Mohamed Soltan is a 26 years old Egyptian-American citizen. He was arrested on August 25th of 2013, and started a hunger strike on January 26th of 2014. His health condition is very critical, however, the judge refuses to release Soltan on medical grounds.
He was raised between Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, and Massachusetts. After he received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Ohio State University, Soltan returned to Cairo in 2013 to take care of his mother who suffers from cancer.
A picture of Mohamed Soltan in the United States
On August 25th of 2013, the police forces attacked Soltan’s house and arrested him along with three of his friends.
In the period of investigations after his arrest, Soltan was moved around five different prisons and police stations. He was blindfolded and tortured several times, according to his family.
Mohamed Soltan along with 50 Muslim Brotherhood members are accused of forming a control or operations room to spread chaos after the dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adawiya sit-in.They face charges of scheming to create chaos and planning raids on police stations and private property.
At Soltan’s first appearance in front of a judge on January 26, Egypt’s public prosecutor did not present evidence incriminating him in the “operations room” plot — but the judge renewed his detention anyway. This caused Soltan to take the decision to hunger strike, from that day until now Soltan has been on hunger strike.
His health deteriorated rapidly. Throughout his hunger strike, Soltan has been in and out of the hospital a number of times. Often Egyptian prosecution would not allow him to make desperately needed visits to the hospital, or they would recall him to prison at times when he was in need of intensive care.
In his letter fromTora prison hospital on May 11th , Soltan listed 19 reasons he is on hunger strike.
Which he ended by saying: “Because I refuse to be the victim of a political conflict or even a political bargain of which I am not even a party. Because I am not afraid of death, which is drawing near. I do want to live but I want to live free, or I shall die free. If my life is the price of freedom, then freedom is worth paying my life for. Because I want to be declared innocent of this charge of terrorism because, put rather simply, Mr. Judge, I am not a terrorist.”
Soltan also said in his letter that he was arrested alongside with his friends who were visiting him when the police came to his home on August 25th to arrest his father. When they did not find him they took Soltan and his friends.
A picture that shows Mohamed Soltan before and after the hunger strike
The family of Mohamed Soltan joined him in his hunger strike. They say that he had been detained for 14 months "without charge or evidence”. Their move came after a court on the 15th of October that refused to release Soltan on medical grounds. It was the third rejection in a month.
“Mohamed’s health is deteriorating, he is unable to move, his blood clotting condition is completely mismanaged to a life threatening degree. He is still on strike, but is being held in prison with my father. Medical staff comes by sporadically to take his vitals, nothing more,” said Hanaa, Mohamed Soltan’s sister.
Soltan’s family has accused the U.S. government of not doing enough to push Egyptian authorities to resolve or drop his case, which they say is politically motivated. Supporters of Soltan have also called the charges against him to be politically motivated.
A picture of Mohamed Soltan and his father in the courtroom
“The Ministry of Interior brought a full SWAT force to my solitary confinement cell and carried me blindfolded to another prison cell where I was told I was going to die. I sat in my wheelchair in the middle of the cell and started praying,” Soltan told his family.
Mohamed Soltan’s next trial is on December 13th.
A picture of Mohamed Soltan behind the bars in the October 22nd trial
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