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joining us is james lynch middle east and north africa press officer for
amnesty international fresh back i think literally just hours from cairo uh...
thanks for joining us on such short notice james
thanki acted evening
so first of all tell us how long were you in cairo and what was the extent of
your of your travel there and what were you involved in
am i was in uh... kaya raya as part of a delegation from the constant national a
research team
uh... small team of three and which uh... we we have deployed on sunday
we dot she wants to go on saturday but i'll plane from london was was turned
around discourtesy trations that we still a tough and i returned last night
the relieving dressed teamed
we what we were doing was we'd deployed at short notice because of the the
deteriorating
human rights situation
uh... to monitor developments on the ground
and and also to to take a look into you
uh...
the events or or on the protest
off the twenty-fifth tell me a little bit about while you were there is this
if it we wear in cairo where you were you in the area that has been the topic
of ninety percent of the of news around the world for the last week tell me a
little bit about that
yeah i spent a long time allotted time in and around stockbridge square which
is where the demonstrations of focused spotted focus
and i spent time with protesters
uh... and
uh... it was um...
it's it's is a very m
israel unusual environment talk risk whereas usually a great busy square foot
of traffic
and the process is effectively
had effectively taken over the square
what what you have walls and to end square
every single entrance to the square ms about seven of them initially you have
to pastor in on the
rich block on on the block weatherby army soldiers suits uh... cheap
this is because effectively one ironic to be police and right place had vanish
from the city
ad that was following uh... at
two days of of of extreme violence uh... over friday the twenty eighth that's up
to twenty nine two january
and the e city on the hat had taken over effectively
uh... at the company sing in central copyright
so so basically what you're saying here is to get to the point at which a lot of
the physical conflicts that we're seeing reported on t_v_ were taking place
there was there was a very clear staging and entry process it's not just free for
all the way many people believe it is
absolutely right now i'd every single checkpoint i came to my back was
searched very thoroughly
uh... answered it was searched by the army to begin with and that every single
stage and ives and he got stuff risk where give my dearest checked every time
did you feel that you were in danger did were you personally attacked how is it
delineated i mean we heard anderson cooper the american journalist was
attacked yesterday
is there a clear delineation between who is press and observers and who are
i don't know participants in what in the violence
well i think the distinction that simple to make a race case an
are yest
cairo
just as at the point at which the first promo bart
permits are rally was good about steak place allegedly as i stepped onto the
plane
i saw on the t_v_ screens that it was it was starting
until that point byob
when i wasn't at risk where i'm
ari never felt threatened by anything other than potential crowds search in
uh... people were very friendly they've of course either you or treated
differently as a for no reason observer so uh... this sumption most people seem
that i was journalists until i explain that i was actually it would fit within
cari with the human rights organization can you address how what was it was the
riskier was this was the situation for you to get back to the airport and we
were you on a commercial flight
uh... and was this all still like you said before the situation escalated upon
you leaving
it's worth saying i mean i i came back i plan to come back on that day anyway i
wasn't unit was insist decision that i had to leave then
uh...
baat on the same flights me
where at year end
note to the people not flight where evacuating you know that there were
people from different organizations exit absolutely packed flight
two people already seeing situations to vote tile and was this a commercial
flight that you were on
jess it was i was very lucky and my flight was not counseled
loss of others where and that's one of the government salt unity advising on
charter flights to people
let's address the you have too we we originally heard it was one and now it's
been confirmed that there are two of your colleagues an amnesty international
that are being detained in cairo
can you tell me a bit about what were they dared to do was a similar role two
years and what do you know about this detention
yeah i mean that date day they were part of the same delegation on was which they
were researches
uh... to uh... you're speaking to medical school suspicions are witnesses
to events
speaking to human rights activists and they were they were there to assess the
situation and to build a pitch to document abuses and and to bring this to
the world
and what's happened is that they were uh...
they were indication the bargain olson's which is not far from tara square in
central higher uh... at the center is i'm one of the ki
the human rights sentencing in the center of cairo
uh... it works on behalf of protesters who works on behalf of of of of of
detainees both adn victims of abuse of the extremely politically at repressed
system in egypt
uh... it was working to you
provide support to those who've been detained and see uh... help waves and
to help uh...
d_p_p_ injured
to try to talk and who had died as well and to try to work with the victims'
families
so it's very very important center to keep on affirms the international on
fraud or international uh...
human rights ngos and if the
they would they would
these two members of teamwork indeed the center at that point
uh... working in partnership with the local the local activists
when and will be honest i'm a military police and surrounded the building
and this eats probably work saying and to just
filled the broader picture
this was in the senate armed as you say which is it still being and attacked
will being i've been arrested international and local where uh...
camera equipment is being confiscated from journalists
and so at the same time as you had a crackdown on journalists and you also
out a crackdown on human rights activists batman and organizations
across the uh... country you know the conditions of where they're being held
noble so so that the first of all the military police has surrounded the
building them a chance to building
an and held and and numbered
of and activists including the beating and it's too much and tonight still
searches
and then many and detained demand on the stand from the same time we do not any
information about where they are have you had any contact with them or is this
all based on the fact that you cannot
didn't get the hold of them
we spoke to them and as the security forces were surrounding the
e and property and in fact we took a recording of the phone call from one of
the members which is on on the amnesty international website fits of pique
their interest to hear it
m and we we spokesman up until the point the security forces and ten at which
point at the camp defends what and it was supposed to be some offense
at one of them
did at that time was on sat but then
and there was none
debs new beable hospital steps in and do you have reason to believe that their
lives are in danger do you have reason to believe that they're being held but
they are ok and what are you going on at this point
we have absolutely no information about and what we're doing is working uh...
we are doing as well as as as making as much noise in public about this is
weekend
and strive exert pressure on the chechen authorities
were also a working through various different beat officials channels the
relevant authorities but i must make say i mean that was it failed to among among
the along a much larger group of human rights workers from
other international organizations and local
states it's not just them
and they obviously we are deeply concerned about our and stuff that that
friends of ours you know i was
uh... you know i was out there in car with him so i'm i'm very worried at a
personal level
but we have to be focus on the facts as well there is a much broader sheer unit
two sisters their people being tight kind of courses
across the city
and and plans to live
james lynch of middle east and north africa press officer from amnesty
international best of luck to you and your colleagues and to everybody in
cairo thanks so much for doing this on short notice were very grateful
thanks a lot it's teaching okay thanks