Jailed Egyptian blogger's mother goes on hunger strike
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 09, 2011 By Hamza Hendawi The Associated Press CAIRO
#freeALAA
The mother of a prominent blogger jailed by Egypt's ruling generals has gone on a hunger strike to protest her son's detention and the military's increasingly heavy-handed approach against critics.
The strike by Alaa Abdel-Fattah's 55-year-old mother could turn into a major embarrassment for Egypt's military three weeks ahead of landmark parliamentary elections, the first since the uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak nine months ago.
Military prosecutors ordered Abdel-Fattah, 29, detained for 15 days Oct. 30 after he refused to answer questions over his alleged role in last month's sectarian clashes that killed 27 people, mostly Christians. His detention is widely viewed as an escalation in the military's drive to discredit activists who played a key role in the revolt.
Abdel-Fattah is an icon of the 18-day uprising that ended Mubarak's 29-year regime, and has criticized the generals as well as Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the nation's military ruler. Abdel-Fattah's wife, Manal Hassan, is expecting their first child this month.
Laila Soueif, Abdel-Fattah's mother and an activist herself, vowed Wednesday -- the fourth day of her hunger strike -- not to abandon her protest before her goals are met.
"It is becoming clearer and clearer that the military council is against the youth of the revolution," she said, "and wants to make an example of Alaa so the rest will be silenced.
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 09, 2011 By Hamza Hendawi The Associated Press CAIRO
The mother of a prominent blogger jailed by Egypt's ruling generals has gone on a hunger strike to protest her son's detention and the military's increasingly heavy-handed approach against critics.
The strike by Alaa Abdel-Fattah's 55-year-old mother could turn into a major embarrassment for Egypt's military three weeks ahead of landmark parliamentary elections, the first since the uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak nine months ago.
Military prosecutors ordered Abdel-Fattah, 29, detained for 15 days Oct. 30 after he refused to answer questions over his alleged role in last month's sectarian clashes that killed 27 people, mostly Christians. His detention is widely viewed as an escalation in the military's drive to discredit activists who played a key role in the revolt.
Abdel-Fattah is an icon of the 18-day uprising that ended Mubarak's 29-year regime, and has criticized the generals as well as Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the nation's military ruler. Abdel-Fattah's wife, Manal Hassan, is expecting their first child this month.
Laila Soueif, Abdel-Fattah's mother and an activist herself, vowed Wednesday -- the fourth day of her hunger strike -- not to abandon her protest before her goals are met.
"It is becoming clearer and clearer that the military council is against the youth of the revolution," she said, "and wants to make an example of Alaa so the rest will be silenced.
No comments:
Post a Comment