Mohamed Soltan
Only 13 days after John Kerry, the US secretary of state,
opined that the Egyptian military was “restoring democracy”, a
bullet missed my head by inches when that same military opened fire on peaceful
protesters in the heart of Cairo.
Another bullet on this day in
August 2013 did not miss, however, striking my arm and shattering my bone. My
US passport (I am an Egyptian-American) was no protection.
This came only a few minutes
after two cameramen, including the Briton Mick Deane, received fatal shots to the head in
what Human Rights Watch described as“the bloodiest day in Egypt’s modern history”.
I, alongside many journalists and camera operators, was targeted merely for
covering the Egyptian military’s efforts to “restore democracy” by violently
dispersing a peaceful sit-in organised to protest about the coup d’état of 3 July against Egypt’s first democratically
elected president.
Twenty-five days after Kerry’s statement, I was arrested
at my family home along with three journalists.
For the next 21 months I and my
fellow political prisoners were subjected to systematic physical and
psychological torture, the nature of which I have yet to begin to come to grips
with, even five months after my release.
In overcrowded dungeons “welcoming
parties” of guards and officers lined up in two rows; they made us run in
between them, Soul Train-style, only we were greeted with
batons, whips and belts, and I was beaten on my still-healing broken arm for
two hours.
A few months later I underwent
impromptu surgery to extract two metal plates from my arm; my cellmate served
as my jailhouse doctor, using a razor blade and pliers as his surgical
instruments.
After beginning an open-ended hunger strike to protest at my illegal detention, I was placed under “medical supervision” in a solitary confinement cell in the maximum-security prison.
I nearly died on 10 occasions, suffering multiple hypoglycemic comas as well as a pulmonary embolism.
Here I underwent 163 days of psychological torture with no human contact – apart from officers inciting me to commit suicide by passing me razor blades and exposed electrical wires, all the while shouting explicit verbal directions on how best to accomplish the feat.
My father – also a political prisoner – was used as a weapon against me.
Six-hundred-and-forty-three days after Kerry’s declaration, I was released and deported back to the United States.
Due to the notoriety of my case and international efforts, everything I had to endure occurred with US embassy awareness.
For the unfortunate 40,000-plus political prisoners who are not known or have no international connection, there is no oversight or accountability at any level: NGOs and human rights organisations have all been driven out of Egypt; and journalists are subject to a fine and imprisonment if they report facts that depart from the narrative of the state.
Thirty days after my release, David Cameron announced his strategy to counter extremism in Britain, yet failed to see how rolling out the red carpet for General Sisi in the world’s oldest parliamentary democracy is fuelling the very fires we need extinguished.
I know first-hand the feeling of desperation that takes over in the confines of Egyptian captivity, and have also been on the receiving end of mocking reports from Egyptian officials stating that the developed world has abandoned its ideals and values and has turned a blind eye to the abuses of the military-run state.
Sixty-one days after my release, I briefed Kerry on the conditions of the prisons.
I urged him to consider a change in policy that would slow the diminishing confidence in the democracy and freedom model felt by Arab spring political prisoners.
In Egypt the regime has polarised the country and suffocated all avenues of peaceful expression and dissent through politics, civil society or media, leaving many dead, disappeared, imprisoned, hiding or exiled.
The anti-protest and anti-terrorism laws have left no space for any meaningful dialogue in Egypt, let alone dissent.
This is not only true for the demonised Islamist camp: the crackdown has reached every voice of opposition across the ideological and political spectrum.
However, the current environment is fertile ground for radicalisation, as many disenfranchised young Egyptians find themselves questioning the ideals of freedom and democracy that they once cherished when they see the free world silent in the face of Sisi’s repression.
The government continues to allocate every resource to suffocating any political opposition instead of effectively combating extremism.
The hunger strike I staged gave me a positive outlet to resist oppression and radicalisation simultaneously, but for thousands of prisoners that is not the case, although they cling on to hope.
After beginning an open-ended hunger strike to protest at my illegal detention, I was placed under “medical supervision” in a solitary confinement cell in the maximum-security prison.
I nearly died on 10 occasions, suffering multiple hypoglycemic comas as well as a pulmonary embolism.
Here I underwent 163 days of psychological torture with no human contact – apart from officers inciting me to commit suicide by passing me razor blades and exposed electrical wires, all the while shouting explicit verbal directions on how best to accomplish the feat.
My father – also a political prisoner – was used as a weapon against me.
Six-hundred-and-forty-three days after Kerry’s declaration, I was released and deported back to the United States.
Due to the notoriety of my case and international efforts, everything I had to endure occurred with US embassy awareness.
For the unfortunate 40,000-plus political prisoners who are not known or have no international connection, there is no oversight or accountability at any level: NGOs and human rights organisations have all been driven out of Egypt; and journalists are subject to a fine and imprisonment if they report facts that depart from the narrative of the state.
Thirty days after my release, David Cameron announced his strategy to counter extremism in Britain, yet failed to see how rolling out the red carpet for General Sisi in the world’s oldest parliamentary democracy is fuelling the very fires we need extinguished.
I know first-hand the feeling of desperation that takes over in the confines of Egyptian captivity, and have also been on the receiving end of mocking reports from Egyptian officials stating that the developed world has abandoned its ideals and values and has turned a blind eye to the abuses of the military-run state.
Sixty-one days after my release, I briefed Kerry on the conditions of the prisons.
I urged him to consider a change in policy that would slow the diminishing confidence in the democracy and freedom model felt by Arab spring political prisoners.
In Egypt the regime has polarised the country and suffocated all avenues of peaceful expression and dissent through politics, civil society or media, leaving many dead, disappeared, imprisoned, hiding or exiled.
The anti-protest and anti-terrorism laws have left no space for any meaningful dialogue in Egypt, let alone dissent.
This is not only true for the demonised Islamist camp: the crackdown has reached every voice of opposition across the ideological and political spectrum.
However, the current environment is fertile ground for radicalisation, as many disenfranchised young Egyptians find themselves questioning the ideals of freedom and democracy that they once cherished when they see the free world silent in the face of Sisi’s repression.
The government continues to allocate every resource to suffocating any political opposition instead of effectively combating extremism.
The hunger strike I staged gave me a positive outlet to resist oppression and radicalisation simultaneously, but for thousands of prisoners that is not the case, although they cling on to hope.
Sisi’s visit to the UK will not only undermine the values and
principles of the modern world, but also threaten the security, economic and
political interests of the UK and the dominant players investing in the future
of Egypt.
If Cameron does not wish to un-invite a guest out of principle, he should do so in compliance with his own counter-terrorism strategy.
If Cameron does not wish to un-invite a guest out of principle, he should do so in compliance with his own counter-terrorism strategy.
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