Immediate need: QuAIA's John Greyson & Tarek Loubani detained in Egypt

0 comments
Many of us have met and worked with John Greyson of QuAIA Toronto. He's been detained in Egypt on the way to Gaza. He and Tarek Loubani, a friend who is detained along with him, need support. Needless to say, they're in danger as long as they're in custody.
PLEASE check http://tarekandjohn.com for information on simple, critical ways to help. Also please sign the petition to free John and Tarek.

How to contact US offices:
Egyptian Embassy: 202-966-6342 // embassy@egyptembassy.net
Canadian Embassy: Gary Doer, Ambassador (202) 682-1740 // enqserv@international.gc.ca


Information from the support website:
"Two Canadians, Dr. Tarek Loubani and filmmaker John Greyson, were arrested by Egyptian police on Friday, August 16 in Cairo.
They were en route to the Gaza Strip, where they are working on an academic and medical collaboration between the University of Western Ontario (UWO) and the main hospital in the Gaza Strip, the al-Shifa hospital.
Tarek Loubani is an emergency room medical doctor and assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Western Ontario (UWO). He is one of the architects of the Canada-Gaza academic collaboration, a project that has brought doctors from UWO to Gaza to train physicians in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS).
John Greyson is a professor at the Department of Film at York University and an award-winning film-maker. He is in the initial stages of working on a film to be produced in the region.
John and Tarek arrived in Cairo on August 15 with the intention of traveling to Gaza immediately. Given the volatile situation in Egypt, travel to the border with Gaza was problematic and they delayed their travel plan by one day.
We have heard through sources in Cairo that John and Tarek entered a police station on Friday evening, as they were lost and needed help with directions back to their hotel. At this point they were promptly arrested.  At 4pm Toronto time (10pm Cairo time), Tarek called his primary contact in Canada with the very short message: “we are being arrested by Egyptian police”.
Since their arrest, we have had no contact with either Tarek or John. Canadian consular officials have visited them where they are being held, and we have been told that they are “okay”.
Beyond this, we have currently not been able to confirm their status or condition, or speak to them directly. We are asking Egyptian authorities to release John and Tarek immediately.
We know there are many people eagerly awaiting news and their release, and we will distribute information as we know more."
Read more »
 

Copyright © 2010 • NYC Queers Against Israeli Apartheid! • Design by Dzignine