I tried to call Philip Rizk in Cairo today, but he didn’t answer.
Philip is a courageous and principled young man, of joint Egyptian and German nationality, who has done some tremendous work supporting civil-society organizations in Gaza, including by working there for two years under the auspices of Church of England emissary Canon Andrew White.
For the past few years, both when he was in Egypt and when he was in Gaza (as very recently), Philip contributed to his great blog Tabula Gaza.
Two nights ago, he was picked up by the police here in Egypt while returning to Cairo after taking part in Gaza-solidarity activities in Qalyoubia, north of the city.
I met Philip and his equally dedicated sister Jeanette when I was last in Egypt two years ago, and was strongly impressed to hear about the programs he was involved in in Gaza, under Canon White’s auspices.
That Reuters report says this:
- Rizk and a group of activists had been holding a march in the rural areas north of Cairo in solidarity with Palestinians… according to Salma Said, an activist who was with Rizk when he was detained.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior said he had received no word of the detention.
Said said police had detained their vehicle for several hours and then said they wanted to talk with Rizk. They put him in a vehicle with no licence plates and sped off. Other policemen then blocked the activists’ vehicle to prevent them from following.
“We don’t know where he is, and there is no formal charge,” Rizk’s sister [Jeanette] said. She added that the German embassy had been notified and were attempting to locate him.
I don’t know how much aid the German government gives the Egyptian government. But I imagine it’s a lot. Egypt is the top recipient of US aid after Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Why should the governments of any democracies give aid to a government that treats nonviolent social activists like Philip or thousands of others also detained in Egypt without any hint of due process as harshly as this?
I urge all JWN readers to do what they can to help free Philip Rizk.
Also, read the recent blog-posts on Tabula Gaza in which he writes about his most recent visit(s) to Gaza, over the past couple of weeks.
Thanks for this report, Helen. Those of you who use Facebook are encouraged to join his support group, where you can be kept up to date on efforts to get Mr Rizk released.
http://en-gb.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62997328834
Thanks Jay. I’ll get right to it. I have been following Philip’s efforts for a few years now. I shouldn’t be surprised that this has happened but I am.
Due Process in Egypt?
The U.S. has not provided due process itself since 9/11, why would they care.
Scary when 3rd world countries can set the bar on human rights, or when they do not there is no one to lead the way.
Blogging in Iran: A Dangerous Prospect
Two points here:
1- US media, The New York Times, and the Washington Post had all picked up on the story…. but not the Egyptian folk?
2- Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International spoken about Iranian guy but the when in Mute Mode with Egyptian folk.
So can you tell us where all those values these agencies hold for human if the believe all humans are same whatever religion, ethnics, nationality, and colour?