WATCH: (Mar. 22, 2014) Mohamed Fahmy was arrested on December 29th along with two colleagues from Al Jazeera. His family says he’s been denied proper medical treatment for a previous shoulder injury.
TORONTO – A Canadian journalist imprisoned in Egypt since the end of last year revealed Saturday that he has lost most of the use of his right arm, after spending months without proper medical treatment for a shoulder injury.
Mohamed Fahmy made his first visit to a civilian hospital Saturday morning, where he underwent an MRI and CT scan on his arm. After spending months without treatment, his brother Adel says Fahmy had a very restricted range of motion and could only lift his arm about 20 degrees.
“He has a bad fracture in his humerus bone,” Adel Fahmy told Global News, explaining that the bone seems to have fused incorrectly and will most likely require surgery. “He’s in substantial pain and it’s very difficult – even for the daily routine, you know?”
Adel and his parents have been in Egypt since shortly after Mohamed’s arrest. Adel spoke to his brother briefly on Saturday at the New El Kasr El Einy Teaching Hospital near downtown Cairo, and said the family expects to get the results of the MRI and CT scan Sunday.
Fahmy, a producer with Al Jazeera English in Egypt, was arrested along with two colleagues, Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohamed, on Dec. 29. The three journalists have been charged with spreading misinformation about Egypt and aiding terrorists. A fourth Al Jazeera journalist, Abdullah Elshamy, also faces charges. He has been detained since August.
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Fahmy hurt his arm before his arrest, but his time in prison, sharing a window-less cell with his two colleagues, has aggravated the injury. Earlier, this week all three men were allowed access to newspapers for the first time. “But still the conditions are tough,” Adel said. “You only get one hour of sunlight or you know a walk outside a day. Friday they get none. It’s a full lock-down.”
The Egyptian state claims Al Jazeera’s coverage distorts the image of Egypt in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood, which the state has designated as a terrorist group. Several countries including the United States, Britain and Australia have condemned the journalists’ imprisonment as an attack on press freedom.
Fahmy also holds Egyptian citizenship. And while he has received help from Canadian consular officials in Egypt, Canada has not publicly condemned the arrest. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has said the hyphen in Fahmy’s citizenship has made it a challenge for Canada to intervene.
On Saturday, Adel praised the Canadian Embassy staff in Egypt and Ambassador David Drake, saying the team has been applying pressure in their own way.
But he added, he hopes the Canadian government will apply more pressure to try to end the crisis soon.
“Mohamed is a Canadian and just the fact that he’s retained his Egyptian nationality doesn’t make him any less Canadian. You know we’re very proud Canadians,” Adel said.
The three journalists are due back in court on Monday.
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