Comrade Chris Stone (who is recovering from his stab wound in Cairo) sent me this: "I was hoping you might mention on your blog the death of the human rights lawyer
Sayyid Fathi. Both pre and post revolution in Egypt he worked tirelessly to
represent the poor as well as those on the left: workers, revolution martyrs'
families, etc.. He was also helping a friend of mine get royalties for Sheikh
Imam's family for the songs used in the film about Ahmad Fouad Negm
"al-Fagoumi." I went with that friend to his office several times recently and
no matter how busy he was he always made time to sit down and talk about the
case. He was even willing to use the offices of the Hilali Foundation for some
events to honor the memory of al-Sheikh Imam."
An Egyptian comrade who knew him well sent me this about him: "He's a former communist member of the underground Hizb el-Shaab el-Ishtraki, which was led by Ahmad Nabil el-Hilaly and Youssef Darwish in the 1990s. They presented the "cleanest" politics Stalinism could provide. They were more respectable than the CP when it came to working class issues and political stands towards the regime. He drifted into the NGO politics like many former communists, and established a legal aid NGO (which receives international funding like the other NGOs), but he took up good causes in general. He was among the lawyers who defended the "Mahalla 49", the detainees who were rounded up, tortured and tried for their alleged role in the 6 April 2008 Uprising... "
An Egyptian comrade who knew him well sent me this about him: "He's a former communist member of the underground Hizb el-Shaab el-Ishtraki, which was led by Ahmad Nabil el-Hilaly and Youssef Darwish in the 1990s. They presented the "cleanest" politics Stalinism could provide. They were more respectable than the CP when it came to working class issues and political stands towards the regime. He drifted into the NGO politics like many former communists, and established a legal aid NGO (which receives international funding like the other NGOs), but he took up good causes in general. He was among the lawyers who defended the "Mahalla 49", the detainees who were rounded up, tortured and tried for their alleged role in the 6 April 2008 Uprising... "
