4:30pm, Aug 19/13
Although we believed there was going to be a consular visit to Tarek and John in their Cairo prison today, there was no visit.
4:30pm, Aug 19/13
Although we believed there was going to be a consular visit to Tarek and John in their Cairo prison today, there was no visit.
CTV reported today, based on an anonymous Canadian government source, that Tarek and John were arrested on August 16 after walking into a police station to ask for directions. This makes sense, given the phone call we received from Tarek, in that there was very limited background noise and Tarek seemed quite surprised. They were arrested along with others at that time, and have been held since. The same source said that Tarek and John were “roughed up”, but at the consular visit yesterday (August 18) Tarek and John both conveyed the message that they were okay.
There is, to date, no further consular visit scheduled. We have been told that Canadian embassy staff have requested a visit, but there is no information about when that visit might take place.
The Canadian government’s public statements have been based on seeking clarification of the charges against Tarek and John. We believe, however, that given the impossibility of any plausible charges, all those interceding on their behalf should be calling for their immediate release.
We are asking friends and supporters to contact the Egyptian authorities to ask them for the immediate release of John and Tarek. We also ask that Canadians contact the Canadian authorities and ask for vigorous intercession on behalf of John and Tarek.
We have established a new website for these updates: www.tarekandjohn.com
Updates will be posted there as well as here.
Contacts for both families are available to speak with the press. They can be reached by contacting Justin Podur: justin@podur.org
