Kerala activist detained in Egypt

Kerala activist detained for 27 hours in Egypt ahead of COP27 vows to launch mass movement

Kerala November 5, 2022 Read the article By Sreerag PS

Ajit Rajagopal has survival anxiety — not about his own, but about the planet’s survival. The Egyptian authorities do not share the same anxiety.

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Rajagopal was marching on foot to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt when he was detained by Egyptian security personnel at a checkpoint on 31 October.

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His eight-day march was to create awareness about the climate crisis, ahead of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, at Sharm.

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The architect-cum-activist was subjected to a 27-hour-long intense grilling, which drew criticism from the The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), climate and human rights activists.

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“I was merely marching on foot and won’t even leave any carbon footprints in their land. But they were not even allowing it”. Rajagopal recalled in an exclusive conversation with South First.

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Rajagopal had spent 50 days in Kenya, a week in Uganda and three days in Rwanda, mobilising people against climate change, before setting foot in Egypt on the northeastern corner of Africa.

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Rajagopal was holding a white paper, which had the message, “Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh, March for our planet,” seeking climate justice at COP27.

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He realised it was 2.15 pm when he was taken out of the police station the next day, more than 27 hours after he was detained at the checkpoint.

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Rajagopal is associated with Jai Jagat, a NGO, espousing justice and peace based on Gandhian values. “I have this survival anxiety”, he continued.

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“I later came to know it was not easy for activists and human rights defenders to come out of jail if detained by the national security agencies”, he added.

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In a recent report, Amnesty International revealed how authorities have used the strategy “as a propaganda tool to conceal ever-growing repression of any form of dissent ahead of COP27 in November 2022.”

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“There are several environmental issues in Egypt. Acres of land are becoming saline every year. Egypt should have at least made use of this opportunity (COP27) to protect its environment,” Rajagopal opined.

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