Palestinian who fled besieged Gaza to shop in Egypt remains in prison, human rights group appeals

30.09.09 - 14:18
Gaza / PNN – After years of siege there came the few days that the border between Gaza and Egypt was broken open.
Thousands of trapped Palestinians fled, but not forever Most shopped and slept in the parks and beaches, “smelled the air”, before returning to the besieged Gaza Strip.
One of those men is Ayman Nofal. The Palestinian citizen of the Gaza Strip was arrested 27 January 2008 while attempting to return to Gaza. He had been shopping for his family.
Today the organization Friends of Humanity International issued a statement saying that it is deeply concerned at the Egyptian authorities’ continued detention Nofal.
 
Although all other Palestinians arrested for crossing through the broken border, the Egyptian security authorities continue to refuse the release of Nofal.
He has been on hunger strike, has been exposed to physical and psychological torture, and has lost a substantial amount of weight without receiving adequate medical care.
The Palestinian currently sits in solitary confinement in a Cairo prison.
His wife and six children sent a joint appeal to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to garner his release. The family lives in the central Gaza Strip’s AL Bureij Refugee Camp.
It has been 20 months of prison for Nofal, which the “Friends of Humanity” refers to as an unjust detention while calling for an end to the violations of his human rights and for his immediate release.