The socialist advocate, Dr. Gamal Abdul Fattah, faces the third case since Sisi became president. A 72-year-old man imprisoned for the third time.

• On 29th of January, 2016, Dr. Abdul Fattah was arrested in front of the Journalists’ Syndicate in downtown. He discovered that he had to fulfill a 5-year sentence in absentia issued against him under accusations of disrupting the constitutional provisions, trying to topple the regime, destroying the state’s principal, social and economic systems. In the opposition session on 27th March 2016, Sayeda Zaynab misdemeanors court acquitted him.
• On 28th February 2018, security forces in plainclothes stormed  Abdul Fattah’s house in al-Haram and arrested him. He disappeared for ten days then appeared before the state security prosecution facing the same “toppling the regime” accusations along with “calling for boycotting the elections”.

Abdul Fattah spent 6 months in Sisi’s prisons under poor health conditions and obvious intransigence from security apparatus in order not to send him to the prison hospital, although he underwent numerous health complications related to his lungs and difficulty in breathing. In September, Abdul Fattah was released under precautionary measures. Such measures oblige him to spend hours in al-Haram police station on a weekly basis. He was rearrested with similar accusations in January 2019. He was tortured in al-Haram police station in February.

This episode in Gamal Abdul Fattah’s life is nothing but an episode in a long series of strife since the sixties.

Who is Gamal Abdul Fattah?

Gamal Abdul Fattah started his political life since he joined the faculty of pharmacology in 1966. He was involved in student activities connected to public affairs during that time, precisely, after the defeat of the 1967 war. Abdul Fattah participated in demonstrations that broke out in February and November 1968. He also participated in a sit-in in Alexandria University in the same year, expressing public anger after the military defeat, which was caused by the absence of transparency and democracy.

Abdul Fattah continued in participating and supporting students’ and laborers sit-ins until 1972. He was arrested in June 1973 as he was accused of joining a leftist organization aiming to topple the regime, destroy the state and its institutions and hinder the constitutional provisions. He spent two years in prison and then he was acquitted.

• In 1977, he was arrested for 6 months on charges of being a member in a secret cell of a leftist organization aiming to topple the regime. After he was released pending the case, he was rearrested in 1980 to discover that he was convicted in absentia in this case, and a three years sentence was handed down against him.  In the opposition session, the court acquitted him once again.
• During the reign of ousted president Mubarak, Dr. Gamal continued his efforts, sticking to his socialist beliefs, supporting the poor, laborers, peasants, and students. He was arrested in 2002 from his pharmacy following his participation in founding the people’s committee to support the Palestinian uprising. In 2003, he was arrested for participating in the 20th of March demonstrations, protesting the US invasion of Iraq. In 2005, during the presidential elections, he was arrested from Al Maadi district in Cairo, along with some young men, for distributing leaflets titled: Put him on trial instead of electing him. In 2006, he was rearrested for the sixth time, following demonstrations supporting judiciary independence.