The Free Mahienour campaign launched an event calling on Facebook and Twitter users to write about the Qanater prison hunger strike.
Imprisoned political activist and lawyer Maheinour El-Massry and six other prisoners began a hunger strike in Qanater women’s prison a week ago in solidarity with another prisoner’s strike.
Basma Refaat has begun the 20th day of her hunger strike in reaction to the prison administration’s sudden ban of her right to receive family visits. The campaign said that the administration also ignored the hunger strike and denied the women access to medical treatment.
The campaign reached out to many political activists and journalists who expressed their solidarity with the hunger strike.
Refaat is currently detained along with her husband on charges of assassinating the former prosecutor general Hisham Barakat.
El-Massry was sentenced to one year and three months in prison in 2015 over charges of breaking into El-Raml police station and assaulting police officers in Alexandria in 2013. She is supposed to be released on Thursday 11 August after completing the prison sentence.
Following the latest family visit to Al-Massry on Thursday, her sister Maysoon said Mahienour drastically lost weight after entering the 10th day of her hunger strike. She said the health of the other prisoners on strike is also deteriorating; several have a high temperature.
On 31 July, Maysoon said a report was filed at the Qanater prosecution to prove their hunger strike after the prisoners tried to approach the prison administration and investigative officers regarding their demands several times with no response.
Mahienour requested her family speak about the hunger strike as it seems to be the only way to deliver their demands, which they consider basic rights for any prisoner.
