It’s the season of “hunger strikes” as Egyptian opposition leader Hisham Kassem has embarked on a hunger strike while he faces trial for alleged slander and verbal assault, according to his lawyer’s statement on Saturday.
Kassem, a prominent publisher, was initially charged with slandering a former minister, but later found himself accused of verbally assaulting police officers at a local precinct, charges that his supporters argue are politically motivated.
This arrest follows Kassem’s vocal criticisms of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his establishment of a liberal coalition named “al-Tayar al-Hurr” or the Free Current Movement, which has hinted at the possibility of fielding a candidate in the upcoming elections.
While Egypt has been grappling with economic challenges that have stirred discontent among its citizens, the Free Current Movement is not perceived as a significant threat to President Sisi, who is widely expected to seek a third term in the upcoming elections next year.
In a courtroom appearance on Saturday, Kassem, who appeared exhausted, saw his trial postponed until September 9, as reported by the state news agency MENA. His defense team had requested bail and access to case files.
Notably, earlier in the week, members of the Free Current Movement contended that Kassem’s case was politically motivated and called for the removal of President Sisi from office.
Under President Sisi’s rule, Egypt has seen a harsh crackdown on political dissent, marked by the detention of tens of thousands, including prominent opposition figures from previous elections. The government has consistently defended these arrests on national security grounds.
While the government has made efforts to address freedom and human rights concerns in recent years, including initiating a “national dialogue” with civil society leaders and granting amnesty to certain high-profile detainees, critics argue that these measures are merely superficial, with arrests continuing unabated.
In a related development, Senegal’s detained opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, who had aspirations to run for president and had been an outspoken critic of President Macky Sall, recently ended his hunger strike, which began on July 30. Sonko’s hunger strike was his response to what he claimed were politically motivated legal challenges aimed at barring him from the political arena.
This latest trend of prisoners resorting to hunger strikes raises questions about their motives, leaving observers pondering whether these acts are intended to draw attention to their causes or if they signal a more dire intention of starving oneself in protest.
The implications of this new form of protest are complex and controversial, sparking debates about the boundaries of political dissent and the lengths to which individuals are willing to go in their pursuit of justice and change.
