Lindsey German, representing the Stop the War Coalition, Rob Owen from the
National Executive of the National Union of Students, Sami Ramadani and Sabah Jawad from Iraqi Democrats against the Occupation presented the petition to the embassy. They were joined by trade unionists, students and representatives of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers.
Mark Serwotka, leader of the civil servants’ trade union PCS, journalists’
union leader Jeremy Dear and campaigning human rights lawyer Louise Christian are among the signatories to the letter which condemns the Egyptian government for using testimony extracted under torture in the case.
Embassy staff refused to receive the petition, although the 2nd Secretary was apparently present in the building. Instead, Egyptian officials communicated with the delegation via British police officers who came out of the embassy front door to tell protestors to put the petition through the letter box.
Amnesty International has also issued a strong statement condemning the use of emergency courts in this case and calling for an investigation into allegations of torture.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - Read the full statement here: Egypt: No justice for 49 Mahalla citizens facing trial before emergency court
Please help us keep the pressure on the Egyptian government:
– send an email, fax or letter directly to the embassy calling for the release
of the detainees
– you can use the text below or write your own
Write to:
HE Mr Gehad Refaat Madi
Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
26 South Street
London W1K 1DW
Email: eg.emb_london mfa.gov.eg and copy to info egpressoffice.com
Fax: (020) 7491 1542
More details of Thursday’s delegation here (links to pictures at the end):
http://arabist.net/arabawy/2008/08/...
Petition text and main signatories below.
Petition organised by the Cairo Conference Committee UK
Solidarity with the people of Mahalla
Stop the show trial of Egyptian protestors
We the undersigned express our full solidarity with the 49 Egyptian
citizens, whom the Mubarak regime has decided to prosecute in an Emergency High
State Security Criminal Court, accused of involvement in the two day uprising
in the Nile Delta town of Mahalla in April. On the 6th and 7th April,
Mubarak’s troops occupied, Ghazl el-Mahalla, the biggest textile mill in the
Middle East, home to 27,000 workers, aborting a strike announced by the
independent Textile Workers’ League in protest at spiralling food prices and
to demand a raise in the minimum wage which has remained stagnant since 1984.
The troops used live ammunition, tear gas, water cannons and sticks against
the peaceful protestors in the town who took to the streets after the crushing
of the strike. At least three were killed, and hundreds were injured and
detained. The 49 detainees face a list of trumped up charges, to which some
have confessed under torture. They will be tried in an exceptional court,
systematically denounced by human rights watchdogs for lacking the
international standards for a “safe and just trial.” We call on the
Egyptian dictatorship to release them immediately.
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, Public and Commercial Services union
(PCS), UK
Jeremy Dear, General Secretary, National Union of Journalists (NUJ), UK
Jane Loftus, President, Postal Executive, Communication Workers’ Union
(CWU), UK
Trevor Ngwane – Anti-Privatisation Forum, South Africa
Professor Alex Callinicos, King’s College, London, UK
Eamonn McCann, journalist and anti-war campaigner, Ireland
Richard Boyd-Barrett, People not Profit Alliance, Ireland
Lindsey German, Stop the War Coalition, UK
Chris Nineham, Stop the War Coalition, UK
James Eaden, National Executive, University and College Union (UCU), UK
Liz Davies, Secretary, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, UK
Richard Harvey, Bureau Member, International Association of Democratic
Lawyers
Louise Christian, Human rights lawyer, Christian Khan solicitors, UK
John Rees, Cairo Conference (UK)
John McDermott UNISON NEC, UK
Rob Owen, National Union of Students, National Executive, UK
Dave Lewis, National Union of Students, National Treasurer, UK
Katie Dalton, National Union of Students, Wales, UK
Susan Nash, National Union of Students, National Executive, UK
Beth Walker, National Union of Students, Vice President, UK
Ama Uzowuru, National Union of Students, Vice President, UK
Elizabeth Somerville, National Union of Students, National Executive, UK
Bellavia Ribeiro-Addy, National Union of Students, Black Students Officer,
UK
Herbert Docena, Focus on the Global South researcher, (Philippines)
Professor Colin Sparks, Westminster University, UK
Professor Gilbert Achcar, School of Oriental and African Studies, UK
Professor Claudio Katz, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rebecca Branford, MoC, NUJ BBC White City, UK
Graham Dyer, President, UCU, School of Oriental and African Studies, UK
Donny Gluckstein, National Executive, Educational Institute of Scotland
(EIS)
Penny Glover, National Executive, Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
Explo Nani-Kofi, African Liberation Support Campaign (ALISC)
Geoff Brown, Secretary, Manchester Trades Council, UK
Umut Kocagöz, National Executive Committee of GENÇ-SEN (Student Union of
Turkey)
Gözde Mutlucan, National Executive Committee of GENÇ-SEN (Student Union
of Turkey)
Zeliha Kabataş, National Executive Committee of GENÇ-SEN (Student Union
of Turkey)
Kıvanç Eliaçık, National Executive Committee of GENÇ-SEN (Student
Union of Turkey)
Simin Gürdal, National Executive Committee of GENÇ-SEN (Student Union of
Turkey)
Ozan Ersan (National Membership Organizer and International Officer),
GENÇ-SEN (Student Union of Turkey)
Donatella Binacardi, delegata sindacale SdL Intercategoriale, Italy
Reynaldo de Guzman, National Chairperson, Philippine Peace and Solidarity
Council
Karen Evans, University and College Union, National Executive
Karen Reissmann, Unison, Manchester Community Mental Health Branch
Jacques Bidet, Professeur émérite à l’Université de Paris-X
Sami Ramadani, Writer and academic, London
Sabah Jawad, Iraqi Democrats against the Occupation
Plataforma Aturem la Guerra (Stop the War Platform, Barcelona)
Guy Taylor, Globalise Resistance UK
Dave Barnes, National Executive, Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association
(TSSA)
Clare Solomon, Co-President Students’ Union, School of Oriental and
African Studies
And more than 570 other signatories. All signatures are in a personal
capacity.