A website has posted an open letter to the Egyptian president from the mother of jailed journalist Mohamed Fahmy. The letter has not been verified by family but the link was tweeted from the account long-credited to Canadian-Egyptian Fahmy, believed to be run by his brother.
In the letter to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Fahmy’s mother writes that her son is “an innocent man and needs urgent medical treatment.” Fahmy has Hepatitis C, and, the letter states needs surgery for his injured shoulder.
Fahmy has been in an Egyptian prison since being sentenced to seven years on terrorism-related charges in June 2014. The case has been called a blow to freedom of expression in the Middle Eastern country.
Fahmy’s colleague, Australian Peter Greste, was released Sunday. Another colleague, Egyptian Baher Mohamed, remains in custody.
After Greste’s release Global News spoke with an Egyptian official who said Fahmy would be released soon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
Wafa Abdel Hamid Bassiouni, Fahmy’s mother, writes in the letter of the family’s dedication to the country through their police and military work.
“It breaks my heart that the son of a patriotic family like ours has been wrongfully framed as a terrorist in a trial that produced no evidence to marry with the accusations.”
There has been guarded optimism over the possibility of a pardon for Mohamed Fahmy as Egypt’s president announced a new decree, giving him power to deport foreigners convicted or accused of crimes.
Fahmy’s mother writes that her son has been looking forward to freedom, and to clearing his family’s name and reputation. Bassiouni says her son confided his frustration with his sentence.
“The hardest thing about imprisonment is knowing you are innocent,” Bassiouni writes, quoting her son. “I will fight to prove my innocence for as long as it takes because freedom is a right, not a privilege.”
She concludes the letter appealing for the president to “stand beside me, the mother of an innocent man who has spent 400 days in prison. I hope you can use your constitutional rights for a humanitarian intervention in order to save an ailing man, my son.”
The office of the Minister of State (Foreign Affairs) released a statement Sunday regarding Fahmy’s case.
https://twitter.com/VassyKapelos/status/561912340107378688/photo/1
The statement says Canadian officials will continue to work with the Egyptian government on Fahmy’s case and to provide continued consular assistance.
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