FRANCE 24 spoke to Ramy Shaath, an Egyptian-Palestinian activist who spent two and half years in jail in Egypt on accusations of aiding a terrorist group. He was a member of several secular political groups and a co-founder of the pro-Palestinian BDS movement. Shaath, who was never formally charged, described the conditions of his arrest, detention and finally his release from jail on January 8. He claimed "arbitrary detentions and arrests" increasingly account for "the majority" of inmates in Egyptian prisons under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He also said he understood that he was expected to keep silent following his release and had already received threats.
"I've seen people in their hundreds that were arrested basically because an officer stopped them in the street, checked their mobile and checked their Facebook account and found a joke, or a post, or even a like on a post or a joke," Shaath told FRANCE 24.
Asked about having to renounce his Egyptian nationality prior to his release, Shaath said he had "no choice", calling it "a clear case of blackmail". He also said he understood that he was expected to keep silent and had already received threats urging him to do so.
Finallly, he criticised what he sees as Europe's weak stance on human rights in Egypt, calling it a "short-sighted policy" that "gets a contract here or a contract there".
