Acclaimed gay filmmaker John Greyson and Dr. Tarek Loubani — the subject of a documentary he had been making — have been held without cause in Cairo, Egypt for over a month and have recently begun a hunger strike in protest.
Greyson is known for gay-themed films such as Zero Patience, Lilies, Uncut and Proteus, as well as for directing episodes of Queer as Folk. A Toronto native, Greyson is also a professor at York University. He and Loubani, a doctor from London, Ontario who teaches emergency room medicine at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza, were on their way to the Gaza Strip. They were arrested after stopping into a police station to ask directions on August 16 and have yet to be charged with any crime. Greyson and Loubani’s detention was then extended on September 15.
The following day at a press conference, Greyson’s sister Cecilia released a statement announcing Greyson and Loubani’s hunger strike.
“They will be refusing food beginning September the 16th to protest the arbitrary nature of their detention by Egyptian authorities,” the release said. “We can only imagine the anguish that John and Tarek feel after realizing that their detention could be extended for so long in what can only be described as an arbitrary process that lacks any credibility.”
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At the Toronto International Film Festival, over 300 artists including Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin and Charlize Theron had signed a letter of support calling for the release of the captive Canadians. A website has been set up to provide information and resources along with a petition that has been signed by over 100,000 people.
h/t: Boston.com
hanrahanjude
hello
jeff4justice
So that country also has a type of Obama NDAA policy too.
viveutvivas
Apparently so. Isn’t is strange how much more value Western lives have compared to those detained also without cause, trial, or hope of release before hell freezes over, by the Obama administration? Many of them are also on hunger strike, without a peep from the media, despite treatment amounting to torture. Some have committed suicide.
grero
He’ll look fabulous! But seriously, it’s an Obama-backed military dictatorship. What did anyone expect?
2eo
@jeff4justice: @viveutvivas: @grero:
You know talking about the reality of American tyranny is breaking the America Knows Best act of September 12th 2001.
Jamal
Why can’t they just leave us gays alone?? Wtf..
balehead
Does he still want to push Jews into the ocean? Just wondering….
jonjct
a couple of mary’s asking directions in the downtown of an islamo-fascist state. your mother told you not to do that, but you did it anyway. wtf is the matter with you guys? i mean the minute you asked for directions to the tea dance, they were bound to know, right?
fredhotman
Is this an example of Sharia ???. Arbitrary law. You can be arrested on a whim.
Fitz
If you volunteer to go to Egypt, especially as a gay man, you are kind of an idiot. I do feel sorry for them, I think that their lives are forfeit at this point.
But for the love of wheat thins, that was STUPID.