Cairo: Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy, who has been detained for over five years, has suspended a hunger strike after 89 days due to his deteriorating health.
On June 1, Galal El-Behairy, started a total hunger strike to demand his release from prison.
On March 5, El-Behairy started a partial hunger strike.
Taking to Twitter, PEN International wrote,
“PEN International has learned that imprisoned poet #GalalElBehairy has suspended his hunger strike after 89 days due to his deteriorating health.”
“We remain gravely concerned for his health and reiterate calls for his immediate and unconditional release.”
Behairy was arrested on March 3, 2018, at Cairo airport, after the release of a song, Balaha, based on his poem which indirectly insulted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the former defence minister who came to power after a military coup in 2013.
In July 2018, a military court sentenced him to three years in prison with hard labour for a collection of poems deemed “an insult to the military institution and its leaders.”
El-Behairy finished his sentence in 2021 but remained detained by the authorities until the Supreme State Security Prosecution charged him with “joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.”
