Photojournalist and activist Esraa El Taweel’s disappearance in June, along with the disappearance of many other individuals during the same time, sent a shiver of fear throughout young activists in Egypt. Esraa was taken by force from an outing with her friends on June 1 and detained without charges for almost two weeks while her family and friends remained uninformed of her whereabouts. After being held in a “security facility”, Esraa was moved to al-Qanater Women’s Prison on charges that were unknown to her, or even her defense attorney. Only later were they able to obtain a verbal explanation of her charges, listed as “belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group and spreading false news through her social media account”. Esraa is currently imprisoned in dismal conditions while awaiting the results of the prosecutor’s investigation. “Prison is a wicked thing, life is losing its meaning; more accurately there is no life here. We are like the living dead,” Esraa said of herself and fellow prisoners. “In this filthy prison, we also suffer from the impolite behavior of the criminal prisoners. Those women physically harass us.” Esraa’s case, while painful and…
Activist Esraa El Taweel Faces Greater Harassment After Posting Latest Letter From Prison, Sister Says
August 17, 2015
