U.S. citizen dies in Egyptian custody after 6 years in prison
Mustafa Kassem, an American citizen detained in Cairo in August 2013 while visiting family in Egypt, died Monday after more than six years in Egyptian custody, according to the two groups representing his case, Pretrial Rights International and The Freedom Initiative. He was 65 and the given cause was heart failure. Mohamed Soltan, a former Egyptian political prisoner and head of The Freedom Initiative, said Kassem had been on a liquid-only hunger strike on and off for years before stopping the liquids last week.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker told reporters Monday that Kassem's "death in custody was needless, tragic, and avoidable," adding that he will "continue to raise our serious concerns over human rights and Americans detained in Egypt at every opportunity, as will the entire team at the Department of State." Soltan told CNN he knows of at least six other Americans in Egyptian custody. A senior State Department official told CNN it's "still premature" to discuss punishing Egypt over the death of a U.S. citizen, but "we are really concerned about this and we're going to — we're going to talk about it, about what we're going to do."
Kassem, sentenced to 15 years in prison in September 2018 after what CNN calls a trial lacking all due process, asked President Trump soon after to intercede on his behalf in a letter hand-delivered by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.). "I pray that you have a plan for me," Kassem told Trump in the letter, which Trump may or may not have read. "I am going on a hunger strike because I am losing my will and I don't know how else to get your attention. ... I am putting my life in your hands."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Baltimore bridge disaster: Who is going to pay and how?
Today's Big Question Politicians, legal experts, and the insurance industry are all grappling with the financial fallout of America's worst infrastructure tragedy in years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Stick guitar
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published