Sanaa Seif

Sanaa Seif ( Arabic سناء سيف, DMG Sanāʾ Saif ; born 1993 ) is an Egyptian political activist who actively participated in the Egyptian revolution in 2011. She studied language and translation at October University until her arrest in 2014. In September 2015, she and 100 others were granted a presidential pardon.

Life

Sanaa Seif is a political activist and student from Egypt . Seif belongs to a well-known and very politically active family. Her father Ahmed Seif was an activist and human rights lawyer until his death in 2014. Sanaa's mother, Laila Soueif , is a professor at Cairo University and a political activist for academic freedom in Egypt. Her two older siblings are also known in the activist community. Her brother Alaa Abd El-Fattah became an icon during the 2011 uprisings that overthrew the Mumbarak regime. Her sister Mona Seif is a genetic researcher and political activist responsible for co-founding an Egyptian movement against military trials against civilians.

Sanaa began her activism in 2011 during the height of the revolutionary protests in Egypt. Her first experience of protests came when she interfered with a movement reminiscent of Khaled Said . Her activism only grew from there and at the age of 17, after witnessing protests on Tahrir Square , Sanaa founded an independent newspaper "al-gornal" with a few friends. The independent newspaper, dealing with issues in the heart of the Arab Spring, quickly began to gain popularity, with production rising to more than 30,000 copies per issue.

Since her first engagement in the Arab Spring, Sanaa has also been very active in protest movements and human rights issues. Her image has become a symbol for revolutionaries who respect their political and human rights work and regard them as a revolutionary spirit.

Sanaa is currently studying Language and Translation at the University of October 6th.

Protest and prison time

On June 21, 2014, 23 men and women, including Sanaa Seif, were arrested in front of the presidential palace in Cairo for protesting the Egyptian protest law. The demonstration was intended to protest the government's anti-demonstration laws. In a subsequent trial, the Cairo criminal court sentenced the demonstrators to "two years in prison and two more years of surveillance". According to an article in Daily News Egypt, "The 22 defendants challenged their three-year sentence in October for violating the right to protest and using force to terrorize citizens." In addition to breaking Egypt's anti-demonstration laws, the protesters were charged with attacking police officers and destroying public property. Since the time of the judgment, many international organizations including the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, Amnesty International , Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights have condemned the judgment. In February 2015, none of the movement's prominent activists were pardoned, despite rumors that pardons would be issued on the January 25th anniversary of the movement.

Hunger strike

As of September 4, 2014, Sanaa Seif and her brother Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who was detained in November 2013 for violating the anti-demonstration law and other allegations, started a hunger strike from their respective prisons while the rest of the family participated at home. In response, the Egyptian authorities, who refused to exonerate Alaa Abd El-Fattah to visit his dying father, prominent humanitarian lawyer Ahmed Seif al-Islam, and the imprisonment of Sanaa Seif. Both Sanaa and Alaa ended their hunger strike on November 19, 2014 after their families feared their lives were in danger. It is not the first time that Sanaa Seif has been on a hunger strike. On August 28, 2014, Sanaa was put on a hunger strike with several other female prisoners to protest the protest and assembly law. It is known that the family often goes on partial hunger strikes.

Image in popular culture

Sanaa Seif has become a symbol of the revolution through her activist work. In the years since 2011, Sanaa's image has become more of a symbol for revolutionaries in Tahrir Square than her connection to her family's activism. She has been very involved since participating in the protest in response to the beatings and death of Khaled Said by the Egyptian police on the ground. The image of the self is seen by some as the spirit of revolution that leads to artistic representations of itself, such as the mural in Rome , Italy , by artist Ammar Abo Bakr.

Presence on social media

Since Seif's arrest, her supporters have created both a Facebook page and a website announcing her sentence and demanding her release. The hashtag #FreeSanaa was used to raise awareness of their situation. According to these sites, hundreds of people have used both #FreeSanaa and #NoProtestLaw to show unity with their struggle.

The Square (2013)

Sanaa Seif was actively involved in the documentary The Square as she was the editor and director of the film. The film describes the events of the Egyptian revolution from 2011 to 2013 from the perspective of young activists. The film particularly criticizes the Egyptian military . The film won numerous awards at the Sundance Film Festival and was named best feature film by the International Documentary Association . The film was even the first Egyptian film to be nominated for an Oscar . While it received positive comments abroad, its release was strictly controlled domestically. It was made available on Netflix in January 2014 , but the first exhibition in Egypt didn't take place until June 2014 without any promotion.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Egypt's Presidency Pardons 100 Including Sanaa Seif and Yara Sallam. In: AllAfrica. Retrieved August 9, 2019 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Sanaa Seif and a generation that protects the revolution. In: Mada Masr. Retrieved August 9, 2019 (American English). 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Sanaa Seif: A symbol of the revolution .
4. ↑ ^{a b c} 'Presidential palace' activists sentenced to two years imprisonment - Daily News Egypt . December 28, 2014. Accessed May 1, 2018.
5. ^ Editor Of Oscar-Nominated Documentary "The Square" Sentenced To Prison By Egypt Court .
6. ^ Joint Press Release on the Verdict against Sanaa Seif, Yara Sallam and 21 Other Co-accused in Egypt / Press Releases / ACHPR .
7. ↑ ^{a b c d} http://www.madamasr.com/news/after-100-days-hunger-striking-alaa-abd-el-fattah-agrees-partial-strike
8. ↑ http://www.awid.org/Library/Egypt-Update-Woman-Human-Rights-Defender-Sanaa-Seif-Starts-Hunger-Strike
9. ↑ Security Check Required .
10. ↑ http://freesanaa.com
11. ^ ^{A b} Egypt Court Sentences Editor of Oscar-Nominated 'The Square' to Three Years in Prison .