Time is Ticking for John Greyson and Tarek Loubani

Some of the protesters at this week's rally in Montreal. via Flickr.

Forty-one days ago two Canadians, John Greyson and Tarek Loubani, were imprisoned at the Tora Prison outside of Cairo after they entered a police station asking for directions. Tarek Loubani is both a professor at Western University and a highly esteemed emergency room physician from London, Ontario, and John Greyson is a filmmaker and professor at York University in Toronto. The two men were travelling to Gaza on August 15th.

Loubani trains emergency room physicians in Gaza, and Greyson was considering making a documentary about it. Due to the rapidly escalating political situation in Egypt, they could not cross into Gaza immediately.

No charges have been laid against them thus far. Presumably out of desperation, Greyson and Loubani have launched a hunger strike to protest their incredibly bizarre and confusing detention. It’s been eleven days since they’ve eaten solid food.

At a rally held outside the Egyptian embassy in Montreal on Tuesday (coinciding with a rally in London, ON), Justin Podur, a writer, activist, and spokesperson for Greyson and Loubani, addressed the crowd:

“The worst thing that they did was try to help some wounded people on the streets that day. Probably the worst thing they did that day was violating a curfew that continued to change. 9:00 PM, 7:00 PM, 11:00 PM, they were caught after this moving curfew that the Egyptian government put on.”

According to the Toronto Star, the two Canadian prisoners are suspects in a Muslim Brotherhood bombing of a police station—though no charges have been pressed. Greyson and Loubani have not had direct contact with their friends and family in Canada, so the details of their arrest are still murky. All communication in and out of Tora Prison is dictated to lawyers and consulate employees.

The prosecution told friends and family of Greyson and Loubani to gather sworn affidavits attesting to their character and intentions. Their universities, York and Western, the Director’s Guild of Canada, and the Canadian Medical Association all prepared written statements. When the defense delivered them to the prosecutor, Mohamed Heta, “the prosecutor didn’t look at it,” according to Justin.

On September 15th, the prosecution extended their detention by another 15 days. Between the renewal of their detention and the prosecutor not even showing up to a scheduled hearing, to say John and Tarek’s situation has become dire would be an understatement. The Egyptian police arrested several foreign nationals during a tumultuous August, and the Egyptian legal system has failed to even press charges against detainees, let alone release innocent bystanders. In one particularly awful instance, a French national was killed in police custody, beaten to death by fellow inmates.

By refusing food, Greyson and Loubani have put a time limit on their lives. According to Justin “they have lost all belief that the Egyptian authorities are going to give them any kind of due process.” For this, the Canadian prisoners and their supporters believe they cannot wait any longer—and that the time to act is now.

The question is: How? What can be done? More than 140,000 people have signed the online petition calling for their release, and countless celebrities and public figures have demanded the same—all to no avail.

“The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs has been making every effort they can through diplomatic channels,” said Cecilia Greyson, John’s sister. “But it seems like there needs to be a higher level brought in. That’s why we’re asking Prime Minister Harper to talk to the Egyptian interim Prime Minister, Hazem el-Beblawi, and bring in a higher level of urgency to this case.”

Stephen Harper hasn’t said much about the situation, besides stating that he “personally questioned” the arrest last month.

One person I spoke to at the rally thinks that even if Stephen Harper got involved, it would only slow things down. “I’m more a proponent of direct action,” said Brian Conrad, an activist attending the Montreal rally. “I think we should actually go inside and talk to them. I don’t trust the Canadian government to do a goddamn thing. We should go into the building and talk to the Egyptian government directly.”

Justin Podur noted that the deputy Prime Minister of Egypt, Ziad Bahaa Eddine, happens to be visiting Toronto this week on a “private visit,” and asked the crowd assembled outside the Egyptian consulate: “There will be no normal business-as-usual until John and Tarek are freed. Do you agree?“ To which the crowd responded: “YES!”

Other speakers at the Montreal rally included Dr. Andrew Jones, a friend and colleague of Tarek, as well as Michel Marc Bouchard, a playwright who wrote the stage version of John Greyson’s film Lilies, which, coincidentally, is the story of a man who is unjustly imprisoned.

While details of Ziad Bahaa Eddine’s trip to Toronto this week remain undisclosed, his presence will inevitably be met by Canadians protesting the imprisonment of John and Tarek. These protests, in combination with increased economic and diplomatic pressure, can hopefully secure their freedom.

In Montreal, the rally ended with a roaring “Free John and Tarek!” chant. While it certainly will not be the last time a mob of Canadians yells that at an Egyptian embassy, these cries for justice will likely only get louder as this unjust story continues to unfold.

Follow Noah on Twitter: @noahtavlin

More on Egypt:

Egypt After Morsi - Part 1

Egypt’s Black Bloc Aren’t Interested in Making any Friends

Interview with an American Shot and Arrested in Egypt