Egypt: Jailed photographer says he's been 'forgotten'

Shouting to make himself heard from the soundproof glass dock during a break in his trial, Egyptian photographer Mahmoud Abdel Shakour said he feels he has been “forgotten” in prison.

Three years ago, Abdel Shakour had been covering the police dispersal of an Islamist protest camp in Cairo when he was arrested, and he has been in jail ever since.

He and his 738 co-defendants are accused of involvement in the killings of policemen and resisting the authorities during the protest dispersal.

If convicted, they will face the death penalty.

His lawyer Karim Abdel Rady said, “For the umpteenth time, we ask the Court to release him, because his period of detention has exceeded the maximum duration of detention which is two years under the code of criminal procedure.There is no evidence to incriminate him, just the police investigations which, according to the Court of Cassation is not sufficient alone to be used as evidence.”

At a hearing, Abdel Shakour complained of being imprisoned in a poorly ventilated cell which becomes scorching hot in summer.

Human rights groups and activists say his case is an example of the repression in Egypt, since the 2013 overthrow of Mohamed Morsi.

AFP