Usamah “Sam” Husseini

At 9:00 am, about 20 internationals with several Egyptians went to the Megles al Dawla (a high court referred to as the Council of State) to sign on to as plaintiffs on a lawsuit. We gave our information to former ambassador Ibrahim Yousri and Prof Mohammed A. Sharaf. The lawsuit is opposing the wall Egypt is having built to stop the tunnels between Egypt and Gaza and is attempting to keep the Rafa crossing open.

At 11:00, many of us then went to the Prosecutor's Office, akin to the Dept. Of Justice, as best I can figure. We were penned into an area (again) but we were not as hidden from public view as much as we typically are, though we were ofcourse surrounded by riot police. I would estimate about 40 internationals and 40 Egyptian activists at the height of the protest, quite lively, combination of Arabic and English chants calling on the Egyptian government to stop the siege of Gaza, let Gaza be free and stop the shameful wall. Like the Journalist Syndicate Building, this is apparently one of those places where protest is allowed. What is not allowed by the Egyptian state is marching or protesting in a very public square, which is what was attempted on New Years Eve.

After the protest, about 20 international went to try to get power of attourney documents made to facilitate the lawsuit. We handed in our passports, but after a while the Egyptian officials stated that we could not get power of attourney done because what was need for that was a residency visa, not a tourist visa, which is ofcourse what all of us had. Definitely seemed like more obstructionism from the Egyptian government lest justice be done swiftly. Prof. Mohammed Sharaf who was with us stated that what was needed was for us to get an initial power of attrouney document made at our respective embassies, allowing Ibrahim Yousri Sayed Husein to persue lawsuits in our name and then contacting him.

Anyone wanting to do this (there may be minor administrative and legal costs of less than 150 Egyptian pounds, about $30), should contact:

Mohammed A. Sharaf
56, 83rg Re, Maadi, Helwan
cell: 012 107 6312
tel (from outside Cairo): +20 107 6312
sharafma@yahoo.com

Ibrahim Yousri Sayed Husein
Address: No. 11 Rd 213, Degla, Maadi, Helwan
mshahbah@gmail.com or ibrahim.yousory@yahoo.com

Part of the reason I feel reasonably comfortable advocating this course of action is that Ibrahim Yousri has pursued another important case: See this AP story in Jerusalem Post from 2008, apparently the case is still continuing, with the courts continuing to defer it:

This issue was repeatedly raise by the Egyptian protesters at the 11 am protest. This seems to be part of a pattern of large scale corruption. One Egyptian activist I talked to painted a picture of the Egyptian elite sucking the country dry so that when things fall apart, they will all flee to the Gulf states, Europe or the US. This indicates to me that Simona Sharoni was very wise in advocating (I think on my facebook site) that the activists should have protested at the fancy hotels in Cairo for New Years (I brought this up several times, but it was not pursued). As it was, we're shouting at impoverished conscripts instead of confronting the jet setters around Mubarak who are committing the corrupt and criminal acts.