{"id":19051,"date":"2020-06-03T15:11:59","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T13:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/?p=19051"},"modified":"2020-06-07T18:45:49","modified_gmt":"2020-06-07T16:45:49","slug":"afte-launches-a-campaign-calling-for-the-release-of-prisoners-of-violations-of-freedom-of-expression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afteegypt.org\/en\/advocacy-en\/statements-en\/2020\/06\/03\/19051-afteegypt.html","title":{"rendered":"AFTE launches a campaign calling for the release of prisoners of violations of freedom of expression"},"content":{"rendered":"
Concerns about conditions of prisoners and remand detainees increase, after the Ministry of Interior recently announced<\/a> the death of a staff member in Tora Prison, at the end of last May, after it was confirmed that he was infected with Corona virus. This announcement caused panic among the prisoners’ families; for fear that their sons might be infected, especially in light of the decision preventing visits in prisons which was issued since the outbreak of Covid-19.<\/p>\n The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) is launching a campaign to call for the release of prisoners of violations of freedom of expression under the slogan “Release prisoners of violations of freedom of expression”. This was a constant demand for human rights organizations and human rights defenders in Egypt; they raised and defended it in all forums and in all possible ways. However, at this moment this just demand has become a matter of life and death in the literal sense of the word, in light of the outbreak of Covid-19 epidemic in Egypt, and the increasing number of infected and dead people, according to official data<\/a> issued by the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n AFTE believes that the Ministry of Interior\u2019s announcement that an employee in Tora prison died after it was proven that he was infected with Covid-19 calls for mobilizing efforts to release prisoners, especially prisoners of violations of freedom of expression. At a time when the epidemic is spreading everywhere, concern increases that prisoners in Egyptian prisons may be infected, especially that the Ministry of Interior did not declare transparently the measures it takes to prevent the spread of the epidemic. Moreover, stopping prisons\u2019 visits and preventing prisoners from communicating with their families, raise the concerns of thousands of families over the well being of their sons and daughters and the risk of their infection, without being able to provide them with medical support.<\/p>\n The campaign AFTE launches today includes a list of prisoners of freedom of expression: journalists<\/a>, creators<\/a>, and academics<\/a>. This list sheds light on their stories and cases, as these individuals are not just numbers; each of them has a story, worth telling, so that we know how each of them lost their freedom while exercising their right to freedom of expression. Likewise, the campaign includes a list<\/a> of the 62 prisoners and individuals in remand detention, for whom AFTE provides legal aid.<\/p>\n