As released members of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya try to fit back into society after years of imprisonment, Sahar El-Bahr looks into their conditions after prison He is a newly released member of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya (a militant Islamist group) who was arrested when he was only 14 years old without any charges laid or investigation. He spent 16 years in jail, and now, one year after his release, he is 31 years old. Last November for him was the first anniversary of his release or rather his first birthday in real life. Perhaps, his tragic journey started with his desire to reject tar (vendetta), a genuine deep-rooted habit of retaliation that is common among Upper Egyptian families. When he reached 14, his family started to explain to him that he must take revenge for the killing of a relative. "A religious neighbour told us that vendetta is only a custom and is against religion. I didn't want to hurt or kill anyone," the released prisoner, who preferred to remain anonymous told Al-Ahram Weekly. "The neighbour appealed to me to go regularly to the mosque to recite the Quran and learn hadith [the Prophet's sayings]." In 1990, members of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya attacked a bus of tourists near the village where he lived, after which random massive arrests took place including all those who used to go regularly to mosques. He was one of them. "In prison there were 49 other members who were also 14 years old. I started to be taught by the older Al-Gamaa prisoners about their beliefs, aims and methods," he said, "things I had never been taught before in the small mosque of my village. They used to conduct exams for the younger members to choose new cadres for the group." By then he felt that something was wrong, yet he couldn't figure out what it was. "It was like tasting a good drink that has a strange flavour, but I was too young to figure it out." For 16 years, he was moved from prison to prison with his colleagues and was ready to die every day because of the conditions he had to endure. From 1990 until 2001, as he recounted, the conditions of every single prisoner were bad, until one day in late 2001, conditions changed and he learned that a number of Al-Gamaa leaders would visit the prisoners and discuss with them the non-violence initiative, proposed by the group to the government. Following that, thousands of prisoners were released, and "we were willing to do anything to get out of prison." By the end of 2001, conditions improved. "Our families were allowed to visit us, we were provided with newspapers and many continued their education." He obtained the thanawiya amma (secondary school certificate) and enrolled in one of the private universities while in prison. He was released in November 2006. "It is true that freedom is precious and it is a great gift from God that I am back, but tough as it was being imprisoned, facing the problems and realities of daily life is tougher still. Sometimes, I feel like prison is better," he added. Upon his release, he found that he had no financial support, not even a home to stay in. His parents died while he was in prison, his sisters and brothers married and had children. "Certainly, they have their own heavy financial responsibilities in a village that is originally one of the poorest in Upper Egypt. Therefore, I travelled to Cairo to find a job. I live in one room with two newly released members for which we must pay LE200 a month." One of the problems he also faced was a further sentence of three months in prison and a fine of LE2,000 for avoiding the obliged military service. After spending a lot of money and wasting even more time, he managed to get an official certificate proving that he was in prison for 16 years. The Ministry of Interior does not usually give certificates for political prisoners detailing the time they spend in prison because some prisoners file lawsuits to compensate for their arrest and jail time, so he considered himself lucky to obtain that certificate. Although he is in his third year in a private university, he has not paid the previous two annual fees of LE4,000. He submitted appeals more than once to the university and contacted the readers of the charity pages in newspapers to help him out, but all in vain. Yet his hopes are high. He is persistent and wants to finish his studies, "I spent most of my mature life dealing with guards and soldiers in prisons. Therefore, I insist on continuing my education in university to learn new things and to mingle with different types of people and cultures," he stressed. As for his endless efforts to find a job, he stressed that it is very difficult and even impossible for a released member of Al-Gamaa to find work because employers are afraid of being regularly questioned by security personnel. Although security officials informed the released prisoners that they are always willing to help them in case employers refuse to hire them, he explained that employers were still reluctant, not wanting anything to do with security officials. Therefore he felt obliged to accept any work for only LE200 a month just to be able to pay the rent of the room that he shares. He does not feel welcomed when he asks the assistance of the Ministry of Social Affairs and other governmental bodies or even other religious groups, "I either feel humiliated or not welcomed." As for his two mates, one suffers from a serious leg injury, cannot afford an operation and thus does not work, while the other is studying business and makes some crafts to sell downtown. Diaa Rashwan, an expert on Islamist movements at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, launched a campaign for an Arab fund aiming at improving the social and economic conditions of the newly released members of Al-Gamaa to help them find jobs. Rashwan believes that they should be able to find work since many of them are educated young men who have obtained degrees in prison. "The Arab fund seeks the help of Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Algeria, since both have great experience in dealing with released members of Islamist groups who have renounced violence. They should support us financially, as should European countries, since they have been exposed to violence too." Rashwan attempted a similar project last year to support the newly released members of the group, but it failed. His media campaign was directed at businessmen, and he was disappointed that no one responded to his appeal. Rashwan expected Egyptian businessmen to participate in the campaign, especially those working in the field of tourism, whose business was at one point harmed by terrorist attacks. "This is a common attitude of Egyptian businessmen who are always reluctant to play a significant social role for the benefit of society. They are narrow minded, and don't care about the welfare and the interests of the state," Rashwan complained. Nevertheless, a number of citizens expressed their desire to participate in the campaign. Observers argue that the campaign failed because the donors, whether they are businessmen or citizens, were afraid of being hounded by the security apparatus and accused of collecting money without prior legal approval to fund terrorist activities, which can mean being charged in a military court under emergency law. However, Rashwan refuted the abovementioned claims saying that the Ministry of Interior is trying hard to help the released members of Al-Gamaa. He pointed out how the security officials try to help the released prisoners by giving them licences to open booths or shops, but that doesn't begin to solve the problem of the estimated 30,000 newly released members. "The problem between the Ministry of Interior and Al-Gamaa has become rather a financial, not a political one," stressed Rashwan. According to official statistics of the Ministry of Interior, since the late 1990s, almost 15,000 of the released members of Al-Gamaa have received verdicts regarding compensation lawsuits for being imprisoned without trial. Rashwan noted that the Ministry of Interior has paid financial compensation for very few of them because there is never enough money in the budget. Furthermore, the entrenched Egyptian bureaucracy adds to the miseries of the released members of Al-Gamaa. "To get their financial compensation they have to obtain proof from the tax authority that they have paid all their taxes, though they have been in prison for many years." Rashwan believes the fact that these prisoners have spent long years in prison with no trials and financial compensation proves their innocence. The fact that many of them are from poor origins and already face tough living conditions is an alarming situation. "If their bad economic conditions remain the same, they could really turn against society and commit violent acts. They have no fear of losing anything, no family, no money, no career and no future. Besides they were exposed to the most painful inhumane conditions inside prisons," Rashwan warns. "Psychologically, they are scared, since they are now rejected by the same society that treated them with injustice in the first place." According to Mohamed Zarai, director of the Human Rights Organisation for the Assistance of Prisoners (HROAP), they file an average of five to 10 lawsuits either against the Ministry of Interior or other governmental bodies or universities for each released member. HROAP demands compensation for their long period of detention without trail or investigation, for torture, for deteriorating health, depriving the arrested of their political rights as stipulated in the constitution, depriving them of their families where many were the only bread winners, and for the years of education they missed. "Most of the released members were students in universities when they were arrested and were suspended, so we file lawsuits against the universities to allow them to finish their education." Also, similar lawsuits were filed against governmental or private workplaces that fired those who were jailed to allow them to get their jobs back. As for the financial compensation lawsuits filed against the Ministry of Interior, Zarai added that 95 per cent of the lawsuits had been stettled in favour of the released members, though the value of compensation varies from one judge to another. One judge could estimate that the released member deserves LE10,000 for every year in prison while another judge could rule for LE500 for the same period of time. "The Ministry of Interior is obliged to pay financial compensation but there is now a delay until money is provided from the government budget." The released prisoner interviewed by the Weekly is putting high hopes on the financial compensation to help him get on with his life, since he sued the Ministry of Interior and is supposed to receive LE90,000 in compensation for the 16 years he spent in prison, yet he will probably wait a long time to receive this sum. Despite the harsh economic conditions he is facing, when asked whether it could push him to use violence against society, he answers, "I am committed to a pledge I have taken -- no violence. I suffered a lot and I have faith that God will not let me down."
