahmed underwent an operation due of the stabbing and is currently hospitalised at Boulaq El-Dakrour Hospital in Giza. Mohamed confirmed that Ahmed’s medical situation has improved.
Mohamed described the incident in a note on his Facebook page: “Ahmed was walking on the pedestrian bridge of Cairo University metro station when a man pointed his pistol towards him and Ahmed managed to divert it. At the same time, another thug started stabbing Ahmed with a penknife from behind.”
Mohamed said his brother lost consciousness and many people who witnessed the incident believed he died. Ahmed was stabbed four times; in his back, his lungs near his heart, his hand, and his leg.
“This is an assassination attempt; no one tried to rob his cell phone or his money,” Mohamed said. Ahmed’s possessions remained with him after the attack.
“What happened to Ahmed was because of the articles he writes, and this explains who is behind the attack,” Moahmed said.
Ahmed writes for Masr Al-Arabia and Al-Araby websites, and is known for his critical views of the regime. He had published articles about torture in prison and the status of detainees. He also has openly expressed his critical views regarding the country’s current leadership.
The released journalist, who used to work for Yaqeen news network, was temporarily detained for almost 500 days in the “Al-Azhar University events” case. During his detention, Ahmed staged two hunger strikes in protest of his detention without charge. His longest hunger strike lasted 98 days. He also protested the unjust practices and filed reports on torture and beating allegations.
Ziada is suspect no.16 in the case. His lawyer, Mokhtar Mounir, believes that Ziada is a victim of authorities’ fabricated charges of breaking the Protest Law (Photo by Ahmed Hendawy)
Detained photojournalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada began a hunger strike Saturday for the second time during his temporary detention period, which has so far exceeded 400 days.
Ziada complained about the conditions of his imprisonment to the judge at his last court session, but there were no apparent signs of torture and the judge overlooked his claims.
According to his brother Mohamed, Ziada is protesting about “unjust practices” against him in Abou Zaabal prison. These come amid reports filed by his family to the Prosecutor General’s office on his torture and beating allegations.
According to activists in touch with the prisoners, last week witnessed a group beating of detainees by police officers. It is alleged that this mostly involved detained protestors from the case of the 25 January Revolution’s fourth anniversary in January.
The story appears to replicate similar incidents of a few months ago. Ziada commenced with a hunger strike in August 2014, which, according to his brother, lasted for 98 days. At the time, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) denounced his alleged beating inside jail.
In a statement released Saturday, Ziada’s family demanded officials from the Press Syndicate and the state-affiliated National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) visit Abou Zaabal prison to look into the claims.
Last year, the NCHR was allowed by the Ministry of Interior to visit some prisons, including Tora prison. The council members stated on TV channels that there has been no evidence of systematic torture.
Ziada, along with 75 Al-Azhar University students, have been in police custody since December 2013 pending trial. They face protest and violence charges, as well as allegedly setting fire to the university’s Faculty of Commerce building. Their next session is due 1 April.
Ziada is suspect no.16 in the case. His lawyer, Mokhtar Mounir, believes that Ziada is a victim of authorities’ fabricated charges of breaking the Protest Law (Photo by Ahmed Hendawy)
“I have been beaten and tortured for three days under prison disciplinary sanctions,” photojournalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada told the judge during his trial session Saturday.
According to his brother Mohamed, the issue started a week ago. “During our last visit to Ziada in Abu Za’abal prison, authorities harassed us and my brother had demanded to meet an official to complain about it, but his request was denied,” he told Daily News Egypt over the phone the day before the session.
Mohamed said that a verbal quarrel erupted between his brother and a police conscript. He added that in the following days, there were some problems with the visits to other prisoners. Mohamed claimed jail personnel prevented many personal belongings brought by relatives of the detainees from entering.
“The situation became a little chaotic, and so they received a visit Wednesday night in prison by officers who bit them inside their cell,” Mohamed said.
Ziada was among those people and he was to receive additional punishment because the police conscript who fought with him had reported him. However, Mohamed stated that the prosecution officer in charge spared him the penalty, provided he stopped writing about them.
Nonetheless, Ziada quarrelled again with an officer and that resulted in his beating and being sent to prison disciplinary. His brother stated that for a couple of days there was no news about him.
The Cairo Criminal Court’s terrorism division listened Saturday to the defence argument for Ziada, allowing him to step out of the glass cage inside court to question him. “Unlike our expectations, the session went well,” defence lawyer Mokhtar Mounir told Daily News Egypt.
Regarding torture allegations, there were no apparent signs of torture when Ziada stood before the judge. “Therefore we could not file any complaints,” Mokhtar said.
Ziada was questioned by Judge Salah Roshdy about the reasons he was at Al-Azhar University on that day and how he had found out about protests. Ziada answered that he was assigned to the job by Yaqeen Network, where he worked.
“I told the judge that if photojournalism was a crime then why not put all press photographers in the courtroom behind bars,” Mokhtar said. He added that the judge attempted to ask questions about the political orientation of the news network but the defence lawyer intervened to stop the case from going into a “complicated” direction.
“Ziada will not break in front of these attempts. I am sure that while bearing all this he was already thinking about his next piece,” Mohamed said.
Along with another 75 Al-Azhar University students, Ziada is facing charges of illegal protests, setting fire to the university’s Faculty of Commerce and assaulting and resisting security officers. Ziada’s camera was confiscated and he was found in the possession of an empty gas canister he picked up on the day of the events.
Ziada is accused of 12 crimes as reported by AFTE, including joining a terrorist group, breaching the Protest Law. (Photo Public domain)
Detained photojournalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada wrote a letter from inside Abu Za’abal, Prison, sent by his brother Mohamed to Daily News Egypt.
Ziada was arrested on 28 December 2013, and has been in prison since, pending trial.
His trial finally commenced last week before a division of the criminal court assigned to look into terrorism affairs. Along with 76 students from Al-Azhar University, Ziada is accused of violating the Protest Law, and setting fire to the university’s Faculty of Commerce building.
In the letter published below, Ziada recalls the three instances in which he met with Colonel Ashraf Abdul Rahman, deputy chief of Nasr City’s second district police station, who testified in court that he did not witness the fire, the protests or any protesters.
“On Saturday 28 December, I took some photos of security forces arresting two students walking by in front of Al-Azhar University, more specifically near the pedestrian staircase. The arrested students were tied and thrown into the police truck.
“This was the occasion of the first conversation between the deputy chief of Nasr City police station, who later arrested me, and myself. ‘Are you photographing us?’ he asked me. ‘I think you ought to take photos of those sons of *** who are setting the university on fire!’
“Making my way out, I told him: ‘That is exactly what I was about to do right now.’ What followed were the most demeaning insults and unjustifiable beating. ‘Take out your memory card, take out your mobile phone, may God take out your soul!’ I was told. One of the other officers then put my brand new phone in his pocket.
“The memory card contained a video proving that police arrests were arbitrary, random and abusive. The camera was included as evidence without the memory card.
“In November 2014, the head of the prosecution in Abu Za’abal prison called me to try to talk me into – or threaten me – ending a hunger strike I had started in jail. The deputy chief of Nasr City police station who arrested me was in the office by coincidence. He asked me: ‘Do you know me?’ I answered: ‘Nothing will make me forget the person because of whom my life is ruined in prison.’
“He kept quiet, so I carried on: ‘28 December, 2013, there was a young man with a camera trying to photograph the university clashes. You stopped him and asked him why he was taking pictures of the police and not the *** students. Then you beat him. The conscripts under your command took the trouble off your hands and did the beating themselves…’ He was silent but had a cold smile on his face.
“‘I am that young man,’ I told him, as he acted surprised. ‘Are you still in jail since then? I was just checking you, I did not know you would be held for too long,’ he said. ‘Yes, it has been a year since you ‘checked’ me,’ I said. ‘Well, that is to blame on the prosecution and judicial authorities,’ he replied.
“I told him I did not care who was to blame, but I did tell him that I did not and will not forgive him until the day comes that we all stand before God.
“On 4 March, 2014, the court heard the testimony of the corrupt police officers, and I had nobody to testify in my favour, neither my colleagues nor even the director of the network I work for. The judge questioned the same police officer who arrested me. He asked him if he saw any protests on that day, if he witnessed the fire and if he arrested anybody. The answers were: ‘No I did not see anything or any of the violent elements.’
“I thought that naturally he could not testify that he arrested me because that would contradict the statements he had given in court and would acquit me. I was shocked by his answers, and kept yelling from the glass cage, where nobody can hear you, no matter how much you scream. I asked to speak to him, and he sent me a reply: ‘After the session.’
“The session concluded and he disappeared, but I found him as we approached our prison cells again and I spoke o him. I asked him how come he testified that he made no arrests. ‘I did not lie, maybe my memory failed me. Maybe you should have reminded me before the court session…’ he told me.
“‘Here I am, reminding you,’ I said. ‘All I want is for you to speak the truth about the details of my arrests.’ ‘I am sorry but I cannot change my testimony, and neither could you, anything you say will not benefit you or harm me,’ he said.
“And I returned to my dark prison cell, laid on the floor as usual, and thought of that officer going home, sleeping on his bed, waking up and drinking his coffee before starting his work, wondering who else he was going to misjudge…”
