Al-Jazeera, Qatar, April 2
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Egypt is slowly killing its ex-president in prison—and I am not talking about Hosni Mubarak, but rather Mohammad Morsi. Ever since he was imprisoned in a coup d’état over four years ago, former Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi has been dying a slow and painful death in his prison cell. He has been put in solitary confinement, deprived of food, and robbed of his basic rights. According to several sources in Egypt, he has even been denied access to medication to treat his liver disease and diabetes. Following his overthrow, Morsi faced several farcical charges, including espionage for foreign organizations and the breaking out of the Wadi el-Natroun Prison during the 2011 revolution in Egypt. The Egyptian persecution sought to charge him with a death penalty but following mounting international pressure this sentence was overturned. Still, it seems as if the goal of killing Morsi did not change; what changed was simply the strategy to do so. Instead of executing the former president through death sentence, Abdel al-Fattah al-Sisi is now trying to kill his precedent through torture and abuse. Indeed, a recent review panel comprised of international lawmakers that visited Morsi in jail and examined his living conditions described his treatment as “inhumane” and “torturous” under international law. Whether we agree with Morsi policies or not, it is beyond shocking to believe that Egypt’s first-ever democratically elected president now sits behind bars awaiting his slow death. All of this is happening while his overthrower, President Abd al-Fatah al-Sisi, who has never gained the backing of the Egyptian people, continues his arrest of political dissidents and human rights activists. I will not be surprised if we learn of Morsi’s death long before he receives the opportunity to appear before a judge. Those why truly care about democracy must not remain silent in light of these crimes. – Hasan Abu-Hanina