‘Worst’ fears for Canadians held in Egypt
Detainment in Tora prison extended for 45 days, PMO demands immediate release if no charges
When Tarek Loubani and John Greyson met a year ago at the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival, they had no idea that before the festival rolled round again this year they would be imprisoned together in an overcrowded, cockroach-infested cell in Cairo, caught up in the aftermath of Egypt’s most bloody violence of the decade.
On Sunday, fresh fears were raised for the two Canadians: their detention in Tora prison, where they have been held since Aug. 16, was extended for another 45 days. Up until then, their detention had been extended three times, but each time for 15 days. The decision to make that an additional month and a half is the most severe ruling yet.
Late Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office stepped in and issued this statement: “In the absence of charges, Dr. Loubani and Mr. Greyson should be released immediately.’
Friends of the two men fear Egyptian authorities are seeking to lay at least a dozen serious charges against them.
Those charges could include “terrorizing citizens,” possessing weapons and attempting to burn down a police station.
“My concern for John and Tarek is that the extension of their detention is a bad sign,” said Heba Morayev, Egypt director of Human Rights Watch in Cairo. “Since there is clearly no evidence in their case of any criminal activity on their part, their continued detention is based on instructions from security agencies.”
And, she said, they could face “interrogation on a whole set of charges.” However, the fact they are not yet formally charged could also indicate prosecutors have not made up their minds whether the case will ultimately be dismissed.
Loubani, an emergency room doctor in London, Ont., and Greyson, a Toronto filmmaker, were arrested during violent street clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi that left hundreds dead.
Friends and family say Cairo was never their destination, just a stopover on a planned journey to Gaza, where Loubani had a medical mission which Greyson was planning to film. So initially there were expectations that they would be promptly released as innocent bystanders.
“This is the worst possible out- come,” said Marwa Farouk, the men’s lead defence counsel, on Sunday. “They are dealing with them in the same way they are dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood.”
In a statement from prison published Saturday, the two detainees said they arrived in Cairo with transit visas as clashes were raging between pro-Morsi supporters and security forces in Ramses Square. Loubani provided medical care to wounded protesters while Greyson videotaped the chaos. They were arrested later that evening when they stopped at a checkpoint to ask for help.
Under current Egyptian law they may be held without charges for six months — until March 2014 — and if charged, they could be behind bars for two more years before trial.
They are currently being held “pending investigation,” and authorities say they are building a “solid case” against them.
Their odyssey began when they met by chance last year at the annual Toronto Palestinian Film Festival, where Greyson was a long-term adviser and Loubani was viewing films.
“Tarek told John he regularly goes to Gaza as a doctor, and John was very interested. He decided to go and make a film about Tarek’s work,” said Cairo-based filmmaker and activist Omar Robert Hamilton.
Greyson had been scheduled to appear Sunday on a panel with Hamil- ton at this year’s festival. Instead, the event became a tribute to the two jailed men, and international activists are launching a new social media campaign to free them. “This extension is very scary,” said Hamilton, who founded the activist media collective Mosireen. “We thought there was a possibility they were lost in the opaque maze of the Egyptian prison system. This definitely looks as though there is malicious intent.” Dania Najid, the festival’s programmer, said Greyson thought up Sunday’s panel: “It was his idea to bring in activists and video people to get out their message of social change.” Before the PMO issued its statement, federal Consular Affairs Minister Lynne Yelich had said that “we were disappointed to learn that Dr. Loubani and Mr. Greyson will remain in custody.” She noted that she and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird “have been in close contact with Egyptian officials on multiple occasions, and our embassy in Cairo continues to meet with senior Egyptian government officials regularly on this case.” Experts on Egypt say diplomacy has become increasingly complicated under the country’s militarydominated regime. In Egypt, the Foreign Ministry insists the case is in the hands of the judiciary, which is “totally independent.” Social activist and author Naomi Klein believes Canada capable of applying additional pressure. “The Harper government has more power than just having meetings and making phone calls,” she said in an email to the Star. Ottawa has, she said, “the power to make new investments in Egypt con- ditional on Egypt respecting basic human rights, including the right to be free from arbitrary detention. The question is: Will our government put the lives and safety of two of its citizens above the short-term economic interests of the mining sector?” Sharif Abdel Kouddous is a Cairo-based fellow of the Nation Institute