#21 Trapped in Egypt’s justice system - Waleed Salem

From Cairo Podcast

Waleed Salem's research into Egypt's judiciary has gotten him trapped in the criminal justice system.

Waleed is a PhD student at the University of Washington (as well as a journalist, yogi, and father). He was arrested in May 2018 while finishing political science field work in Cairo. Waleed spent nearly seven months in Tora prison on terrorism charges and has been banned from travel ever since, separating him from his daughter in Poland and studies in Seattle. He reflects on the madness of being stuck in the system.

Read Waleed's essay in New Lines Magazine: https://newlinesmag.com/first-person/scenes-from-my-ongoing-egyptian-captivity/

Chapters

(00:00)- Intro

(02:19)- Waleed's arrest

(14:45) - Being charged with terrorism

(19:20) - What can a terrorism lawyer even do to help?

(21:43) - What does pre-trial detention renewals look like?

(23:20) - Are rights lawyers only pretending to be effective?

(29:52) - What was life like in Tora?

(37:50) - Waleed's room in Tora

(55:10) - What does it mean to be Egyptian at this time?

(01:02:21) - How to tell the stories of those in prison

(01:05:40) - Not seeing your face in a mirror

(01:13:08) - On being released

(01:17:25) - Waleed discovers he's travel banned

(01:19:33) - Arrest my family if I don't come back

(01:26:52) - They don't tell you what you're held for

(01:37:27) - The difficulty of appealing a travel ban

(01:41:10) - The psychological toll of open-ended travel bans

(01:51:00) - What is a nightmare?

(01:53:47) - Why we must study what we love

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