A BRIT mum has been jailed in Egypt over her sister’s online activism videos as her desperate husband begs parliament for help.
Her frustrated husband has told the UK government to “get their head out of their a***s” and intervene in the case of his imprisoned wife.
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Mum-of-four Eman el-Shazly, 45, was allegedly taken from her mother’s home in Cairo in the early hours of August 17.
Her husband Zeesharn Moustapha said the arrest came just one day after authorities “ram-raided” the property and told her “you need to tell your sister to stop”.
Eman had called him screaming “they’re coming to get me” – and the next day she was imprisoned in the 10th Ramadan Rehabilitation Centre.
Eman, from Birmingham, had been visiting Egypt to care for her sick 68-year-old mother – who already has two children in detention.
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After more than two weeks locked up on “bogus charges”, her husband said that Eman’s mother and two nieces were allowed to visit her for the first time.
Describing the heartbreaking visit, he said: “They only saw them for 15 minutes.
“For the first five to eight minutes, the officers who were there were just swearing at the family, pushing and shoving.
In reference to the videos by Eman’s sister criticising the Egyptian government, the guards taunted: “Is your sister going to stop now? Is she going to stop now?”
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“They were laughing at them, pushing them and shoving them physically. They just sat there in fear.”
He added that the family brought enough food to feed 30 women locked inside the cells because he believes the government do not feed inmates enough.
Zeesharn said his wife’s mother was left “in pieces” after seeing her daughter, describing her as a “broken person”.
Fearful of being arrested upon landing, Zeesharn has not yet visited Egypt himself.
“With this problem now, it looks like I won’t be going to Egypt again”, he said.
“It’s just devastation. People are heartbroken”, he added.
His wife Eman will remain behind bars at least until her trial on September 13.
Egyptian authorities accuse her of promoting terrorism and spreading false news on her social media accounts.
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Defending Eman, lawyer Arfan Rashid said he did not know which posts the government was referring to and that they had no evidence that she had personally promoted a terrorist organisation.
Rashid believes the charges are based on the activity of Eman’s sister in the UK.
Slamming the arrest, Zeesharn has called it “illegal collective punishment” – and has previously said the UK government response has been “lacklustre at best”.
He said: “We’re waiting for the Government to do something about it, or try to at least make a public comment.
“This is where we need the UK Government and human-rights organisations.
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“We need these big people involved.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are supporting the family of a British national detained in Egypt, and are in contact with the authorities.”