Esquerra Republicana strongly condemns the repression carried out by Egyptian authorities against hundreds of international activists who intended to participate in the March to Gaza to denounce the genocide against the Palestinian people.

Several international organizations had called for this peaceful mobilization, which was due to depart from Egypt on Friday, June 13, and reach the Rafah border between June 15 and 16. A delegation led by MP Ana Balsera, representing Esquerra Republicana, took part in the initiative. Upon arrival in Egypt, the Esquerra Republicana delegation and dozens of activists from around the world encountered a completely unacceptable situation:

• • Individuals holding valid tourist visas were detained and deported at Egyptian airports, without any evidence linking them to the March.
• • During the early hours of June 12, Egyptian police raided several hotels in Cairo, detaining activists while they slept. Their passports were confiscated, and they were held incommunicado for more than 10 hours without food or water. Some were later deported, while others were released without explanation.
• • On June 14, as hundreds of people made their way north to begin the March, they were stopped at multiple police checkpoints. At two key points, referred to here as Point 1 and Point 2, foreign passports were confiscated, and activists were detained for hours in remote desert areas without any information. At Point 2, where over 1,000 people were gathered, participants were eventually forced to return to Cairo. At both points violent police charges took place while foreign nationals were present.
• • In the days that followed, Egyptian authorities continued targeting activists in their hotels. Some were detained and deported, and in certain cases held incommunicado for 48 hours, such as a Spanish citizen whose whereabouts were unknown while in police custody. These subsequent detentions focused particularly on individuals who had played leading roles in organizing or coordinating the mobilization, clearly aiming to criminalize leadership.

In light of these events, Esquerra Republicana:

2. 1) Condemns the systematic repression by the Egyptian regime against the fundamental rights to assembly, protest, and peaceful expression.
3. 2) Demands immediate explanations from the Egyptian government and the relevant international bodies for the flagrant human rights violations committed in recent days.
4. 3) Reaffirms our unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause, and we will continue to denounce the occupation, blockade, and genocide inflicted by the State of Israel, with the complicity of governments such as Egypt’s.
5. 4) Calls for the immediate release of all individuals who remain detained, as it was the case of our comrade Saif, member of the Palestinian Community of Catalonia and one of the leaders of the March.
6. 5) Urges the Spanish government and European institutions to act decisively and stop turning a blind eye to human rights violations in the Middle East.