Continued from [url=http://rabble.ca/babble/activism/celebration-solidarity-filmmakers-respo....
Free Dr. Tarek Loubani and Prof. John Greyson!
Sun, 2013-09-22 20:27
#1
Free Dr. Tarek Loubani and Prof. John Greyson!
Sun, 2013-09-22 20:29
#2
[url=http://tarekandjohn.com/2013/09/22/day-37-update/]Free Tarek Loubani & John Greyson[/url]
It’s Day 37 for Tarek and John, and Day 7 of their hunger strike.We’ve learned that Ziad Bahaa-Eldin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt, will be visiting Toronto this week.
We are asking media and local / national government officials to ask him about Tarek and John’s detainment. (We’ll keep you updated at this develops).
If you live in Toronto, come down to the PEN Canada booth at Word on the Street at noon today and get your photo taken for our new Tumblr site!
This Tuesday (September 24), we’re holding rallies in Montreal and London, Ontario at 1pm local time. Check the links for details in each city.
Our support continues to grow. This week we received letters of support from the United Church of Canada, Toronto City Council and Mayor Rob Ford, numerous university departments across Canada, PEN Canada, and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (representing 35,000 members).
We’ve also had significant media coverage this week, including yesterday’s interviews with the Toronto Star, Now Magazine, and CTV / CP24.
We’ve reached 140,000 signatures on our petition - let’s make it 150,000 this week! (And don’t forget to sign our LabourStart petition also).
Mon, 2013-09-23 21:40
#3
Tomorrow in Montréal:
... and in London ON:
[url=http://tarekandjohn.com/2013/09/19/london-rally/]London Rally[/url]
Wed, 2013-09-25 16:12
#4
[url=http://www.torontosun.com/2013/09/23/tarek-loubani-and-john-greyson-have... rally in London's Victoria Park[/url]
Wed, 2013-09-25 16:22
#5
BREAKING NEWS:
A [b]unanimous motion[/b] of the Québec National Assembly, proposed by Québec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir, calling on the Egyptian government to free Tarek and John immediately!
The text of the motion is being conveyed to both the Canadian and Egyptian governments.
[size=8]Federal NDP - please take note. Free them immediately. Not "or lay charges".[/size]
Wed, 2013-09-25 20:41
#6
laine lowe
Well done Khadir and kudos for the unanimous support from the National Assembly.
I have no faith in the Foreign Affairs Department doing anything useful thanks to the current climate under Harper. And I have no expectation for Harper or Baird to use their clout as $$$ sponsors of Egypt to negotiate a release. And really, asking a government to issue the charges is to give them an opening or a wink wink, 'make it all loook legal', and our complaints will vanish. Not impressed if that is all the opposition parties are demanding. (And I know, Harper in comparison, is not even asking for that.)
Thu, 2013-09-26 09:42
#7
Also from Tuesday, in front of the Egyptian consulate in Montréal:
[url=http://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/4666]Protest calls for Egypt to Release Captive Canadians[/url]
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Thu, 2013-09-26 20:35
#8
[url=http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=7zk64gcab&v=001T4YSeK... email Harper to free Canadians jailed in Egypt[/url]
From the Committee for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.
Fri, 2013-09-27 09:33
#9
This was an interview with Cecilia Greyson (John's sister) by Breakfast Television Montreal in advance of Tuesday's demo at the Egyptian consulate.
Sat, 2013-09-28 10:03
#10
"Free them or lay charges", said Wayne Marston. He must be happy this morning:
[url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/09/28/john_greyson_and_tarek_loub... seeks to charge detained Canadians[/url]
Sat, 2013-09-28 16:12
#11
Justin Podur has released this [url=http://podur.org/node/1043]statement from Tarek and John[/url]. It is very upsetting. Here is Justin's intro:
We have held on to this statement out of fear that the Egyptian authorities would harm Tarek and John if we released it. But given the announcement of impending charges in the Toronto Star today, we think that their own words can explain what the “evidence” the Egyptian authorities claim to have is. We believe that the impending charges have much more to do with what Tarek and John witnessed on August 16th, rather than what the Egyptian authorities claim they did.
Sun, 2013-09-29 00:28
#12
Canadian Impotence - by Yves Engler
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/09/27/canadian-impotence/
"...Ottawa has also justified the military's brutal repression of largely peaceful demonstrations. 'We think the interim government is dealing with some terrorist elements in the country,' Baird told reporters a month ago..."
Sun, 2013-09-29 10:35
#13
Whoever has any influence with the NDP should please contact the party and ask them to get off this [url=http://www.ndp.ca/sites/default/files/news/mulcair_to_harper_-_greyson_a... path[/url] [b]NOW[/b]:
Therefore, I am asking you to urge Egyptian authorities to release these two men—especially if no charges are forthcoming. I would also ask that your government push Egypt to ensure these Canadians have regular access to consular officials, legal representatives and their families.
I've bolded the shameful part.
If all parties in the QC National Assembly - and now even Kathleen Wynne - can call for release of Tarek and John without this "or lay charges" line of Wayne Marston, so can the NDP.
Canada and Egypt need to hear one demand and hear it now.
Mon, 2013-09-30 10:29
#14
Really awful news:
[url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/09/29/john_greyson_and_tarek_loub... extends detention for another 45 days[/url]
And they have now been on hunger strike for two weeks.
Tue, 2013-10-01 08:33
#15
Strong editorial from the Star:
[url=http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2013/09/30/two_canadians_arres... Canadians arrested in Egypt are witnesses to horror, not terrorists[/url]
“The wounded and dying never stopped coming,” the pair said. “Between us, we saw over 50 Egyptians die: students, workers, professionals, all shapes, all ages, unarmed.” [...]The Canadians, who are on a hunger strike protesting their incarceration, say they have the video footage to prove that they were too busy helping the injured, and filming, to have played any role in the violence. Far from making a credible case against them the Egyptian courts seem fated only to embarrass themselves if this goes to trial. Both are idealists, not violent radicals. Dr. Loubani is a professor at Western University and a well-known humanitarian. Greyson is an award-winning filmmaker who teaches at York University. The Canadian government has vouched for them.
This is the depth to which Egypt has sunk with the coup’s betrayal of the 2011 democratic revolution. This contempt for elementary due process and the law is straining relations with friendly countries including the United States and Canada. It is frightening away investment, tourism and aid. And it is further blackening the new regime’s already tarnished image.
Wed, 2013-10-02 00:36
#16
Zionist Sun News' Levant Smears/ Attacks/Endangers John and Tarek
http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/straighttalk/archives/2013/10/20131...
"So, yes, Loubani is a doctor. And yes, Greyson is a filmmaker. Are these really the most relevant facts to report about them? Or is it more relevant to point out they are anti-Israel propagandists and activists who have made common cause with the Muslim Brotherhood's Hamas wing for years - not just in the streets of Toronto and London, Ont, but in Gaza itself?
That these men are not mainstream or moderate. It's lucky they were arrested by the Egyptian military, which only held them - as Canadian police would do, if foreign provocateurs came to town in the middle of a massive riot..."
Wed, 2013-10-02 14:07
#17
[url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/02/lawyer-for-canadians-de... for Canadians Detained in Egypt: 'This is Not Going To Be a Short-Term Thing'[/url]
Wed, 2013-10-02 16:29
#18
Canadian Filmmaker and Doctor Imprisoned in Egypt Without Charges, Abused After Witnessing Massacre
transcript & video
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/2/canadian_filmmaker_and_doctor_impr...
Thu, 2013-10-03 23:24
#19
[url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/10/03/jail_conditions_improve_for... conditions improve - Tarek & John end hunger strike[/url]
In a sign that the Egyptian authorities are moving the case of two detained Canadians up their priority list, lawyer Marwa Farouk said that “an aide to the minister of the interior personally visited them” on Wednesday.
Farouk’s law firm, meanwhile, confirmed that John Greyson and Tarek Loubani have ended their hunger strike in Cairo’s grim Tora Prison where they have been detained without charge since Aug. 16. [...]
Farouk said the two men’s demand for more exercise time in the overcrowded jail has been granted during the past week, along with other concessions. “Their conditions have improved markedly from when they were first imprisoned,” she said.
The interior ministry official’s visit may be a sign that the involvement of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and a warning by Foreign Minister John Baird that the Canadians’ continued detention could harm relations with Egypt, might be unsettling senior levels of government.
Sat, 2013-10-05 23:28
#20
They've been freed.
Sat, 2013-10-05 23:31
#21
..hurray!!!!
Sat, 2013-10-05 23:38
#22
WOW!
[url=http://www.lfpress.com/2013/10/05/london-emergency-room-doctor-tarek-lou... emergency room doctor Tarek Loubani and Toronto filmmaker John Greyson freed from Cairo prison[/url]
"We're over the moon," Cecilia Greyson told the Free Press Saturday evening.
Greyson said she spoke to her brother John Greyson about 11 p.m., confirming that the two had been released.
"They are doing really well," Cecilia Greyson.
The pair are now in a Cairo hotel and will be returning to Canada once arrangements have been completed.
Congratulations to everybody who made this happen - including the department of foreign affairs!
Sun, 2013-10-06 14:04
#23
[url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/hi-its-john-canadian-phones...‘Hi, it’s John.’ Canadian phones home after pair released from Egyptian prison[/url]
Mon, 2013-10-07 14:37
#24
They're not out of the woods yet.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/10/07/canadians_barred_from_leavi...
Mon, 2013-10-07 14:40
#25
It's actually becoming much worse than that:
[url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/john-greyson-tarek-loubani-may-not... Greyson, Tarek Loubani may not be free to leave Egypt[/url]
[CBC correspondent] Saša Petricic reported that the pair would have to wait until charges for all 600 protesters arrested with them are decided before leaving.
The lawyer for the two men plans to file a petition to remove their names from list of 600 under investigation for criminal charges so they can leave, Petricic reported.
"It’s not just a question of red tape as we were led to believe originally," Petricic reported Monday on CBC News Network. "They will not be allowed to leave … until the investigation is over.
"If that needs to run its course, it could be a very long wait even though they are now in a hotel room instead of a jail cell."
Mon, 2013-10-07 21:24
#26
laine lowe
My first thought when I heard this latest, strange and upsetting turn of events is that they want them to testify against other protesters. I hope to the pit of my soul that I am wrong because that would put these two very honourable men in a horrible situation.
Tue, 2013-10-08 10:29
#27
Margaret Wente has written a particularly disgusting column attacking Tarek and John. Not so much a "smear", as she is really only attacking them for being activists, which has never been a secret. Except for the insinuation that they are Hamas, and thus "terror" supporters.
Cripes, I hate the ecocidal Canadian government, but I'd like to see humanitarian aid anywhere there is a disaster, even where the people elect Tories! And of course many Hamas voters were really voting against the collaborationist Fatah party.
Wed, 2013-10-09 18:40
#28
Here is Tarek & John's first (video) statement since being released from imprisonment:
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx19rY7xxME#t=13]John and Tarek say Hi![/url]
Thu, 2013-10-10 11:56
#29
And finally - I hope it's true!!
[url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/john-greyson-tarek-loubani-free-to... Greyson, Tarek Loubani free to leave Egypt, lawyer says[/url]
Lawyers had been told the men's cases would have to be processed along with the hundreds of protesters also arrested on Aug. 16. It now appears Egyptian prosecutors have backed down from that position.
"The prosecutors were contemplating all kinds of charges against the group. The charges appear to have been dismissed," Petricic reported.
"They are free to leave but it's not clear when exactly they will be boarding a plane to head back home."
Fri, 2013-10-11 08:06
#30
[url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadians-tarek-loubani-john-greyson-leave-... left Cairo for home via Frankfurt this morning![/url]
Fri, 2013-10-11 21:02
#31
[url=http://london.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=706871#1022690]And they're home!!![/url]
This is so beautiful - please watch it!
Mon, 2013-10-14 22:38
#32
[url=http://dailyxtra.com/canada/news/closets?market=207]"We all have our closets": John Greyson and Tarek Loubani talk to Xtra about their experience in an Egyptian prison[/url]
Greyson describes the whole thing as surreal.
"It seemed like a Monty Python skit. Gee, the gay Canadian filmmaker from York University and the London, Ontario, doctor with a stethoscope. Accused of jihad, arson, and burning down a police station."