Upon rushing to the police station to seek help and report the horrific events, Mr. Shakir was immediately arrested and accused of the murders. He was subsequently subjected to electric shock torture and beatings to force him to confess. As a result of the beatings, he was paralyzed on one side of his body and could not stand. He was then convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, with his case transferred to the Egyptian Court of Cassetion and scheduled for final judgment on October 3, 1999.
Although the American Embassy in Egypt refused to give any assistance in the case, a U.S. Congressman—Robert Aderholt of Alabama—happened to be listening to “The Don Kroah Show” on his way home that evening and heard the story. A short time later I received a personal fax from the Congressman which read:
“Recently I was listening to one of your shows and you discussed a young man in Egypt who is to be put to death around Oct. 3. Please send me an information sheet if possible.” Signed, Robert R. Aderholt
I quickly faxed the Congressman all the information I had on hand about the case and he moved to secure the signatures of 21 members of Congress—19 Republicans and 2 Democrats—on a letter to Egyptian President Mubarak on Mr. Shakir’s behalf saying, “We look forward to working with you to study these instances of apparent injustice and hopefully resolve them in a way which respects your legal system and also puts to rest concerns by citizens of our country about possible human rights violations.”
According to a column in the Washington Times covering the story, it was reported that Reno L. Harnish III, deputy chief of mission for the U.S. Embassy in Egypt responded to Congressman Aderholt’s letter, informing him that President Mubarak had received the letter and that Mr. Shakir’s conviction had been overturned.
So close was the U.S. Congressmen’s intervention to the scheduled hanging of Mr. Shakir that his defense attorney later said his client nearly fainted when officials came to his cell to inform him of the turn of events, thinking that they had actually come to escort him to the gallows.
The bottom line: Can talk radio make a difference? Absolutely! And not just in matters that can give politicians fits, but in such life or death issues of the fate of innocent people like Adly Shakir.