Egyptian government arrests and expels activists from the “Sustainability” caravan.
While the first land convoy to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip left Tunisia on Monday with more than a thousand human rights activists and was scheduled to arrive in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, on Thursday and enter Rafah on Sunday to deliver aid to Gaza, Egyptian media reported that the country’s security forces arrested dozens of Tunisian, French and Algerian activists for participating in the Sustainability Caravan heading towards Gaza.
Egyptian government arrests Freedom Caravan activists
According to Arab 21, Egyptian media reported that Egyptian police raided the Central Cairo Hotel and another hotel in the city where members of the French delegation participating in the Sustainability Caravan were staying, and that communication with these activists has been cut off.
The Egyptian “Madi” website reported that Cairo airport authorities have begun arresting and deporting several Sustainability Caravan activists, and several activists who had already arrived in Egypt have been deported.
Algerian lawyer Fatih Rouibi reported that Egyptian security forces have detained forty Algerian citizens in the Sustainability Caravan since this morning and prevented them from entering Egypt after arriving at Cairo airport. Three lawyers are among those detained.
Cairo airport authorities also expelled more than 10 members of the Moroccan delegation that arrived in Cairo today to participate in the Sustainability Caravan. Several Turkish citizens who came to Cairo to participate in the caravan were also expelled after they were seen holding Palestinian flags outside their hotels.
The Tunis Observatory news agency also reported that Cairo airport authorities detained a Tunisian women’s delegation that arrived in Cairo to participate in the Sustainability Caravan.
The leaders of the National Action Group for Palestine in Morocco also stated that they contacted the Egyptian authorities last week but they did not give us any clear answer. We also went to the Egyptian embassy three times but the Egyptian ambassador did not meet with us. Moroccan citizens were very eager to participate widely in the Sustainability Caravan, and we hope that this caravan will have an impact on breaking the siege on Gaza.