Thirty members of the April 6 Youth Movement declared a hunger strike on Thursday evening in protest against the detention of three of their colleagues, who have been imprisoned since the end of March.
Khaled al-Masry, the group's spokesperson, said members of other opposition political forces joined the activists in their strike to demand the immediate release of Mohamed Mostafa, Ahmed Abdel Azim and Mamdouh Abu Adam. They were arrested during a protest against the Interior Ministry and allegedly have been held in underground solitary cells in inhumane conditions, suffering abuse at the hands of the police, Masry claimed.
The activists filed notice of their hunger strike at the Nasr City, Abdeen and Qasr al-Nil police stations. They also informed the Health Ministry and asked the National Council for Human Rights to follow up on the case, Masry said.
The hunger strike represents “a peaceful escalation against [President Mohamed Morsy’s] regime to condemn the Interior Ministry’s oppressive actions against Morsy’s opponents,” said Masry.
April 6 members also staged a protest in front of the Interior Ministry and the Justice Ministry to demand the release of the imprisoned activists.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
