"They came back with batons": a CGT railway worker arrested by the Egyptian army before joining the "Global March to Gaza"

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While attempting to join the "Global March to Gaza," Samy Charifi Alaoui, general secretary of the CGT (General Confederation of Trade Unions) for the Paris-Est railway workers, was arrested by Egyptian authorities. The union activist denounces inhumane detention and physical violence.

"We were crammed 100 of us into a filthy room. There were only six beds, unsanitary toilets, and the conditions were quite inhumane," says the union representative. © Michel Christophe/ABACA

Fourteen hours of detention, food deprivation, and physical violence. This is how the Egyptian stay of Samy Charifi Alaoui , general secretary of the CGT (General Confederation of Labour) union of the Paris-Est railway workers, ended. He was forcibly expelled from Cairo on Thursday, June 12, after spending the night in a detention center. The union activist was there to participate in the "Global March to Gaza," an initiative that was supposed to bring together 6,000 activists from around the world to walk 50 kilometers to the Palestinian enclave.

Committed to defending the Palestinian people for over twenty years and a member of the France Palestine Solidarity Association (AFPS), Samy Charifi Alaoui didn't hesitate to join the project. "I heard about it on social media, I looked into it, and when I saw it was a peaceful march to deliver humanitarian aid, my decision was made." The pillar of...