Teenager freed after two years in prison for wearing torture protest T-shirt

A youth arrested two years ago for wearing a T-shirt with a slogan against torture was finally released on Friday. Mahmoud Mohammed Ahmed, 20, was freed from a Cairo police station more than 12 hours after a court in the Egyptian capital upheld an order to release him. Wearing a white T-shirt and a matching baseball cap, he stepped out of the station to a welcome by his brother, Tarek Mohammed Ahmed, and a small crowd of lawyers, rights activists and friends. His release marks the end of a two-year campaign by his family to get him freed.

I am positive that the day will come when we will do everything without fearing prison or oppression.

Mahmoud Ahmed, in a letter smuggled out of prison

High school student Mahmoud was 18 when he was arrested on January 25, 2014, as he made his way home from a rally marking the third anniversary of the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubara. He was accused by police of taking part in unauthorised demonstrations, possession of explosives and paying money on behalf of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group to others to take part in protests. His brother and his lawyers have maintained that Mahmoud, who walks with a cane after injuring his leg in a childhood fall, was tortured in the early stages of his detention and deprived of many of his rights.

No one should be arrested or detained simply because of slogans on the T-Shirt or scarf they have chosen to wear, let alone imprisoned for two years and facing torture and other ill-treatment in detention.

Said Boumedouha, Amnesty International

Middle East