In the middle of a heatwave, Egyptians are tweeting from plastic bags

Published May 16th, 2016 - 04:47 GMT
Protests to free Egypt's political prisoners in Egypt (Gianluigi Guerci)
Protests to free Egypt's political prisoners in Egypt (Gianluigi Guerci)

It’s been hot in the Middle East this week. We’ve been sweltering – and letting anyone who’ll listen know about it.

But in some circumstances, the weather is more than just a cause for complaint.

In Egypt, social media users have launched a campaign to raise awareness of the suffering endured by political prisoners as the temperatures in the country’s jails reach unbearable levels.

On Twitter, users covered their head with a plastic bag and tweeted photographs to illustrate how warm it is inside the country’s jails. 

Other uses tweeted explanations of the harsh conditions with the title “we want to breathe”. The number of political prisoners in Egypt continues to rise: in 2014 the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, an independent monitoring group, estimated that 41,000 people had been detained by authorities, many on charges related to political activity or demonstrations.





Doesn’t the world know that tens of them died in these tiny cells, they want to kill them.

 

My brothers have the right to live, they have the right to breath.

Freedom for Egypt,  Egypt is suffocating



Their cells are above normal temperature in normal conditions, imagine with this heat wave!!

At least 90 detainees were reported to have died in Egypt’s jails in 2014, mostly due to inadequate health care, inhumane conditions, and in some cases, torture.  

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