facility:cairo's tora prison

Sisi brings back #Egypt’s police state with a vengeance
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/sisi-brings-back-egypt%E2%80%99s-police-state-vengeance

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Australian journalist Peter Greste (3rd R) of Al-Jazeera and his colleagues stand inside the defendants cage during their trial for allegedly supporting the #Muslim_Brotherhood at Cairo’s Tora prison on March 5, 2014.he high-profile case that sparked a global outcry over muzzling of the press is seen as a test of the military-installed government’s tolerance of independent media, with activists fearing a return to autocracy three years after the Arab Spring uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. AF Australian journalist Peter Greste (3rd R) of Al-Jazeera and his colleagues stand inside the defendants cage during their trial for allegedly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood at Cairo’s Tora prison on March 5, 2014.he high-profile case that sparked a (...)

#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Abdel-Fattah_al-Sisi #Articles #Egyptian_military #January_25_revolution

#Egypt jailing of Jazeera journalists sparks global outrage
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-jailing-jazeera-journalists-sparks-global-outrage

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Al Jazeera news channel’s Australian journalist Peter Greste (L) and his colleagues, Egyptian-Canadian Mohammed Fadel Fahmy (C) and Egyptian Baher Mohammed, listen to the verdict inside the defendants cage on June 23, 2014 at the police institute near Cairo’s Tora prison. (Photo: AFP - Khaled Desouki) #Al_Jazeera news channel’s Australian journalist Peter Greste (L) and his colleagues, Egyptian-Canadian Mohammed Fadel Fahmy (C) and Egyptian Baher Mohammed, listen to the verdict inside the defendants cage on June 23, 2014 at the police institute near Cairo’s Tora prison. (Photo: AFP - Khaled Desouki)

Egypt was under mounting pressure Tuesday to pardon three Al Jazeera journalists, including Australia’s award-winning Peter (...)

Interview With Canadian Filmmaker John Greyson Following His Release from Cairo’s Tora Prison -

The Daily Beast
▻http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/11/exclusive-canadian-filmmaker-john-greyson-interviewed-in-cairo-follow

The two men witnessed torture in the prison. “When we were moved to Tora 8 you could hear vomiting all night coming from cells across the hall,” he said. He went on to describe how guards would force inmates accused of taking drugs to drink water until they were sick. In another instance Greyson described being led past an interrogation room with the door left open and two men being beaten mercilessly while a third, with an open wound on his head, lay passively on the floor awaiting his beating. 

Solidarity between prisoners

It was under these conditions that Loubani and Greyson launched a hunger strike on September 16, demanding to be tried or freed. “The only time I have ever agreed with Stephen Harper,” Greyson said of Canada’s Conservative Prime Minister, “is when he said Egyptian authorities have to either try us or free us.”

Greyson believes that the Egyptians chose to release them in part because, if they were put on trial, their footage from the horrors inside the Fateh Mosque would enter into evidence. As it stands now, he is convinced he will never see the confiscated footage again.

Despite the traumatic events, Greyson listed countless examples of solidarity among the inmates and individual acts of kindness. He described prisoners sharing the food their families brought, not differentiating between those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and those who were not. They also shared advice and strategy for dealing with their situation.

In one instance Greyson described the collective effort of his cellmates to bribe the prison guards with cigarettes to rig up a makeshift shower. Meanwhile, Loubani became the jailhouse doctor, giving medical advice to prisoners and guards alike. “People would walk up to Tarek and ask him about what to do about ear aches or burns they had,” said Greyson.