One Year into Ibrahim Alyamany's Hunger Strike in Egypt's Prisons
Detainee Dr. Ibrahim Alyamany's has completed a year of his open ended peaceful hunger strike in objection to his violated rights demanding his freedom. His strike is his resistance and expression of opinion chartered in the Egyptian constitution in articles 55 and 65 allowing hunger strikes as a free form of expression which the nation should fully respect.
Human Rights Monitor has been observing closely the Medical student's situation since he began his hunger strike last year objecting to the inappropriate prison conditions and calls for his release. Detainees are deprived of their most basic rights in both the Tora and Wady Notron Prisons and others prompting him to continue his hunger strike.
Alyamany's was arrested August 17, 2013 during the Fatth Mosque incidents which followed the brutal dispersal of the Rabaa and Nahda peaceful sit ins. Alyamany's had convinced a leading interior minister official that he would speak to the people inside the Fatth mosque who were surrounded and locked in for 12 hours and threatened with live bullets and tear gas canisters to leave the mosque with guarantees that they would neither be harmed nor arrested. Despite promises he was the first to be arrested and taken to the Azbakeya station and later to the Wady Notron Prison and then moved again to Tora Prison.
His health deteriorated behind bars and he was taken to the Tora Prison Hospital because of his deteriorating health which threatened his life in the beginning of January and he faced further violations which affected his health even more. He was moved to solitary confinement last December and was beaten and dragged and he vomited blood during the torture sessions. Tora Prison administration also confiscated his personal belongings hoping he would end the hunger strike.
For its part HRM expresses its deep concern for Alyamany's wellbeing stressing that each individual has the right to live a free and peaceful life. It calls on the Egyptian authorities to respect the ratified international convention regarding political and civil life and the agreement regarding prisoners' wellbeing without torture. It stresses it is the prison administrations responsibility to protect the prisoners and to advocate freedom free from torture and ill treatment in addition to safeguarding the detainees dignity and humanity.
