Maoud Adel, a young man shot in the head during the Egyptian protests of the Arab Spring, has partially woken from a five year coma, reports say.
Adel, popularly known as the ‘Living Martyr’, was shot in the head during the November 2011 events of Mohamed Mahmoud Street in Cairo. He was hit by two bullets, which damaged his brain and caused full paralysis, as he attended to an injured protester during clashes.
After he was initially treated in hospital in Egypt, Adel’s family engaged in a legal battle to permit him to be treated abroad at the expense of the state. In 2013 Adel received treatment for his injuries at a London hospital.
Sources on Facebook and El Watan news add that Adel has recovered 80% from his coma, and that while he is aware of his surroundings he is currently unable to respond to what is happening around him.
The November 2011 clashes at Mohamed Mahmoud Street, in Cairo, became notorious for the violence with which security forces responded to protesters. Nearly 50 people were killed in six days of demonstrations, and many protesters were shot in their eyes - injuries that were depicted in iconic graffiti painted on the street’s walls.
On social media many Egyptians reacted happily to the news of Adel’s recovery, and expressed a desire to meet and congratulate him.
