Phone and passport confiscated in Egypt from Irish politician marching to Gaza

Independent

2 days ago

An Irish politician has had his phone and passport confiscated by Egyptian authorities while on a march to Gaza.
Paul Murphy, a TD (MP) for People Before Profit-Solidarity, was among a large group of people attempting to reach the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
A party spokesman said he and others have been forced onto buses and it is believed they are being taken to Cairo for deportation.
Mr Murphy flew to Cairo on Thursday and set off towards Gaza on Friday.
Prior to his phone being taken, he said in a social media post: 'We have had our passports confiscated and are being detained.
'It seems Egyptian authorities have decided to crack down on the #GreatMarchToGaza.'
Mr Murphy said his passport had been confiscated by the Egyptian army, along with the passports of other people in the group who were stopped.
He said those being detained were being asked to board a bus and he believed they were going to be deported.
He added: 'We are refusing to board the deportation bus.'
Mr Murphy told the PA news agency that several other Irish citizens were among those who have been stopped.
In a video, he said: 'It's looking worrying that the Egyptian authorities are going to act to prevent our peaceful march to Gaza, to demand that Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid, of food, of water, of medical supplies, is ended.
'I'm just asking people to redouble their efforts, to get on to your own Government, in Ireland's case get on to (Foreign Affairs Minister) Simon Harris, your local TD, ask them to pressurise the Egyptian regime to allow us to engage in our peaceful march.'
He added: 'The world has watched a horrific genocide for the past 20 months. Since March, a total attempt of starvation.
'And that this a peaceful march to demand that it be ended and demand that western governments stop their complicity.'
Mr Murphy also posted a livestream video on X in which Egyptian authorities could be seen forcibly dragging some of the participants away from a sit-down protest.
The livestream abruptly ended after his phone was taken, a People Before Profit spokesman said, adding that the party is no longer able to contact him.
A post by an administrator on his X account says: 'We urgently need Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris to intervene, demand he is freed, his passport and phone returned and the protesters are allowed to peacefully march to Gaza.'
People Before Profit national secretary Matt Collins said: 'The Irish government must contact the Egyptian authorities to demand the release of Paul and the others who have been detained.
'They are travelling to join a peaceful march to demand that humanitarian aid is delivered to starving people in Gaza. There is no reason for them to be detained or deported.
'We also call on the public to contact the Egyptian embassy to demand that people on the Global March to Gaza are allowed to travel unhindered'.
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said it was 'closely monitoring the situation' along with its embassy in Egypt.
'Embassy officials are engaging with the relevant local authorities and are in contact with EU and other partners regarding the situation.
'The department is in contact with a number of citizens and is providing advice and guidance.
'As set out in our travel advice, the vicinity of the Rafah border crossing is particularly dangerous at the moment and the border crossing is currently closed.'