Egypt: Letter from Political Prisoner Mohamed Sultan on Hunger Strike

Local Editor

Mohamed Sultan wrote a letter from the hospital, where he is between life and death, and to be more accurate closer to death than life. For more than 105 days now, and Mohamed Sultan is on hunger strike. While not getting enough attention whether on the national or the international level, Maybe because his father is a Muslim Brotherhood member. I wrote once and others more important than me, wrote and said, that if we are silenced on injustice, bloodshed and cruelty it will turn around on us. There is no justification for injustice, torture, or unlawful detention. Mohamed Sultan is dying, this is a fact. Another fact is we are watching, and not doing enough for him. Few people like the always amazing Mona Seif and the great Dr. Aida Seif El-Dawla are the ones keeping reminding us of Sultan.

I was planning after translating Mohamed Sultan’s letter, to write an article about it, but then I thought there is no need for this. Mohamed Sultan said it all! Sultan summarized the Egyptian politics, Judicial System, legal system, and more in points, moreover showed us how politics work between Egypt and the US. Mohamed Sultan is a victim of the corrupted Egyptian system and the dirty politics of the US. Read Sultan’s letter carefully, and pity him or not… Sultan is dying…

Mohammed Sultan, the son of Dr. Salah Sultan, a detainee on hunger strike in the Egyptian Prisons for more than 105 days:

Muhamed Sultan’s Letter:

After peace, mercy and blessings of God, I ask permission from you in 7 minutes without interrupting to try to summarize the suffering of the past nine months and due my health has deterioration this possibly maybe the last session I will attend.

My name is Mohammed Salah Sultan, 26 years old, Egyptian by origin, and a U.S. citizen, and I am proud of every part of my identity, both the Egyptian-American identity. I am a graduate of Ohio State University, BA in Economics, director of institutional development in the oil services company formerly. I left my job in America and moved to Egypt in the month of March 2013 to look after my mother, which was diagnosed with cancer, and my brother an ill patient. I am in Egypt now for a year and two months. I spent 9 months in jail! I was arrested together with my friends who came to visit me, at the same time when the police came to our house on 27 8 to arrest my father,and when they didn’t find my father, they arrested my friends and I and detained all of us since this date.

– We moved between 5 different prisons and police stations.

-We were beaten, tortured and threatened of being killed, which we knew can happen as we saw people dying from torture before our eyes.

– They detained us in small, inhuman cells with many prisoners and one bathroom.

– An investigation and interrogation was conducted with me by the national security with my eyes covered, asking for the place of my father and information about him without mentioning anything about me or my colleagues, or why we were arrested and what is our charges.

– Two days after the our arrest, an arrest warrant was issued to us, and on 25/8 they bought us to the Supreme State Security Prosecution which interrogated us, and questioned us bout our thoughts and our opinions!?

When we were in the custody of the prosecution office the following occurred:

1 – We were charged with fictional charges. Terrorism, and the formation of terrorist group, and the overthrow of the government, without any evidence in the record of the investigation.

2 – Throughout this period, and even before the first session we were never given a chance nor our lawyers to see this record, or to know the charges because of which we were arrested and detained.

3 – Unlawfully I was interrogated 2 times by a state security officer in Tora prison reception while again my eyes are covered; But this time with an offer to release me in exchange of me letting go of my Egyptian nationality and keeping my American Nationality only.

4 – The public prosecution office repeatedly ignored my requests for a check up on my health: My hand was broken and I have a clot chronic disease even the intramedullary nails went out from my elbow and shoulders (because of beatings and torture) and I was almost bleeding to death inside the cell which forced a doctor imprisoned with me in the cell to act quickly performing a surgery for me without anesthetic primitive tools and completely non-sterile to get out the nails and stop the bleeding.

5 – After this incident we were detained for 15 days, and in the 15th day we were surprised in 15th day that the case became bigger after involving the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and other political and media icons to it.

– 15 days we were optimistic after knowing that will be in front a new, fair and nuteral judge (that what we thought) finally we were happy that someone will really listen to our story, but we were shocked when the judge sentenced us to 45 days without even hearing us, on that same day “January 26” I decided to object and enter in an open hunger strike.

– Today is the day 105 of me on hunger strike I lost more than 45Kg and my body liquidity ratio is irregular and unstable it reached (8) days ago, and my blood sugar today was (40) according to the daily reports of adviser Ahmed Sheikh on behalf of the public persecution office of Maadi, also in the same report it indicates that my health is deteriorating and reached the stage of extreme danger which will result in either my death by bleeding or thrombosis or coma or even sudden death.

Dear Mr. Secretary, judges and esteemed members of the court I am on hunger strike for 105 days and will continue my hunger strike until my release.

I am on hunger strike:

1 – Because my sick mom and brother, and little sister need to someone to care for them.

2 – because for the first 5 months I was in Egypt I was between my job and taking care of my mother and my brother, so practicly I didn’t have a social life nor was I part of any activity or party or political affiliation.

3 – Because on year of my youth and my life was taken away from me, and wasted unjustly.

4 – Because I don’t want any more years to be wasted from my life.

5 – Because a State Security officer put my name and the names of my friends in the minutes of 3 of the biggest cases in Egypt without any evidence and because of him I am in prison.

8 – Because I feel that my friends, the lawyer, the journalist and the doctor are in prison because of me, just because I’m Dr. Salah Sultan son.

7 – Because in the whole world the accused is innocent until proven guilty, but in Egypt the accused is in prison until proven innocent.

8- Because I had lost hope of having any justice in Egypt, a “Judge” was sleeping beside me in my cell in prison for a period of 6 months with the presence of the so-called “judicial immunity”.

9 – Because every institute with authority is dealing and treating me as an enemy or criminal, not a person who is innocent till proven otherwise.

10 – Because I don’t have any legal, or medical or humanitarian rights.

11 – Because I was persecuted, detained, beaten and tortured, and I am from a generation that is free, a generation that will never be silenced, and will challenge the impossible.

12 – Because my Hunger strike is the only available means of peaceful resistance to the injustice and oppression I faced and still facing.

13 – Because to have an opinion a thought or sympathy with people or a cause is not a crime.

14 – Because it is like I am living in a dramatic movie, where a country states something and does the opposite.

15 – Because I refuse to give up any part of my identity, whether my Egyptian or American identity, because i love Egypt whatever happens, or how much I am persecuted. And also I love America, although I know they will not do anything for me as I am a Muslim citizen of Arab origin, so for them I am a second class citizen.

16 – Because I refuse to be a victim of a political conflict or even a political deal I am not related or part of.

17 – Because I am not afraid of death, which became very close .. I Want to live, but live free or die free.. And if my life was the price of freedom, then I am willing to give it up if this is the price.

18 – Because what happened to my friends and I in the past 26 days, is the real definition of terrorism, but by the name of law.

19 – Because I want to be free, and innocent of such false charge of me being a terrorist, because honorable judge:

I AM NOT A TERRORIST!

I am not a terrorist, I am not a terrorist

Thank you
Mohammed Sultan Salahuddin
Leman Tora Hospital 11 5 2014

Source: http://revolution-news.com/egypt-letter-political-prisoner-mohamed-sultan-hunger-strike/