15 years for Alaa Abd El-Fattah
An Egyptian court has sentenced one of the country’s most prominent pro-democracy activists Alaa Abd El-Fattah to 15 years in prison. 24 other defendants in the case received the same 15-year sentence. It’s the first conviction of a prominent activist since former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi took office as president. The Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Abdullah Elshamy is on a nearly five-month hunger strike in protest of his detention without charge. Elshamy has reportedly lost over a third of his body weight and is reportedly suffering from severe anemia, low blood pressure and the start of kidney failure.
Protests Erupt on Opening Day of World Cup
In Brazil, the 2014 World Cup has kicked off. On opening day Thursday, police in military-style gear fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters who gathered to condemn Brazil’s mass expenditures on the tournament. Clashes erupted in São Paulo near the stadium which hosted the opening game between Brazil and Croatia. Three workers died building the stadium. Protester Rafael Dolabella spoke while holding a poster of one of the deceased workers. “The World Cup will be very good for a few people, for the corporations here in Brazil who are building these stadiums, for the corporations that sponsor FIFA, for FIFA itself. It will not be good for the people of Brazil, for the homeless people who are being violently repressed here in the center of São Paulo right now.”
Woman Dies in Cell While Serving 2-Day Sentence for Fines from Children’s Truancy
In Berks County, Pennsylvania, a mother of seven has died in a jail cell while serving a two-day sentence over fees related to her children’s absence from school. Eileen DiNino(55), was jailed after failing to pay $2,000 in fines and court costs. The AP reports her file included a “laundry list of court fees for one case alone,” including charges like “postage.” Police say DiNino’s death was not suspicious, but the cause remains unknown. According to the Reading Eagle newspaper, more than 1,600 people have been jailed for truancy fines in Berks County alone since 2000 — two-thirds of them women.