Egyptian Activist Mohand Ehab Dies of Leukaemia at Age 20

Mohand Ehab, a prominent young Egyptian activist and photographer, died this morning in New York City after a long fight with terminal leukaemia. Ehab's story caught attention on Egyptian social media for its tragic trajectory in terms of being misdiagnosed while in political detention.

According to Ahmed Abdel-Basit Mohamed on Facebook, Ehab was arrested in 2013 when he was only 17 years old, under the charges of 'photographing a protest' in Alexandria, and he was sentenced to five years in prison but received a lighter sentence of three months.

Not too long after, in January 2015, he went on the ground to photograph another protest where he was once again arrested and detained. During this detention, his health deteriorated and he was taken to the prison hospital – where they first diagnosed him with anemia, then typhoid, then a liver virus. The conditions prompted his father to take his blood sample to a medical lab outside prison – the results showed he had leukaemia.

Since then, Ehab posted on several occasions about his health condition; he told his story with the healthcare in prison, which was a poor chemotherapy treatment, and that he was bleeding vigorously from his nostrils, as well as his inability to function or even go to the bathroom alone.

Finally, authorities granted him a release to be treated in the United States, but Ehab wrote once more on social media that his condition is not getting better, and that all his tests and results show deterioration, asking everyone to pray for him.

The Egyptian social media and activist community blame authorities and government for not granting Ehab the right medical treatment, which resulted in his fast-tracked death. 

Ehab had just turned 20 just five days ago.