Egypt detains pro-Palestine protesters on 7 October anniversary, says rights group

Egyptian security forces detained several people on Monday while they were participating in a protest marking the first anniversary of the Gaza war, a rights group said.

According to the London-based Egyptian Network for Human Rights, a small group of young people held a protest on the Nile Corniche in Cairo on Monday, carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags and banners condemning the deadly Israeli onslaught on Gaza and Lebanon.

Citing eyewitness accounts, the rights group said several participants were detained by security forces, but the exact number and names have yet to be confirmed.

“The Egyptian Network for Human Rights condemns the arrest of citizens peacefully expressing their support for their brothers and sisters in occupied Palestine and Lebanon and their opposition to the war on both countries, and calls for their immediate release,” the group said in a statement shared with Middle East Eye.

Despite its public opposition to Israel’s war, Egypt has detained hundreds of people who took part in pro-Palestine action over the past year, including at least 250 football fans, students and women's rights activists. 

Meanwhile, the American University in Cairo (AUC) barred students from holding a pro-Palestine protest on Monday to mark the 7 October anniversary, a student group said.

In an Instagram post, advocacy group AUCians for Palestine said the university’s administration has banned all student action in solidarity with Palestine from taking place on 7 October, forcing them to reschedule their planned activities to Wednesday. 

“The AUC administration, like the US administration, has shown that its commitment to freedom of speech is limited to opinions that align with its own agenda,” the students said.

“So, bring your keffiyehs, signs and flags, but don’t forget your rage, your desire for vengeance and your belief in your own power - in our power - to make a change.”