Mahienour El-Massry
Mahienour El-Masry (Egyptian Arabic: ماهينور المصري, born 1986) is an Egyptian human rights lawyer and political activist from Alexandria,[1] who has been engaged on the activist scene in the coastal city since the mid-2000s,[2] and was arrested on 22 September 2019.[3] El-Masry was released in July 2021.[4]
Human rights activism
El-Masry has been organizing peaceful protests and supports activities for political prisoners, using social media to denounce human rights violations.
"The prison cell was small, ranging between 4 to 6 meters [13-20 feet], accommodating 18 female prisoners. Our number reached 30 prisoners sometimes. We had one bathroom, and our stuffs were hung to a nail inside the room. There were no beds in Damanhour prison, unlike the Qanater prison. The design of the political prisoners’ cell, which I entered along with others the second time, was very similar to al-Aqrab prison’s cells. They have no ventilation and water cuts were ongoing."[11]
Awards
In June 2014, El-Masry was awarded the Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize, an international honour given annually to a lawyer for contributions to the defence of human rights. She was the second person to be awarded the international award while in prison since Nelson Mandela in 1985.[citation needed]
She was also named a finalist for the Aurora Humanitarians Prize 2022,[12] which she could not attend because the Egyptian authorities banned her from travelling.[13]
References
- ^ "Egypt's 'beacon of hope' behind steel bars". Egyptian Streets. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ^ "Run Mahienour run". Mada Masr. Archived from the original on 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2015-12-31.
- ^ "Lawyer Mahienour al-Massry arrested and Karama Party leader appears before Supreme State Security Prosecution after forced disappearance". Mada Masr. 22 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Egypt Lets Journalists, Activists Go After US Concerns". voanews. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Open Democracy. 2014-07-01.
- ^ Ali, Amro (23 June 2014). "Run Mahienour Run". Jadaliyya.
- FIDH. 2014-09-23.
- ^ "Court refuses second appeal to release El-Masry, Shaaban, and El-Kahwagi". Daily News Egypt. 27 December 2015.
- ^ "Mahienour El Massry Among Six Activists Released from Prison | Egyptian Streets". 2021-07-18. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Mahienour El Massry Among Six Activists Released from Prison | Egyptian Streets". 2021-07-18. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Former political prisoner speaks out on Egypt's jails - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "Tribute to the 2022 Aurora Humanitarians". auroraprize.com. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
- ^ "Award-winning Egypt lawyer banned from travel ahead of Aurora prize ceremony in Italy". Middle East Monitor. 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-11-22.