ICC Note:
“The Egyptian Military Court ordered imprisoned Christian activist and blogger Michael Nabil Sanad, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly 60 days, to a mental health hospital, to ascertain whether he is responsible for his actions,” Assyrian International News Agency reports.
By Mary Abdelmassih
10/23/2011 Egypt (AINA) – The Egyptian Military Court ordered imprisoned Christian activist and blogger Michael Nabil Sanad, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly 60 days, to a mental health hospital, to ascertain whether he is responsible for his actions. Mark Sanad, Michael’s brother, said that he visited him on Saturday in El Marg prison but was surprised to discover that Michael had been sent to El-Khanka Hospital in Qalyubiyah province. But because the hospital had no available beds he was returned to the prison, to be sent the following day to Abbasiya mental health hospital in Cairo. Both hospitals are known for their inhumane treatment of patients and are reserved for seriously ill psychiatric patients.
Blogger Michael Nabil Sanad was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on 10 April 2011 on charges of “insulting the military and dissemination of false news about the armed forces” in his blog “Son of Ra.” He had posted on his blog an article titled “the people and the army were never one hand.” He went on hunger strike since August 23, to protest his prison sentence, and asking for equal treatment Michael with the recently freed activists Loay Najati and Asma Mahfouz, who were held on similar charges (AINA 8-25-2011).
In an interview with activist Nader Shoukry, Dr. William Weesa, writer and activist, criticized the court’s decision to send Michael to the mental hospital. Weesa said this is extremely dangerous because it violates Michael’s civil rights, adding that “there are many people who were admitted to these hospitals by the security services, who were quite healthy when they went in but came out as a devastated human beings.” He further said that if there was any kind of seriousness in the verification of Michael’s mental status, he would have seen a psychologist, “but to remain under observation for a month and a half in this hospital, which has nothing to do with any kind of hospital for health care, means that he will come out damaged psychologically.”
Weesa appealed to the public “to stop this farce perpetrated against a prisoner of conscience.”
Attorney Mamdouh Nakhla, head of Al-Kalema Center for Human Rights, wondered how the court could send Michael to evaluate his mental capabilities without a request from his family, noting that Michael will stay in hospital for 45 days and may be subject to electric shock therapy and described this as legal torture. “He will be discharged in the end after loosing his mind and will be released due to insanity,” said Nakhla.
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