From the Field
Apr 9, 2011
EGYPT: The Missing
photo: Mohamed Alshrqawi, recently freed after 16 years in an Egyptian prison without charges.
U.S. Public Radio:
Egypt's ruling military council recently announced that it would lift the country's emergency law before September's parliamentary elections. The law, which has been in place since President Hosni Mubarak took power in 1981, gives the state sweeping powers to arrest people without charge and to detain prisoners indefinitely.
The military-led transitional government has released almost 2,000 prisoners. But by some estimates, there are still thousands of people being held without charge in Egypt's prisons, including activists, bloggers, and members of Islamic groups.
Reporter Bonnie Allen followed one family's struggle to free their father.
Bio
Bonnie Allen is a freelance journalist living in Liberia, West Africa. Recently, she's reported from Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Uganda, Malawi and Liberia. She produces radio, print, and film.
The Canadian journalist worked for the CBC and CTV for 10 years. She holds a Masters Degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford.
Allen has lectured at the University of Liberia and trained journalists in Liberia and Ghana on human rights reporting, justice and gender issues, documentary production, and feature writing.
uganda 2010
