10 Oct 2019; MEMO: Prominent Egyptian activist Alaa Abdul Fattah has told his lawyers that he has been beaten, threatened and robbed inside prison.
Alaa is one of the key figures of the 2011 revolution. He was released from jail in March this year after serving five years for allegedly organising an illegal protest. A condition of his release was that he would be on probation for five years and was required to sleep in a police station every night.
However, six months after he was released from prison Alaa was rearrested at 6am outside the police station where he sleeps as part of a sweep by the Egyptian government to curb the 20 September protests.
Despite the fact that he was told his treatment would become worse if he spoke out, Alaa has filed an official complaint about what has happened to him since his arrest and his family are circulating the news.
His lawyers have said he was blindfolded on the way to Tora Maximum Security Prison 2, was slapped and kicked as he entered the prison door and told to strip to his underwear and walk down a corridor of people while he was beaten on his back and neck.
He was blindfolded, taken to an officer who told him he hated the revolution and he hated him, and that he would be in prison for the rest of his life. All of his clothes have been taken away so he has only his underwear.
Alaa is one of roughly 3,000 journalists, activists and former detainees who have been arrested since 20 September, including over 100 children and over 80 women.
His lawyer Mohammed Al-Baqer has also been arrested.
In order to put pressure on authorities, his mother and sister waited for 11 hours outside the National Security Prosecution office to see him and then stood outside Tora Prison.
The family think that up until now his profile has always protected him from harsh treatment but they now believe that has changed and say he is at risk of being beaten and of torture.
In the statement they said Alaa’s arrest was a warning: “The fact that he is arrested is, in fact, not about him – but it is to send a message to the wider country: do not imagine for a moment that you will be allowed to protest this regime.”
