Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/family-of-canadian-jailed-in-egypt-without-charge-fear-he-has-covid-19-but-not-being-treated

OTTAWA – Family members of a Canadian man who has been imprisoned in Egypt for more than a year, worry he has been infected with COVID-19 and is not receiving enough medical care.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi late Wednesday about the case of Yasser Albaz, but there is still no plan to bring the man home to Canada.

Albaz has been held in an Egyptian prison since February, 2019, after being detained by Egyptian authorities just before he was scheduled to return to Oakville, Ont.

Albaz’s daughter Amal Albaz said they’re pleased that the prime minister raised the case, but it isn’t enough.

“We’re obviously still very concerned about my father’s health and he needs to be treated immediately and in a Canadian hospital,” she said. “We are very grateful, but of course, it’s not over until he lands here in Canada.”

Trudeau said he and el-Sisi discussed Albaz’s case on the call. Trudeau said the government is pressing for his release.

“We will continue as a country to stand up for Canadians in difficulty overseas,” he said.

He said they have heard the pleas from family members who have organized demonstrations in recent weeks.

“We are working very closely with Egyptian authorities on this case and will continue to monitor it closely, hearing very clearly the voices of family members and concerned Canadians about Mr. Albaz’s situation.”

The official readout of the call said that the two leaders discussed consular issues and discussed ways to strengthen ties between Canada and Egypt. They also discussed COVID-19 and how to deepen cooperation between the two countries.

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Albaz said her father has been exposed to COVID-19 and recently began showing symptoms. She said those symptoms have only continued to escalate into pneumonia and difficulty breathing.

“All the classic COVID symptoms turned into the complications that we feared they would turn into,” she said.

There haven’t been any accusations or allegations put forth towards him

Albaz said they still don’t understand why her father was arrested in the first place.

“To this day, he hasn’t been charged with anything. There haven’t been any accusations or allegations put forth towards him,” she said. “For 16 months and counting, there hasn’t been a single indication, by the Egyptians, as to why they’re holding my father.”

Her father came to Canada 20 years ago and was travelling on a Canadian passport. She said he owns an engineering company and is active in his community, but she said he isn’t involved in Egyptian politics.

She said as far as they are aware he is still being held in Tora prison where the conditions are cramped and unsanitary.

Albaz is pregnant, due in just a few weeks and said she wants her father home to meet his new grandchild.

“I hope this birth is not just the addition of a new members to our family, but I hope it can be a new chapter for my family.”

Read here: https://oakvillenews.org/we-can-no-longer-be-patient-mr-prime-minister/

Canadians from across the country continue to protest in support of Oakville’s Yasser Ahmed Albaz, who remains in the Egyptian prison system. On Tuesday, his family demonstrated outside of the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) in Ottawa.

Yasser Ahmed Albaz is an engineer and business man who lives in Oakville with his family. The Egyptian government detained him at the Cairo airport last February, as he was preparing to return from a business trip.

His family was told early on that Yasser’s return was a top priority for the Trudeau government. It has now been 486 days since he was arrested and he has been in Egypt’s notorious Tora Prison the whole time.

Last Thursday, the Albaz family learned that their father was suffering from the symptoms of COVID-19. Another prisoner has apparently already died of the disease. Yasser was moved to a hospital then put into isolation within the prison.

Yasser’s wife at a protest Friday.

Yasser’s family is now participating in daily protests to convince the Federal government to push Egypt harder and secure his release. The first protest was last Friday outside of Oakville MP Anita Anand’s office. Since then, there have been ten protests, including Wednesday’s out the PMO.

Yasser’s family protests outside of the PMO in Ottawa.

The Prime Minister was asked about Yasser’s case at a Tuesday morning press conference.

“We have continued to get consular support and access and it’s something this government takes very seriously, the health and safety of Canadians abroad,” the Prime Minister said. “We will continue to do everything we can to assure they are properly treated and eventually, if possible, brought home.”

This response did not do much to satisfy the Albaz family, they point out that Trudeau did not even mention Yasser by name.

“We know that this will only get resolved if the Prime Minister takes ownership of the issue,” says Amal Albaz, Yasser’s daughter. “I expected much more from our Prime Minister. My response to him today is that what he offered Canadians is simply not enough. He didn’t even say my father’s name and to me someone without a name is someone who doesn’t exist.”

To me someone without a name is someone who doesn’t exist – Amal AlbazAdvertisement

Yasser Albaz is a man whose presence is felt in communities all over the country. Protests on his behalf have taken place in Oakville, London, Toronto, Mississauga, Waterloo and Ottawa. Furthermore, Amal says that she has received messages from across Canada.

“People are asking from city’s all over the country, I’m talking Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Montreal. They’re all asking when they can protest,” she says. “People are just self-motivated because everyone is just terribly concerned for his life right now.”

Over the weekend, more than 400 people attended a protest outside of the office of MP Karina Gould in Burlington. Amal says that it will all continue until something is finally done to help her father.

“What I’m sure of is that these protests will not stop until we see real action from our Prime Minister. Take full responsibility, take ownership and secure my father’s immediate release so he can return home,” she says.

If people want to help, the family says the best way is to visit www.freeyasser.ca and read the ‘call to action’ section. This list includes pressuring MP’s to commit to helping Yasser, donating to the cause and signing petitions.

• http://freeyasser.ca/action/

The website also features a counter that logs the length of Yasser’s imprisonment. At the time of writing, it sits at 486 days, 2 hours and 48 minutes.

An Open Letter to Justin Trudeau – Amal Albaz

Read here: https://iclmg.ca/bring-yasser-home/

Yasser Albaz, a Canadian, has been imprisoned without charge in Egypt’s notorious Torah prison for 16 months. The Egyptian government has given no reason for his detention, and his continued imprisonment is a grave violation of his most fundamental human rights. This is without even considering that COVID-19 is spreading throughout the prison, and Yasser has been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms for the past several days.

The ICLMG is joining his family and thousands across Canada calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to take action at the highest level to bring Yasser Albaz home. You can take action at www.freeyasser.ca.

Below is the statement delivered by Tim McSorley, ICLMG National Coordinator, at the rally to bring Yasser Albaz home in front of the Prime Minister’s office on June 17, 2020.

“Thank you everyone for being here, and thank you to Amal, Safaa and the Albaz family for inviting me to join them here today.

My name is Tim McSorley, I’m the national coordinator with the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. I’m here today on behalf of our 47 member organizations – faith based, labour, social justice, environmental groups – to say enough is enough, Yasser Albaz must come home to Canada, and Prime Minister Trudeau needs to make it happen.

Sixteen months ago, in February 2019, we were informed about Yasser’s imprisonment. We’ve added our voice ever since in order to denounce his indefinite, illegal imprisonment in Egypt and to demand that the Canadian government take all action necessary to bring him home. We had seen this before with other Canadians. We knew the terrible conditions of Torah prison, and we spoke out with others calling for the government to act. We hoped against hope that Yasser would be home soon.

It is unacceptable and shameful that 16 months later, Yasser remains in prison in Egypt.

And it’s important to be clear: he was arrested without charge. He has never been charged. His ongoing and indefinite imprisonment is illegal, violating his most fundamental human rights and in violation of international law.

It is the responsibility of the Canadian government to defend the rights of its citizens, especially those held in such dangerous and illegal conditions as Yasser is facing right now.

And this is all without even considering the new urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic and Yasser’s deteriorating health. So far, Canada has repatriated 40,000 Canadians back to our country. But Yasser remains in prison.

Prime Minister Trudeau has said that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian and stated that no Canadian should ever be subjected to cruel, inhumane punishment. And we should be clear: the conditions that Yasser is held in would be considered inhumane by anyone in the country.

Yasser deserves the same protections as everyone else. Prime Minister Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Champagne must act now.

Father’s Day is this weekend. I can’t imagine how I would feel if my father was imprisoned, his life under threat, in another country. Amal and her family shouldn’t have to spend another father’s day without their dad. Please go on their site, FreeYasser.ca, look them up on Facebook, and send your own message to Prime Minister Trudeau and to your MPs demanding that they bring Yasser home.”

Read here : https://www.inhalton.com/protestors-gathering-to-demand-canadian-government-help-free-oakville-man-from-egyptian-prison

Demonstrators will be gathering in front of Mississauga MP Iqra Khalid’s office to demand that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intervene and secure the release of Yasser Albaz, a Canadian citizen, from an Egyptian prison.

The protest, scheduled to kick off at 4:00 pm on June 15, will take place at 3184 Ridgeway Drive. 

The protest has been organized by Amal Albaz and Safaa Elashmawy, Yasser’s daughter and wife. In a news release, organizers said 400 to 500 supporters are expected. 

Today’s protest will be the fourth one in as many days. 

Amal Albaz says her 52-year-old father has been imprisoned in Cairo for more than a year and is at risk of succumbing to COVID-19 unless the government can win his freedom.

Yasser Albaz, an engineer from Oakville, has been in a Cairo prison since February 2019, when he was detained at the airport on his way home from a business trip. Albaz is a dual citizen who was travelling on his Canadian passport.

His daughter says his family still does not know why he was detained and questioned and that he has not been charged. She says his situation has grown more dire in recent days because he has developed COVID-19 symptoms and a fellow 42-year-old prisoner has died from the disease.

According to a news release, Yasser was transferred by Egyptian authorities to a hospital and then returned to prison and placed in isolation. Amal Albaz says this means that there is a greater chance that he might die in prison if he is not moved to a Canadian hospital.

The news release says the family has received information that he is suffering from a severe cough, extreme fatigue, tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing.

“Not only is Yasser in horribly unhygienic conditions with limited ventilation and almost non-existing medical care, he is in his fifties, and has pre-existing medical conditions which increase his risk and need for immediate medical care,” the news release reads. 

“I have been pressing on our MP Anita Anand and Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne that COVID-19 is a real risk and we no longer can wait for soft diplomacy to take its course. If Egypt is a friend, then they would not treat a Canadian national this way. If Minister Anand needs to go to Egypt, then this is the time to do so. It is now a matter of life and death,” Amal Albaz said in a statement.   

According to the family, two inmates in the same prison wing as Yasser died of COVID-19 and “medical negligence.” 

The family says there have been reports of COVID-19 in Tora Prison for weeks now and that there is no way for the prisoners to protect themselves from the virus, as cells are overcrowded, one washroom is shared, and physical distancing is impossible.

“Yasser’s life is Canada’s responsibility,” the release reads. 

Read here: https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/10022467–bring-my-dad-back-alive-daughter-of-canadian-detainee-in-egypt-protests-at-burlington-mp-office/

Amal Albaz the daughter of Canadian citizen Yasser Albaz who has been detained in an Egyptian prison for over a year, is joined by her mother Safaa Elashmawy and her sister Maryam and a few hundred supporters for a protest outside of Burlington MP Karina Gould constituency office. – Graham Paine/Torstar

Burlington was the latest stop in the ongoing campaign to bring an ill Canadian detained in Egypt home.

At the forefront of these efforts is Amal Albaz — daughter of Yasser Albaz — who was joined by her mother Safaa Elashmawy, sister Maryam and roughly 80 supporters for a protest outside MP Karina Gould’s Guelph Line constituency office Saturday afternoon.

The MP spoke with Amal and her family, who’ve visited numerous communities in recent months in a desperate plea to have Prime Minister Justin Trudeau push for Yasser’s release.

His family says he’s been experiencing coronavirus-like symptoms and due to pre-existing medical conditions is in an especially vulnerable state — requiring immediate medical care.

Read here: https://oakvillenews.org/community-protests-to-bring-canadian-home-from-egypt/

Yasser Ahmed Albaz has been illegally detained in Egypt for a year and half. He began developing COVID-19 symptoms in prison on Thursday. Since then, his family and community have been protesting for decisive action by the Canadian government.

Yasser Albaz travelled to Egypt for business in December 2018. He is a dual citizen and a well-known member of the Oakville community. He planned to return to Canada by Family Day 2019 but was detained at the airport without any explanation or warrant. Since then, his family has worked tirelessly to get him back by working with the Canadian government.

Protests on Friday outside the downtown office of Liberal MP Anita Anand.

“He disappeared for several days and nobody knew where he was. He was unaccounted for,” says his daughter Amal Albaz. “They just made him disappear. If we are talking about Human Rights Laws, to this day, he hasn’t been charged with anything. The Egyptians have never shared any information as to why they’re holding him. It’s just arbitrary detention.”

Yasser Albaz now sits in Tora Prison, one of the most infamous institutions in all of Egypt. For the past year and a half, his family has only been able to hear from him through a relative who lives in Egypt.

“He was able to visit him in prison every couple of weeks or so,” Amal says. “But since COVID-19 began in February and March, no one has been able to visit or see him.”

The Albaz family hadn’t heard from Yasser for months when they found out that he had begun suffering from the symptoms of COVID-19.

“Somehow he got that message out and let us know that he was suffering. He says that he is writing his will because he feels that this it it,” Amal says.

This has left Amal and the rest of the family angry and frustrated. Not only at Yasser’s imprisonment or the illness he’s developed but with their government for allowing everything to reach this point.

The conditions inside Tora Prison are bad under normal circumstances. The cells are overcrowded, there is little sanitation or access to medical care. During a pandemic, staying there could be a death sentence.

Prime Minister Trudeau and his cabinet have made some efforts to arrange for Yasser’s return. The Prime Minister mentioned the case once during a discussion with the Egyptian President. Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne did the same. Nothing has worked. Amal believes that the time for ‘soft diplomacy’ is over now though.

“The government says that this case is a top priority, but mentioning it on a phone call just isn’t enough. That is not going to guarantee my father’s freedom,” Amal says. “We are able to reach out but unfortunately there have just been no updates. This case has not changed since it’s beginning. Just mentioning the case on a phone call isn’t enough. It’s not going to guarantee anyone’s freedom. There needs to be a demand for my father’s release. He is there against international law and his human rights are being violated on every count.”

For the past year and a half, the Albaz family has been trying to work with the government.

“People have been wanting to protest for so long and, you know, my family has been saying: let’s be patient, trust the government, they’re working on something,” Amal says.

After learning of their father’s illness, they increased the pressure. On Friday, there were protests outside the offices of prominent Liberal politicians in Mississauga and Toronto. There was one in Oakville, outside the office of MP Anita Anand. Minister Anand was not present but members of her staff came out to talk to the protesters.

“People are just burning with anger and frustration. My father is well known in the community. His impact was always obvious and everyone feels his loss right now. Everyone’s angry, everyone’s frustrated, and that’s what drives the protests,” Amal says.Advertisement

The protests were organized primarily over social media. The Albaz family has been reaching out to other community members through Facebook and Twitter. Their change.org petition, addressed to Justin Trudeau, has received over 49,000 signatures.

Dozens showed up in Oakville. More demonstrations are planned for tomorrow.

“I think today was great, I hope our government hears us and understands the pain that we’re going through,” Amal says. “The idea that we might never hear his voice again or see his face again, that is just something no one could stand.”

Signs held at the protest said many different things. They all translated into one demand though: decisive action from the federal government.

“There’s never been really any indication that the Canadian government is actually taking this seriously,” Amal says. “I would love to believe they’re statements, but at the end of the day, it’s been a year and a half and there have been no results. How can you tell me this case is a top priority when he is about to die in the worst prison in Egypt? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

The protests for Yasser Ahmed Albaz’s release on Saturday will be held in Burlington and Waterloo.

“Every Canadian has a right to return home,” Amal says. “My father never did anything wrong and the Canadian government certainly hasn’t done enough.”

Important Contact Information

• Oakville MP Anita Anand

• Oakville North-Burlington MP Pam Damoff

• Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs – François-Philippe Champagne

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

• Egyptian Ambassador: Ahmed Abou Zeid

• Egyptian Consulate

• Egyptian Canadian Cultural Association of Ottawa (ECCAO)

The Canadian Council of Imams Calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau To Intervene and Bring Canadian Citizen Yasser Albaz Home.

The Canadian Council of Imams is extremely concerned about the recent news of Canadian citizen Yasser Albaz suffering from COVID-19 symptoms.

It has been nearly a year and a half since Yasser Albaz disappeared in Cairo airport and then subsequently held arbitrarily by Egyptian authorities without charge. Since his detention, the Canadian government has been unsuccessful in securing his release, let alone improve his conditions.

It is the responsibility of our Canadian government to ensure the safe return of Yasser Albaz to his family.

We call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to intervene and bring Yasser Albaz home for medical assistance in a Canadian hospital.

We pray for his health and his reunification with his loved ones.

Canadian Council of Imams

Jun 13th 2020

Read here: https://globalnews.ca/news/7056246/canadian-egypt-canadian-covid-19/

OTTAWA — The daughter of a Canadian man imprisoned in Cairo for more than a year says her father is at risk of succumbing to COVID-19 unless the government can win his freedom.

Amal Ahmed Albaz is once again pleading with the Canadian government to come to the aid of her 52-year father, Yasser Ahmed Albaz, an engineer from Oakville, Ont.

He has been in a Cairo prison since February 2019, when he was detained at the airport on his way home from a business trip.

Albaz is a dual citizen who was travelling on his Canadian passport.

His daughter says his family still does not know why he was detained and questioned and that he has not been charged.STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

But she says his situation has grown more dire in recent days because he has developed COVID-19 symptoms and a fellow 42-year-old prisoner has died from the disease.

“This is a matter of life and death right now,” Amal Ahmed Albaz said Thursday.

“We are terrified for his life, of course, and we need our government to do as much as they can.”

She says her father has developed a severe cough, extreme fatigue, tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing.

He is also being held in a prison with unhygienic conditions, limited ventilation and almost no medical care.

She said her father has pre-existing medical conditions that put him at risk.STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

Canadian diplomats have been unable to visit him in prison since the March outbreak of the novel coronavirus, she said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised his case during a visit to the African Union summit in February during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Global Affairs Canada said in a statement on Thursday night.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne raised the case with this Egyptian counterpart earlier this past week, the department said.

Amal Ahmed Albaz said Champagne has been responsive to her family, but she is calling on the government to ratchet up pressure to have him released.

“I feel like the Liberal government has failed my family, and if my father dies — which is a huge possibility — will have failed all Canadians for not being able to get a so-called ally and friend, Egypt, to respect a Canadian national and send him home.”

She said her family has been pushing the Canadian embassy since March to at least arrange a phone call with her father to make sure he’s OK.

Previously, another family member in Egypt had been able to visit but that has stopped because of COVID-19 restrictions, she said.

She said her father was able to find a way to get his family a leaked message about his current condition.

Read here: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/fearing-covid-19-daughter-pleads-for-ontario-dads-release-from-cairo-prison

OTTAWA — The daughter of a Canadian man imprisoned in Cairo for more than a year says her father is at risk of succumbing to COVID-19 unless the government can win his freedom.

Amal Ahmed Albaz is once again pleading with the Canadian government to come to the aid of her 52-year father, Yasser Ahmed Albaz, an engineer from Oakville, Ont.

He has been in a Cairo prison since February 2019, when he was detained at the airport on his way home from a business trip.

Albaz is a dual citizen who was travelling on his Canadian passport.

His daughter says his family still does not know why he was detained and questioned and that he has not been charged.

But she says his situation has grown more dire in recent days because he has developed COVID-19 symptoms and a fellow 42-year-old prisoner has died from the disease.

“This is a matter of life and death right now,” Amal Ahmed Albaz said Thursday.

“We are terrified for his life, of course, and we need our government to do as much as they can.”

She says her father has developed a severe cough, extreme fatigue, tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing.

He is also being held in a prison with unhygienic conditions, limited ventilation and almost no medical care.

She said her father has pre-existing medical conditions that put him at risk.

Canadian diplomats have been unable to visit him in prison since the March outbreak of the novel coronavirus, she said.

Global Affairs Canada had no immediate comment Thursday.

Amal Ahmed Albaz said Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has been responsive to her family, but she is calling on the government to ratchet up pressure to have him released.

“I feel like the Liberal government has failed my family, and if my father dies — which is a huge possibility — will have failed all Canadians for not being able to get a so-called ally and friend, Egypt, to respect a Canadian national and send him home.”

She said her family has been pushing the Canadian embassy since March to at least arrange a phone call with her father to make sure he’s OK.

Previously, another family member in Egypt had been able to visit but that has stopped because of COVID-19 restrictions, she said.

She said her father was able to find a way to get his family a leaked message about his current condition.

On a December trip to Egypt for a development conference, Champagne raised Yasser Ahmed Albaz’s case directly with his counterpart.