“We hold Egyptian authorities directly responsible for Lina Attalah’s freedom and Alaa Abdelfattah’s health,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. “Egypt must immediately release Lina and ensure Alaa’s safety and his lawful legal rights to family visitation and medical treatment in prison.”
Attalah, who is also the co-founder the independent news website, was arrested outside of Tora prison while attempting to interview Abdelfattah’s mother, Laila Soueif. Attalah was sent to Maadi police station to be held overnight before being questioned by prosecutors tomorrow, Mada Masr said in a statement.
Abdelfattah, who was arrested in September last year following a critical column in Mada Masr, began a hunger strike more than one month ago to protest his pretrial detention conditions, his family and colleagues said.