Cleric tells of detention hardship in Egypt

TWO days after returning to South Africa after being detained in Egypt‚ Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdul Salaam Bassiouni is already back at work.

Bassiouni‚ 66, who heads the Al Tawheed Islam Centre in Lenasia‚ Johannesburg‚ said he was thrilled to be back in the country.

The centre‚ which has branches across the country‚ caters for orphans‚ the homeless and the poor.

Bassiouni spent almost 500 days in custody after he was detained without charges in December 2014.

He and his son, Bilal, were held on arrival at Cairo International Airport. They were due to attend his daughter’s engagement celebration.

They were interrogated about their political affiliations and questioned on whether they were members of the Muslim Brotherhood‚ which Egypt’s government has declared a terrorist organisation.

Bilal was released 20 hours later, while his father was placed under house arrest in March last year.

Bassiouni‚ who holds dual Egyptian and South African citizenship and has lived in South Africa for 25 years‚ arrived in Johannesburg on Sunday.

“I feel safe and at peace in South Africa. It was very difficult in Egypt,” he said.

“Conditions inside the prison were terrible. I had to sleep on a blanket on the floor in a small room.

“I fell in the bath and injured my back. I received no treatment except one painkiller a week. I received no help from the courts.”

Bassiouni said he and his family usually visited Egypt once a year on holiday and this was the first time something like this happened.

“I would not risk going back. I wouldn’t want to go through those days again‚” he said.