CAIRO — Human rights lawyers in Egypt told Al-Monitor that Egyptian security forces arrested a number of citizens in different parts of the capital Cairo, for raising the Palestinian flags in solidarity with the besieged Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. They said that some were forcibly disappeared, while others continue to be detained waiting for the Supreme State Security Prosecution to review their cases.
Hazem Hosam Eddine, a lawyer for an Egyptian human rights center he did not want to mention, recounted that he was approached by the family of Ahmed Alaa, who was arrested May 14 after attending the Friday prayer in one of the Dokki district’s mosques. Hosam Eddine said Alaa was just walking in the street while raising the Palestinian flag, without even chanting any slogans or being part of a group, when he was apprehended.
Hosam Eddine told Al-Monitor via phone, “After communicating with Alaa at the police station, [I found out] that other citizens are also detained for the same reason, namely for showing solidarity with Palestine and the Gaza Strip.”
Commenting on the legal developments, he said that he is waiting for the prosecution’s review to learn about the charges pressed against Alaa and others. He noted that the prosecution was supposed to review the case on the day of the arrest. Yet they are still illegally detained at the police station, he added.
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