Between the talk about supporting the Palestinian cause and the arrest of those in solidarity with it, many of the pioneers of social networking sites in Egypt were puzzled, and prompted them to question the truth of the official position.
In conjunction with Egyptian statements sympathetic to the Israeli attacks on Palestinian areas such as Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, Amnesty International said that the Egyptian authorities have detained two citizens on the grounds of solidarity with the Gaza Strip, one of whom raised the Palestinian flag, and the other a doctor who posted tweets about protests in solidarity with Palestine .
Amr Magdy, a researcher in the regional office of Human Rights Watch, said that last Saturday, the Egyptian authorities arrested Hussam El-Din Shaban, one of the doctors delegated to North Sinai hospitals to receive the victims of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Human rights organizations also said that the Egyptian authorities arrested a young man on charges of raising the Palestinian flag in Tahrir Square in the heart of the capital (Cairo), and 3 others on charges of burning the Israeli flag after the Eid al-Fitr prayer.
#Egypt: Despite its condemnation of the Israeli attack on Gaza, the authorities continue their stranglehold on #freedom of expression and assembly.
It detained a man for raising the Palestinian flag and a doctor for tweeting about previous solidarity protests.
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- Amnesty International (@AmnestyAR) May 17, 2021
Mada Masr news website quoted two medical sources as saying that Hossam El Din Shaaban, an orthopedic doctor working in the National Bank of Government Hospital in Cairo, disappeared from Al-Arish General Hospital, before the medical team assigned by the Ministry of Health went to his residence in the city, last Saturday.
The two sources suggested that the arrest came on the background of tweets he published about the insurance force, which accompanied the medical convoy from Bir al-Abd to al-Arish, along with his opinion that solidarity protests are not allowed in Egypt now, while his father said that the family does not know anything about her son, and does not know his location, adding They lost contact with him.
Magdy said that there are pro-government online accounts inciting the arrest of Shaaban, and calling him into question because of his tweets, explaining that Shaaban did not publish any information or military secrets, and that even if his opinions expressed in his tweets were shocking, they fall under freedom of expression, and it is not permissible. He was arrested because of it, and he should be released immediately.
The Egyptian government announced sending medical aid to the Gaza Strip, and activists transferred pictures of ambulances heading to the Strip, and the Egyptian Red Crescent announced the opening of donations to help the victims of the Israeli aggression.
Two days ago, Egyptian security forces arrested the doctor of surgery Hossam El Din Shaaban Ahmed, one of the doctors assigned to work in Sinai to receive the injured from Gaza, apparently against the background of his tweets criticizing the Egyptian authorities.
pic.twitter.com/NOU96gqELk
- Amr Magdi (@ganobi) May 17, 2021
Raise the flag and burn the other
The Egyptian human rights lawyer Mukhtar Mounir announced the disappearance of the young Omar Morsi since last Friday, after raising the Palestinian flag in Tahrir Square, in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Mounir said that Omar Morsi decided to go out and show solidarity with the Palestinian cause, and told his mother before Friday prayers that he would pray in the Omar Makram Mosque overlooking Tahrir Square, and he would stand in the heart of the square, even if alone, to show solidarity with the cause.
In a statement today, Wednesday, the Egyptian Network for Human Rights (civil society) said that the prosecutor decided yesterday evening to release Omar Morsi on bail of one thousand pounds (the dollar is less than 16 pounds), and when the family paid the bail, I was surprised by the continued detention of her son pending another case.
Omar Morsi suffers from health problems as a result of his injury in the January 25, 2011 revolution that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak after 30 years in power, from which he has not yet recovered.
In the same context, the Egyptian Network for Human Rights said that the Egyptian authorities arrested Ahmed Manna, Muhammad Abdel-Al, and Baha Zaki after they burned the Israeli flag after the Eid prayer in the Al-Haram area (west of Cairo), explaining that the detention of the three youths was renewed for a period of 15 days.
The Egyptian authorities arrested the journalist Nour Al-Hoda Zaki for several hours after she raised the Palestinian flag with her friend in Tahrir Square, in solidarity with the victims of the Israeli aggression in Palestine.
The repeated incidents of arrests of activists during solidarity with the Palestinian cause caused confusion and denunciation of many social media activists, prompting some of them to question the truth of the Egyptian official position towards the Israeli aggression, and what appeared to be a contradiction, according to the description of some of them.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced $ 500 million in support for the Gaza Strip and participation in reconstruction. The government announced the opening of donations for the benefit of victims within the "Long Live Egypt" sovereign fund, and the Egyptian diplomacy used harsh language to condemn the Israeli attacks. The media affiliated with the regime launched a sharp attack against the Israeli occupation forces, and showed remarkable sympathy for the Palestinian victims.
These Egyptian moves, different from the Egyptian position towards the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in 2014, prompted activists to compare them with the continuing campaign of arresting those in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, while some interpreted it with the regime’s fear of the return of demonstrations to the street again after years of its success in nationalizing the street and suppressing all images Protests.
Tweeters called on the Egyptian authorities to release the detainees so that the Egyptian position is consistent externally and internally, and to allow demonstrations in support of Palestine in the Egyptian streets. Some of them recalled the release of Rami Shaath and Muhammad al-Masri, who were detained two years ago.
In the same context, a statement by Egyptian national parties and forces said, "From the standpoint of the direct national interest, we look forward to not restricting security restrictions on the actors supporting and supporting the Palestinian uprising, reminding everyone of their national and national responsibilities."
Raising the flag of Palestine in public has become a crime in Egypt, Sisi.
Silence if fear binds you, but the truth is true:
Long live Palestine and live every pure Egyptian standing next to his sisters.
Egypt is our country, and Palestine is no less important than our cause.
https://t.co/2BSdFytY35
- Amr Khalifa (@ Cairo67Unedited) May 18, 2021
Egypt’s position is indeed honorable by
seizing anyone who has held the flag of Palestine
- Hobah (@chcake) May 17, 2021
Conflicting news about the crossing is open or closed.
I wish someone in the Gaza atmosphere would benefit us if the Egyptian regime did more than arrest anyone raising the Palestinian flag in Egypt.
Denunciations and speeches from the regimes did not work.
But the arrest of people is this real move.
Likewise, opening or closing this crossing is also a real move.
Is the crossing open?
- Amr Waked (@amrwaked) May 16, 2021
Egypt has an opportunity to register a position by releasing the leaders of the BDS Egypt movement, who have been imprisoned for two years without trial.
Rami Shaath, the coordinator of the Egyptian movement, was detained in Case 930, and the deputy coordinator, Muhammad Jaber Al-Masri, was detained in Case 488, and both of them are accused of terrorism, but their real charges are solidarity with Palestine!
- hossam bahgat (@ossambahgat) May 14, 2021