No quick release for Western doctor

By John Miner

With no sign jailed London doctor Tarek Loubani, MD'07, and Toronto filmmaker John Greyson will be set free, their families and close friends are shifting to an admittedly high-risk campaign.

Instead of giving Cairo authorities the benefit of the doubt for continued delays in releasing the pair, delicately suggesting prosecutors may be just too overloaded, they are bluntly denouncing the Egyptian legal system.

And they’re ramping up their public campaign, moving from asking people to sign petitions to urging them to take to the streets in protest rallies on Sept. 24 in London and Montreal.

A Facebook campaign has been launched by supporters telling people: “Thinking of Visiting Egypt? Don’t.”

Briton Alisdare Hickson, who was imprisoned in Cairo for 54 days in 2012, warns the strategy could backfire.

Hickson, who has been consulted by the families, said raising the profile of the jailed pair will help the morale of the pair.

Western President Amit Chakma's updated statement on Dr. Loubani.