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Blogger @Alaa's mother on hunger strike Dr Laila Soueif starts an open ended hunger strike to demand her son's release from prison and condemns military trials of civilians
The mother of blogger Alaa Abd El-Fattah, Dr Laila Soueif, began a hunger strike on Sunday to demand the release of her son, who has been detained for 15 days pending an investigation by the military prosecution into his alleged role in the Maspero clashes last month. The prominent human rights activist and university professor issued a statement on Tuesday in which she condemned the military prosecution as well as military trials of civilians in general. "I reject the military trial of my son or any other civilian because I remember the comic military trials of memebers of Muslim Brotherhood before the January 25 Revolution. We rejected those military trials so how can we accept them now? “I also completely reject the military prosecution's investigation of the Maspero clashes, not only because army units are accused of killing unarmed civilians, but because the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which controls the military prosecution, has already declared its biased stand on the clashes." Soueif also published an open letter to the military prosecution in Al-Shorouk newspaper on 5 November 2011, asking why nobody had searched Alaa's home despite his being accused of stealing weapons from the military. Mona Seif, Alaa's sister and a founder of the No to Military Trials campaign, told Ahram Online that her brother had invited people to gather at their home from early morning until 3pm on Wednesday to show solidarity with him. There will be also a protest for him outside Tora prison, where he is currently being detained, at 4pm on Wednesday. Alaa Abd El-Fattah was arrested and accused of inciting violence during the Maspero clashes, attacking military personnel, stealing military arms and destroying public property. He has refused to cooperate with the military prosecution because he rejects the legitimacy of military trials of civilians and believes the military prosecution should not investigate the Maspero clashes because the army were involved.
