Criminal Justice | Releasing GEBO Workers Raises Urgency of Protest Act Revision

Bulaq Abul-Ela Prosecutor released 4 workers of the General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO) Printing Press on LE 2,000 bail each, according to ECESR lawyers. They were arrested after an official report filed by the GEBO Legal Affairs department against them on the charge of preventing other workers from entering workplace.

The GEBO workers have begun a series of protests at the end of the first week of October claiming for increasing their incentives, a claim which fell on deaf ears. When three of them headed to the police station to submit an official report, the police personnel arrested them on charges filed previously against them plus another worker. They were accused of demonstrating, preventing staff from entering workplace and doing their job, and inciting workers to strike and damage the facility.

This incident reminds us of the need to reconsider the Protest Act that prevents citizens, especially workers and the poor, from peaceful protest against those who ignore their rights. Needless to say, they have claimed these rights over the years, whether before, during or after the revolution without fulfilling any of them until now.

ECESR asserts on the right of workers to use all methods and tools of peaceful protest to make their voices heard. The road to equality and social justice in any society can only be paved by launching freedoms and restoring the stolen rights. ECESR also confirms that it will continue the lawsuit lodged before the court to abolish the unjust law which prohibits citizens from protesting against those who encroach on their rights without paying attention to the interests and lives of disadvantaged people.