ALERT! ALERT! One Of Our Own Is In Trouble!
As the resident/appointed defender of the bloggers and the blogosphere at the Asylum, it falls to me to address this. I am an ardent supporter of blogs for the sheer fact that it is an exercise in Freedom of Speech. We represent the epitome of that right, and we exercise it daily.
However Captain Ed alerts the 'Sphere to this report from Sandmonkey:
(As Captain Ed did, I will as well. Sandmonkey should be quoted, in full, so that the bloggers can see what happened.)
Alaa, blogger, co-founder of the egyptian blog aggregator Manalaa and democracy activist, got arrested today during a protest to support the Judiciary's branch fight for independence. He, and about 10 others, were rounded up in the street, beaten up and thrown in a police car. Amongst those who got arrested were at least 3 girls, and the police beat up at least another 2 girls as well.
The way it worked, the police made sure to press the demonstartors close to the egyptian musem, where they cordoned them and wouldn't let them leave, while continiously hurling insults at them. The demonstartors tried to get the police to let them go for half an hour, but no avail. The Police cordon then opend where a group of plainly dressed police officers and thugs rushed in and started beating up the demonstartors and dragging them on the asphalt till they threw them in the police vehicles. The Police also made sure that none of the satalite news channels would be able to get video footage of what they did by not allowing the press to come close and keeping them away the entire time.
Now, I don't know that this will be just a one night arrest thing or if they will try to make an example out of him and keep him arrested for a while. I am still waiting on that piece of news. But by all the gods in heaven, if they keep him more than another day I will start my own campaign and will not rest till we free him like we did AbdelKarim. I will be damned if we let the regime get away with this. So, readers, if things come to that, we will need your help. The Committe to protect bloggers is no more , we are on our own and the regime is getting more desperate, paranoid and brutal by the minute. We will most certainly need your support to get him out, but let's just hope it doesn't come to that.
For now, all we can do, is wait and see.
Rabena yostor!
This is no different than the bloggers being harrassed in China and Iran. Advocates for free speech and democracy, a recognition of citizens and their rights; these are what those bloggers are calling for and the government is not happy with it. The arrest of Alaa is troubling, to say the least. Not because he is a blogger, but rather for how influential he is. Again, from Sandmonkey:
Alaa is one of the most active people working to support theblogosphere in Egypt. Coupled with his wife manal, their "Bit Bucket",is the aggregator collecting almost all Egyptian bloggers. He "won the special reporters without borders DW Best of Blogs award in 2005. He is one of the people that the Egyptian blogospheres success and latest wide spreading is indebted to.
This represents a virtual coup for the Egyptian government worried about the movement being spread there. As he is a central point to all the Egyptian, or virtually all of them, the Egyptian government may have a cash-cow of intelligence on all the bloggers in Egypt. This is why his arrest is key. It would be the equivalent of Iran finding their central bloggers. The names, the addresses (if any) obtained in a raid on his house would put every major blogger in Egypt in serious danger. Sandmonkey has more, because Alaa was not the only blogger picked up:
60 activists were arrested in these attacks: among them Malek Mostafa, Mohammed Sharkawy and Mohammed Adel who are fellow bloggers. Mohammed Adel is a minor and is held in a regular prison facility. The arrested group has started an open hunger strike in solidarity with the demands of the judges and in protest for the continuity of their detention.
His first update in the story was not good:
They've taken alaa to the state secuirty building in Heliopolis. Rumors I am hearing are not good, at all.
I hate feeling so helpless!
I am almost positive that Alaa is going through a living Hell in the security building. Egypt is the sort of country that is not above using torture. I sure hope the Congress takes note of that when they try to tackle this issue again, or attempt to attack the president over the interrogation methods we use against our enemy. What the Left, the spineless, and the weak-kneed call torture is a walk in the park for Egyptian state security. Hell, that is not even a warm-up for them. Sandmonkey also points to Mostafa:
Alaa Abd El-Fatah was arrested today together with around ten more activists during a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with sixty activists who were arrested over the past two weeks in a non-violent sit in as well who were held in custody for two weeks under investigation for "crimes" that if anything would raise only mockery including: humiliating the president, possession of "publishing equipment"(graffiti spray) and blocking traffic. The first group of activists arrested two weeks ago was supposed to have their cases reviewed by prosecution today, so as to release or renew holding them under investigation. In solidarity with them 200 lawyers approached as a defense council, a number of judges, and a number of activists among whom were Alaa and his colleagues gathered around the court house. Authorities denied the activists entry to the court house, in addition to attempting to present the "detainees" files only, and not the detainees themselves to prosecution.
For hours, Alaa and his fellow activists shouted slogans against the government, sang and showed solidarity with their detained fellow activists. At the end of the demonstration police forces surrounding the group increased, refused to let them leave and started picking those to arrest, Alaa and ten others. They were taken to the nearby police station were they were denied lawyers, or any visitors. Lawyers are now standing outside the station just monitoring in case the arrested activists are taken somewhere else, which is exactly what happened. Three of them were taken blindfolded to another police station and were released later.
The latest attacks of Egyptian authorities rose to squash public support for the demands of Egyptian Judges for complete independence of the judiciary authority, which had the executive authorities interfering with its work for decades to forge elections, detain opposition leaders and punish voices that rise against decades of ruling under emergency law. Judges also demanded an investigation in the forgery of last elections. To shut them up, in a step with illegal procedures, the government, represented by the ministry of justice, referred two of the judges leading the movement to the validity committee. Judges had an open sit in in their club (syndicate) for weeks now, the sit in that was supported by another sit in by Egyptian activists from Kifaya (enough), Al Horreyya Alan (freedom now), El Ghad party in addition to other movements and independent individuals outside the judges syndicate. For three days in a raw, police forces, assisted by thugs, attacked the activists sit in late at night, brutally beat the demonstrators and each time arrested a group of the demonstrators. At the first night: April 24th, police forces brutally beat up a judge, a court president.
Sit ins. That is what the government decided to go after. And all because people in Egypt are sick of the way the government acts. Especially in light of the information that many people--including judges--called for an investigation into whether or not the last election was fraudulent. These people were not rioting. They were not violence. They were openly protesting the government for the problems they see.
But it does not change the gravity of getting someone as important as Alaa. Captain Ed has put this up, and we concur:
We can help by speaking out against Alaa's arrest and making every effort to have our voice heard. Send your concerns to the US Embassy in Cairo using this e-mail address.
Ours has already been sent, and we will continue to send them out until Alaa is released. Alaa is doing good in Egypt. So are the bloggers allied with him. They only want change, and they are obviously making a dent. The government's sudden crackdown shows that some people were making enough waves to be noticed.
The Bunny ;)
ADDENDUM: (Updated--6:19p.m. Arizona Time)
TigerHawk has something to add to this story:
The contact information for the Egyptian embassy is below:
The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Ct. NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone (202) 895 5400
Fax (202) 244 5131(202) 244 4319
Email: embassy@egyptembdc.org
Release the hounds.
Indeed. Release the hounds!
As the resident/appointed defender of the bloggers and the blogosphere at the Asylum, it falls to me to address this. I am an ardent supporter of blogs for the sheer fact that it is an exercise in Freedom of Speech. We represent the epitome of that right, and we exercise it daily.
However Captain Ed alerts the 'Sphere to this report from Sandmonkey:
(As Captain Ed did, I will as well. Sandmonkey should be quoted, in full, so that the bloggers can see what happened.)
Alaa, blogger, co-founder of the egyptian blog aggregator Manalaa and democracy activist, got arrested today during a protest to support the Judiciary's branch fight for independence. He, and about 10 others, were rounded up in the street, beaten up and thrown in a police car. Amongst those who got arrested were at least 3 girls, and the police beat up at least another 2 girls as well.
The way it worked, the police made sure to press the demonstartors close to the egyptian musem, where they cordoned them and wouldn't let them leave, while continiously hurling insults at them. The demonstartors tried to get the police to let them go for half an hour, but no avail. The Police cordon then opend where a group of plainly dressed police officers and thugs rushed in and started beating up the demonstartors and dragging them on the asphalt till they threw them in the police vehicles. The Police also made sure that none of the satalite news channels would be able to get video footage of what they did by not allowing the press to come close and keeping them away the entire time.
Now, I don't know that this will be just a one night arrest thing or if they will try to make an example out of him and keep him arrested for a while. I am still waiting on that piece of news. But by all the gods in heaven, if they keep him more than another day I will start my own campaign and will not rest till we free him like we did AbdelKarim. I will be damned if we let the regime get away with this. So, readers, if things come to that, we will need your help. The Committe to protect bloggers is no more , we are on our own and the regime is getting more desperate, paranoid and brutal by the minute. We will most certainly need your support to get him out, but let's just hope it doesn't come to that.
For now, all we can do, is wait and see.
Rabena yostor!
This is no different than the bloggers being harrassed in China and Iran. Advocates for free speech and democracy, a recognition of citizens and their rights; these are what those bloggers are calling for and the government is not happy with it. The arrest of Alaa is troubling, to say the least. Not because he is a blogger, but rather for how influential he is. Again, from Sandmonkey:
Alaa is one of the most active people working to support theblogosphere in Egypt. Coupled with his wife manal, their "Bit Bucket",is the aggregator collecting almost all Egyptian bloggers. He "won the special reporters without borders DW Best of Blogs award in 2005. He is one of the people that the Egyptian blogospheres success and latest wide spreading is indebted to.
This represents a virtual coup for the Egyptian government worried about the movement being spread there. As he is a central point to all the Egyptian, or virtually all of them, the Egyptian government may have a cash-cow of intelligence on all the bloggers in Egypt. This is why his arrest is key. It would be the equivalent of Iran finding their central bloggers. The names, the addresses (if any) obtained in a raid on his house would put every major blogger in Egypt in serious danger. Sandmonkey has more, because Alaa was not the only blogger picked up:
60 activists were arrested in these attacks: among them Malek Mostafa, Mohammed Sharkawy and Mohammed Adel who are fellow bloggers. Mohammed Adel is a minor and is held in a regular prison facility. The arrested group has started an open hunger strike in solidarity with the demands of the judges and in protest for the continuity of their detention.
His first update in the story was not good:
They've taken alaa to the state secuirty building in Heliopolis. Rumors I am hearing are not good, at all.
I hate feeling so helpless!
I am almost positive that Alaa is going through a living Hell in the security building. Egypt is the sort of country that is not above using torture. I sure hope the Congress takes note of that when they try to tackle this issue again, or attempt to attack the president over the interrogation methods we use against our enemy. What the Left, the spineless, and the weak-kneed call torture is a walk in the park for Egyptian state security. Hell, that is not even a warm-up for them. Sandmonkey also points to Mostafa:
Alaa Abd El-Fatah was arrested today together with around ten more activists during a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with sixty activists who were arrested over the past two weeks in a non-violent sit in as well who were held in custody for two weeks under investigation for "crimes" that if anything would raise only mockery including: humiliating the president, possession of "publishing equipment"(graffiti spray) and blocking traffic. The first group of activists arrested two weeks ago was supposed to have their cases reviewed by prosecution today, so as to release or renew holding them under investigation. In solidarity with them 200 lawyers approached as a defense council, a number of judges, and a number of activists among whom were Alaa and his colleagues gathered around the court house. Authorities denied the activists entry to the court house, in addition to attempting to present the "detainees" files only, and not the detainees themselves to prosecution.
For hours, Alaa and his fellow activists shouted slogans against the government, sang and showed solidarity with their detained fellow activists. At the end of the demonstration police forces surrounding the group increased, refused to let them leave and started picking those to arrest, Alaa and ten others. They were taken to the nearby police station were they were denied lawyers, or any visitors. Lawyers are now standing outside the station just monitoring in case the arrested activists are taken somewhere else, which is exactly what happened. Three of them were taken blindfolded to another police station and were released later.
The latest attacks of Egyptian authorities rose to squash public support for the demands of Egyptian Judges for complete independence of the judiciary authority, which had the executive authorities interfering with its work for decades to forge elections, detain opposition leaders and punish voices that rise against decades of ruling under emergency law. Judges also demanded an investigation in the forgery of last elections. To shut them up, in a step with illegal procedures, the government, represented by the ministry of justice, referred two of the judges leading the movement to the validity committee. Judges had an open sit in in their club (syndicate) for weeks now, the sit in that was supported by another sit in by Egyptian activists from Kifaya (enough), Al Horreyya Alan (freedom now), El Ghad party in addition to other movements and independent individuals outside the judges syndicate. For three days in a raw, police forces, assisted by thugs, attacked the activists sit in late at night, brutally beat the demonstrators and each time arrested a group of the demonstrators. At the first night: April 24th, police forces brutally beat up a judge, a court president.
Sit ins. That is what the government decided to go after. And all because people in Egypt are sick of the way the government acts. Especially in light of the information that many people--including judges--called for an investigation into whether or not the last election was fraudulent. These people were not rioting. They were not violence. They were openly protesting the government for the problems they see.
But it does not change the gravity of getting someone as important as Alaa. Captain Ed has put this up, and we concur:
We can help by speaking out against Alaa's arrest and making every effort to have our voice heard. Send your concerns to the US Embassy in Cairo using this e-mail address.
Ours has already been sent, and we will continue to send them out until Alaa is released. Alaa is doing good in Egypt. So are the bloggers allied with him. They only want change, and they are obviously making a dent. The government's sudden crackdown shows that some people were making enough waves to be noticed.
The Bunny ;)
ADDENDUM: (Updated--6:19p.m. Arizona Time)
TigerHawk has something to add to this story:
The contact information for the Egyptian embassy is below:
The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Ct. NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone (202) 895 5400
Fax (202) 244 5131(202) 244 4319
Email: embassy@egyptembdc.org
Release the hounds.
Indeed. Release the hounds!
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 2:45 PM
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