The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington pressured the Egyptian authorities to provide health care for Mohamed Sultan, a US citizen held in an Egyptian prison on charges of involvement in the events of the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in.
Deputy US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said at a news conference in Washington that the United States provided consulting services to Sultan and followed-up on his health condition, which she said has deteriorated sharply.
Sultan was shot in August 2013 during the army dispersal of the sit-in, in which almost 600 mostly unarmed Muslim Brotherhood protesters were killed.
Harf added that the State Department is in constant contact with Sultan’s family and his lawyer to be informed of the latest developments, and that it continues to raise his case with the Egyptian authorities at the highest level.
She said the State Department arranged for a doctor from outside prison to examine Sultan, and that the last time State Department representatives met with him was on 5 May.
Sultan, son of Islamic preacher Salah Sultan the former secretary general of the Islamic Research Academy, was arrested at his home on 27 August of last year on charges of forming a task force to fight the state during the sit-in that was held by supporters of former President Mohamed Morsy in protest against his ouster.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
