You’re likely aware of the plight of Dr. Tarek Loubani and John Greyson. But depending on where you live they’re known as “two Canadians” jailed in Egypt without charges for more than a month. Here in London, Dr. Loubani is one of our own. He’s a Western grad and ER doctor at University Hospital. He’s got a heart of pure gold and uses his vacations to travel to Gaza to train doctors there on the front lines of a decades-long conflict.
John Greyson is a U of T prof and a documentary filmmaker. He was traveling with Dr. Loubani to make a film. Friends have said all along that the two were swept up with hundreds of others in bloody clashes at a Cairo police station when the violent Muslim Brotherhood stormed the station and started firing on police.
They waited weeks, in a crowded concrete cell the size of a small bedroom with 36 other inmates, before their lawyer was even heard by a judge. Meetings were scrapped and rescheduled without explanation. The men have not been charged, just detained. In Egypt you can be held without charges for up to 2 years. A couple of weeks ago a fellow inmate, a Frenchman, was beaten to death in the prison yard. Prison anywhere isn’t fun but prison right now in Cairo is very dangerous and unpredictable.
Now Tarek and John have released a statement of their own, explaining their side of the story. They were trying to make their way through Cairo when all hell broke loose in the city square. That was the Muslim Brotherhood attack. When they turned to find a way through, they asked police at a checkpoint where they should go. Officers were belligerent and aggressive so John took out his camera and began to film. Tarek and John were beaten, kicked, taken into custody and thrown into the crowded cell without explanation. They believe it’s because they were witnesses to the actions of police on that day.
Canadian consular officials in Cairo visit the men regularly and were able to lobby for them to be moved into a less crowded cell. Now they’re in a bunker the size of a large bathroom with six other men. To sleep, they curl up on the bare concrete while cockroaches scurry over them. John’s sister has been relentless in the pursuit of her brother’s freedom. During the Toronto International Film Festival she arranged a high-profile news conference where celebrities called for the mens’ release. She regularly updates a website dedicated to the mens’ release and has so far gathered tens of thousands of signatures on a petition. She and others organized rallies where hundreds joined in. You can read the latest HERE. Tarek and John are on a hunger strike that’s about to enter its third week. Their Egyptian lawyer says the men are staying positive, somehow, but it’s clear that they shouldn’t be where they are. The Prime Minster and the Foreign Affairs department have made phone calls to Egyptian officials. Even the Egyptian government issued a statement saying it “sympathizes” with the men but its reluctant to interefere with the judicial process.
Monday in Cairo was another D-day for Tarek and John. They were waiting to hear whether they would finally be freed and instead learned they must stay another 45 days at least. We are not doing enough to free these men. And by “we” I mean our government. Lest you think I’ve lost my journalistic objectivity I’ll point out again that Egypt hasn’t said anything about what the men are alleged to have done and they haven’t been charged. There have been tremendous efforts by some and the bare minimum by those who have the power to change Egypt’s minds. Today I’m writing to my MP and telling him I want the government to step up its pressure. I’ll tell them we’re not doing enough because if enough was being done Tarek and John would be on their way home.