The Egyptian Social Democratic party (ESDP) is organising a solidarity day with the detainees in the Giza Central Prison who went on a hunger strike on Wednesday in response to the five-year prison sentence issued against them.
The day is also expected to include a seminar to discuss the Red Sea islands issue. This seminar will include different political figures, including the head of the party Farid Zahran.
Furthermore, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) filed a request to be given a permit to visit the Giza Central Prison in order to examine the standards of living of the detainees there.
George Ishaq, a member in the NCHR, told Daily News Egypt that the request was filed on Sunday and no response has been received. He is unsure as to when exactly they will receive it because everything is “random”.
The NCHR had filed a draft law earlier this month, demanding to be able to visit prisons by notice and not by permit.
The hunger strike began late on Wednesday with 10 detainees, out of the 47 who received the five-year prison sentence and the fine of EGP 100,000. With 11 more joining on Saturday, the number is expected to increase.
Several NGOs released a joint statement in which they hold authorities responsible for the health of the strikers, also calling for the Doctors Syndicate and the NCHR to check on their health status and their imprisonment circumstances.
“All the legal procedures should be followed in this strike. Firstly, the strike should be documented in an official record since it was announced. Secondly, the medical and health status of the strikers should be recorded,” the statement read.
It also added that the continuous arrest of young people according to the Protest Law and handing heavy sanctions down to them only proves that the law is being misused to silence opposition parties, and criminalising core rights in the constitution, like freedom of expression and the right to peacefully gather and express opinions.
The verdict issued against the 47 defendants followed an earlier verdict that was issued by Qasr Al-Nil Misdemeanour Court, which sentenced 51 similar defendants to two years in prison.
The 51 defendants who received a two-year sentence are comprised of three of the four groups of defendants, who have been tried separately according to the time and place of their arrest. One more group of 52 defendants is still pending investigations.
The detainees were arrested on 25 April in the anti-government protest that contested the transfer of sovereignty of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia. On 14 May, 47 received a 5-year prison sentence and were also fined EGP 100,000, a verdict that was issued by Dokki and Agouza misdemeanour courts.