Egyptian political prisoner Alaa Abd el-Fattah's book You Have Not Been Defeated was published in October 2021 while his life is in danger. The panel will discuss the plight of Egyptian prisoners, the politics of abolition, and why prisoners should be released from their cages.
Speakers include: Laila Soueif is an activist and Professor of Mathematics at Cairo University. She is a founder of the March 9th Movement for University Autonomy in Egypt. She and her family fight against Egypt's political repressions. She is the mother of Alaa Abd el-Fattah. Ruth Wilson Gilmore is a Professor and Director for the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at The Graduate Center, CUNY. A prison abolitionist and prison scholar, she has been credited for her work on carceral geography. She is the author of the award-winning book "Goldan Gulag." Hend Nafea is a Human Rights Defender who started her work on the Egyptian context, then moved internationally to continue her journey. She was arrested, tortured, and later sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison, though is currently in exile.
Omnia Khalil moderates. She is a PhD candidate at The Graduate Center, CUNY, whose research and writing centers on city, violence, and the intersection of anthropology of the revolution. She is the Research Coordinator at Security in Context.Omar Dahi, Associate Professor of Economics at Hampshire College and Director of Security in Context, provides introduction.
