Patrick Bosch from CPJPO confirmed on Saturday morning that all Luxembourg marchers had been released and brought under in hotels in Cairo.
“We have no news about the next activities planned for today as yet,” Bosch adds.
On Friday evening, after reaching Cairo, the volunteers were instructed to travel to Ismailia. While making the journey in two separate taxis, the group was stopped and their passports confiscated.
One of the marchers, Georgette Hein, described the scene at the checkpoint as “absolutely disgustingly violent,” reporting that “marchers were being pulled, pushed, and had objects thrown at them.” She added that no food, water, or access to sanitation facilities was provided.
Georgette Hein and Lalla Zineb Bouanani, who lives with a disability, were separated from the other Luxembourgish marchers – Maya German, Mira Pinzi, and Samuel Taqui – who were forced onto a bus with no windows.
As of now, the group has no clear information about their destination. Some speculate they are being taken either to the airport or to Tahrir Square in central Cairo, a site known for major political demonstrations during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
The marchers have been able to communicate these developments as they still have access to their mobile phones.
Taqui shares the message “We’re holding on, we’re not giving up. We’re staying here until a solution is found. I don’t know what they plan to do with us now.”
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