PEN-Zentren weltweit haben das neue Gedicht “A letter from Tora Prison“ des inhaftierten Dichters Galal El-Behairy veröffentlicht, welches er im Gefängnis geschrieben hat, und fordern seine sofortige und bedingungslose Freilassung.
El-Behairy wird vor dem ägyptischen Militärgericht in Verbindung mit seinem neuesten Gedichtband “The Finest Women on Earth” angeklagt. Außerdem wird er beschuldigt, den Text für Ramy Essams Lied “Balaha” geschrieben zu haben. Nach der Veröffentlichung des Liedes wurde El-Behairy verhaftet, geschlagen und gefoltert. Ausgerechnet am Tag vor der Urteilsverkündung, die am 27. Juni 2018 erwartet wird, findet der „International Day in Support of Victims of Torture“ statt, der an Opfer der Folter und an die UN-Antifolterkonvention erinnert.
Galal El-Behairys Gedicht können Sie in englischer Übersetzung nachlesen unter bit.ly/2JyqyY7.
(Quelle: PEN International)
Weitere Informationen zu Galal El-Behairy können Sie auf der Internetseite des internationalen PEN nachlesen.
Unternehmen Sie etwas! Sie können sich auf vielfältige Weise für den Lyriker einsetzen. Über bit.ly/2rsWIt3 können Sie die Petition für El-Behairys Freilassung zeichnen. Teilen Sie auch den Artikel und El-Behairys Gedicht auf facebook, Twitter und anderen sozialen Netzwerken.
Hintergrund (bereitgestellt vom englischen PEN)
Poet Galal El-Behairy was arrested in Egypt on 3 March 2018. He was held incommunicado for a week before appearing before the High State Security on 10 March, showing signs of severe torture. The High State Security Prosecution subsequently ordered for him to undergo a forensic medical examination: the findings of the examination have not been made public, nor shared with his lawyer
More than three months later, El-Behairy remains in detention and facing charges in both the Military Court and the High State Security Court. The charges are believed to relate to his latest book of poetry ‘The Finest Women on Earth’, published earlier this year. El-Behairy is also under investigation in relation to lyrics he wrote for artist Ramy Essam’s song ‘Balaha’, which criticises Egyptian government policies. Following the release of the song and music video on 26 February and prior to El-Behairy’s arrest, both he and Essam became victims of a smear campaign led by pro-government media.
On 6 May, El-Behairy attended a trial in the Military Court where he was informed that the verdict in relation to his book of poetry would be handed down three days later, on 9 May. The verdict was later postponed until 16 May, and is now expected on 27 June, El-Behairy’s birthday.
PEN believes that El-Behairy is being held in violation of his right to freedom of expression and urges the Egyptian authorities to release him and the many other writers and activists unlawfully detained in Egypt immediately and unconditionally.
To draw further international attention to his case ahead of the expected verdict, PEN centres – Danish PEN, English PEN, Finnish PEN, French PEN, German PEN, Norwegian PEN, PEN America, Swedish PEN – and our colleagues at Arablit and Artists at Risk are coming together to publish a new poem that El-Behairy has written while in detention, and to continue calls for his release.
