Egyptian activists fight battle of 'empty stomachs'
At least 110 Egyptian political prisoners are on hunger strike to protest their treatment, receiving assistance from activists who are highlighting their plight.
CAIRO — “I am not afraid of death lurking around me. I want to live, but I want to live free or die free, even if I had to lose my life in return for freedom,” read a letter from Mohammed Sultan, who has been on a hunger strike for 10 months. Security forces stormed his home and arrested him Aug. 25, 2013. They had been searching for his father, a Muslim Brotherhood leader.
Sultan is one of the many political detainees who went on hunger strike in protest of several security practices against them in prisons, and their continued incarceration without clear charges or a fair trial. This is how the “Empty Stomachs” battle started between detainees and security authorities who do not want to admit or document cases of hunger strike, which are not recognized by the constitution nor by Egyptian law.
