April 12, 2011

US Senator pleaded with Tantawi over Nabil - with no result

Two days after blogger Maikel Nabil was secretly and in absentia sentenced to 3 years imprisonment by Cairo military court for 'insulting the army' a letter has surfaced showing political efforts from the U.S. Congress to get Maikel Nabil free.

On April 8, U.S. Senator Mark Kirk and Member of Congress Frank Wolf wrote personally to Field Marshal Tantawi, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, asking him not to sentence Nabil but set him free.

In their letter the Senator and the Congressman point out: 

"If growing confidence in Egypt is to go forward, then the government should not take rash, noticeable actions that attract international attention to Egypt."

And the letter goes on to say: 

"Dr. Nabil should not be punished for a simple online blog similar to thousands of others online. Dr. Nabil‘s arrest appears to have violated Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Therefore, we urge you to release Dr. Nabil to demonstrate the commitment of both our governments to a new era of human rights and democracy in Egypt."

Despite this letter from the U.S. Senator and the Congressman, Maikel Nabil was sentenced only two days later to a prison term of 3 years - and - which is even more astounding - in a secretive way behind the backs of his lawyers and in violation of legal procedures while he was not in court.

This sheds a totally new light on the question, if indeed the U.S. has any influence over the army that, as is well known, receives up to 1.3 billion Dollars per year in aid from the U.S.!

One should have thought that a plea from Senate and Congress would have had an impact on the SCAF at least to the degree of halting the trial. Nothing like that was the case. On the contrary, the sentence was passed and that even outside legal procedures - as if to spite anyone - including the powerful politicians from Washington - who tried to talk common sense to the SCAF. 

The result can be witnessed now around the globe. A harsh, outspoken critical press coverage of the illegal sentencing of the blogger Maikel Nabil by the Egyptian army that crushed any hope for freedom of speech it pretends to value. How did the U.S. politicians say in their letter: "...the government should not take rash, noticeable actions that attract international attention to Egypt."

Well, the international attention, Marshall Tantawi, is secured. Bravo. 

For how long will the U.S. continue to pay for this? 
 






The Hundred Twelfth Congress
Congress of the United States


April, 8, 2011


Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Commander-in-Chief and chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt
The Ministry of Defense
Cairo, Egypt



Dear Field Marshal Tantawi,

We want to commend you and your command for the calm, professional way you handled the recent transition of power. During this historic time of change, we believe it is critical that the basic human rights of the Egyptian people are protected.

As Egyptians freely express their views in Tahrir Square, they should also have freedom to express their views online. Nearly every developed nation protects Internet freedom because it builds long-term confidence in freedom.

Recently, Dr. Maikel Nabil Sanad was arrested after simply posting Internet comments about the military on his blog. Freedom of speech means little if it only protects speech that supports the current government. While Dr. Nabil‘s statements did not reflect government policy, it harmed no one and represented a very tiny fraction of what is currently said for or against the current government in major media outlets.

On march 28, 2011, your spokesman, General Ismail Etman, stated that Egypt‘s armed forces „are with the revolution, we support it and take a lot of measures for it to succeed“. If growing confidence in Egypt is to go forward, then the government should not take rash, noticeable actions that attract international attention to Egypt.

Dr. Nabil should not be punished for a simple online blog similar to thousands of others online. Dr. Nabil‘s arrest appears to have violated Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Therefore, we urge you to release Dr. Nabil to demonstrate the commitment of both our governments to a new era of human rights and democracy in Egypt.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter,
Sincereley,

signed:

Mark Kirk - United States Senator             Frank Wolf - Member of Congress


cc: His Excellency Sameh Shoukry, The Ambasador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United States

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Secretary of State

The Honorable Margaret Scobey, United States Ambasador to the Arab Republic of Egypt



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Update:  State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday that the U.S. government is "deeply concerned" about Nabil's sentence. "This is not the kind of progress we're looking for," he said.

Former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Nabil's imprisonment "calls into question whether a democratic transition is under way in Egypt."

HRW - Sentence after an unfair trial

(New York) - The military court's sentencing of the blogger Maikel Nabil to three years in prison is a serious setback to freedom of expression in post-Mubarak Egypt, Human Rights Watch said today. The ruling comes at a time when the Egyptian military is drawing very restrictive red lines around permissible speech.

"Maikel Nabil's three-year sentence may be the worst strike against free expression in Egypt since the Mubarak government jailed the first blogger for four years in 2007," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The sentence is not only severe, but it was imposed by a military tribunal after an unfair trial." 

HRW:  Military Should Not Ratify the Sentence against Maikel Nabil

Reporters withouth Borders shocked at sentencing of Nabil

"The circumstances of this blogger’s arrest and the conduct of his trial demonstrate a complete lack of consideration by the military for the most basic principles of international law."





Original press statement

April 11, 2011

Protesting the unlawful sentencing of Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil !

Please sign the protest by leaving your name in the comment box at the bottom of this statement! 

We, the undersigned, are appalled at the unlawful sentencing of Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil by military court in Cairo last night!

Maikel Nabil and his lawyers were told yesterday at court session that the trial was adjourned to Tuesday, April 12.

After Maikel was taken away and the lawyers had left the courtroom the military court sentenced Maikel Nabil in absentia to three years imprisonment and he was taken away immediately to the Tora prison where he now is held!

His lawyers only learned of this sentencing this morning!

Such an act of treachery in a court room is unparalleled. That a sentence is spoken without the presence of the accused or his lawyers is "unheard of in Egypt", as his lawyers confirm. It is also a violation of all rules of conduct in ordinary judiciary proceedings and violates human rights of the accused in the worst form. It is unbelievable that this is taking place in the post-Mubarak era after the peaceful revolution in Egypt fought for transparency, democracy and human rights!

Maikel Nabil has been sentenced for nothing else but for writing a critical post on his blog about atrocities that happened when military police arrested, detained, tortured and even sexually abused detainees in the last two months after taking over power. All these accusations have been verified by international rights groups and have been published in numerous newspapers around the world.

To sentence a blogger to three years imprisonment for reporting nothing else but what the world already knows is a gross violation of the right of freedom of speech that is guaranteed in the Interim Constitutional Declaration of Egypt. The army - that now throws Maikel Nabil in prison for three years - has issued this Declaration only 10 days ago and already the military court violates it by prohibiting freedom of speech!

We call upon the Egyptian Cabinet Council and Prime Minister Sharaf as well as the Supreme Council of Armed Forces under General Tantawi to immediately lift this unlawful sentence and set Maikel Nabil free! 

Maikel Nabil has committed no crime. He only made use of the guaranteed right of freedom of speech that we support as a fundamental right of all Egyptians no matter whether we share his views or not. Freedom of speech allows for opposing opinions and views and this must be respected by all in Egypt including the army and military courts!

The way the military court yesterday sentenced Maikel Nabil behind his back and the back of his lawyers is illegal and sends a damaging signal out to the world that Egypt's military is not adhering to judiciary standards and human rights and is violating the Interim Constitutional Declaration of Egypt!

Lift the sentence against Maikel Nabil! 
Set blogger Maikel Nabil free!

(The updated numbers of signatures to this protest will be submitted constantly to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces and the Prime Minister of Egypt – until the sentence against Maikel Nabil is lifted!)


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If you want more information on Maikel Nabil's case with the military please check other posts already published on this blog with links to media and statements from human rights organizations.

Should you encounter any problems in signing please choose Anonymous from the profile menue and just add your name in the comment box.

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احتجاجا على الحكم الجائر و الغير قانوني على المدون المصري مايكل نبيل!
نعرب نحن الموقعين أدناه عن بالغ ارتياعنا من الحكم الجائر الصادر من المحكمة العسكرية بالقاهرة على المدون مايكل نبيل مساء الأمس!
و قد صدر الحكم غيابيا على مايكل بعد اصطحابه خارج المحكمة و خروج المحامين منها حيث حكمت المحكمة العسكرية على مايكل نبيل غيابيا بثلاث سنوات سجن و تم اصطحابه فورا إلى سجن طره حيث يقبع الآن قيد الاحتجاز.
لم يعرف محاموه بهذا الحكم سوى هذا الصباح!
و الجدير بالذكر انه لا توجد سابقة لمثل هذه الخيانة في حرم المحاكم ، حيث جرى النطق بالحكم في غياب المتهم و محاموه مما "يعد حدثا غير مسبوق في مصر" ؛حسب ما ذكر المحامون. و يعد ذلك أيضا انتهاكا لكل القواعد المهنية المتبعة في الإجراءات القضائية المعتادة و انتهاكا فاضحا في أسوأ أشكاله لحقوق الإنسان الخاصة بالمتهم . و من غير المعقول و لا يصدق ان يتم ذلك في حقبة ما بعد مبارك و في عقب الثورة السلمية التي جرت في مصر و كان هدفها الأسمى هو تحقيق الشفافية و الديمقراطية و حقوق الإنسان!

تم الحكم على مايكل نبيل للاشئ سوى كتابة بوست أو رسالة شائكة في مدونته حول الفظائع التي حدثت أثناء قيام الشرطة العسكرية باحتجاز و اعتقال و تعذيب المعتقلين و حتى التعدي جنسيا عليهم في الشهرين الأخيرين بعد انتقال السلطة.
تم تأكيد كافة تلك الاتهامات عن طريق المجموعات الحقوقية الدولية و تم نشرها في العديد من الجرائد حول العالم.
ان الحكم على مدون بثلاث سنوات لكتابته حقائق يعرفها العالم بأسره بالفعل هو انتهاك و تعد سافر على حق حرية التعبير المكفول وفقا للإعلان الدستوري المصري المؤقت. و قد اصدر الجيش – الذي ألقى بنبيل في السجن لمدة ثلاث سنوات – هذا الإعلان منذ مالا يزيد عن عشرة أيام و ها هي المحكمة العسكرية ألان تتعدى على الإعلان المذكور بمنعها حرية التعبير!


إننا ندعو مجلس الوزراء المصري و رئيس الوزراء عصام شرف و كذلك المجلس الاعلي للقوات المسلحة بقيادة المشير طنطاوي بالرفع الفوري لهذا الحكم الجائر و إطلاق سراح مايكل نبيل على الفور!

لم يرتكب مايكل نبيل اي جرم. و لم يعد ان استخدم حقه المكفول في حرية التعبير التي ندعمها كحق لكل المصريين بغض النظر عن اشتراكنا معه في آراءه من عدمه. تسمح حرية التعبير بالآراء ووجهات النظر المختلفة و المتعارضة و يجب على كل من في مصر احترام ذلك بما فيهم الجيش و المحاكم العسكرية!
ان الطريقة التي حكمت بها المحكمة العسكرية على مايكل نبيل من خلف ظهره و ظهر محاموه غير شرعية و ترسل بإشارات سلبية للعالم بأسره حول عدم التزام الجيش المصري بالمعايير القانونية و حقوق الإنسان و تنتهك الإعلان الدستوري المصري المؤقت!

ارفعوا الحكم الصادر ضد مايكل نبيل!
أطلقوا سراح المدون مايكل نبيل!

( سوف يتم رفع الأعداد المحدثة للتوقيعات بشكل مستمر إلى المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة و رئيس وزراء مصر حتى يتم رفع الحكم الصادر بحق مايكل نبيل )

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في حالة رغبتك في الحصول على مزيد من المعلومات حول قضية مايكل نبيل مع الجيش برجاء الاطلاع على الرسائل أو البوستات الاخري المنشورة بالفعل حول هذه المدونة مع الروابط الواردة لوسائل الإعلام و البيانات الصادرة من منظمات حقوق الإنسا

April 06, 2011

HRW: Trial of Maikel Nabil sets dangerous precedent

The New York based Human Rights Watch has strongly appealed to the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to drop all charges against the blogger Maikel Nabil for his internet blog post critical of the military.

"It's pretty stunning in Egypt's supposed new era of rights to see the military government prosecuting someone in a military court for writing about the military," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "This trial sets a dangerous precedent at a time when Egypt is trying to transition away from the abuses of the Mubarak era."

The right to freedom of expression, including writing that criticizes the military, is protected under international human rights agreements to which Egypt is a party, Human Rights Watch said. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights in article 9 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in article 19 obligate Egypt to protect free expression. Under international law, restrictions on freedom of expression must be strictly limited to meet a legitimate aim.

Human Rights Watch strongly opposes any trials of civilians before military courts, the proceedings of which do not protect due process rights. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, in interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, has said that military courts "should not, in any circumstances whatsoever, have jurisdiction over civilians."

"The Supreme Military Council, in its caretaker role, is supposed to protect and uphold the rights of Egyptians to express themselves, however critical their views may be," Whitson said. "The Egyptian army should understand that it is no more immune from criticism than former President Mubarak."

Watch Aljazeera report on the arrest and trial of Maikel Nabil:



In the meantime the trial against blogger Maikel Nabil, who has been in military custody now for over a week, was again postponed today and will resume on Sunday, April 10. Demonstrations in front of the military court in support of Maikel Nabil are planned.

If you want to help Maikel in his quest to get free, go here.

HRW - Drop Charges Against Blogger Critical of Military

April 05, 2011

Op-Ed on Maikel Nabil in German SZ

Süddeutsche Zeitung OPINION Monday, 4. April 2011
Munich page 4
IN PROFILE


Maikel Nabil Sanad - critical blogger of the regime suspiciously eyed by the army

On the day Egypt rejoiced a nightmare began for him. After weeks of revolution the army had chased the dictator Hosni Mubarak away and had taken over. But on Feb 14, 2011, Maikel Nabil Sanad noted with shock in his blog: „My biggest enemy, the former Minister of Defense, is now in the position of the President. I am a dead man.“

Sanad is still alive, but that the former Minister of Defense, Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, would go on keeping an eye on him, is not surprising. Not only does Sanad call himself „liberal, feminist, pro-Israel, atheist“ and a lot of other things. But he is above all the first conscientious objector of Egypt. The country has just voted on a referendum for a provisional constitution and is supposed to get a complete new constitution. But so far Article 58 still stipulates that the defense of the country is a „holy duty“ and that military service is obligatory. That is why, when the army let him go last November finding him unfit for duty, this was merely a way of opting out but not the implementation of alternative community service.

The young copt, born 1985 in Assiut in Upper Egypt, a studied veterinarian living in Cairo, has been a blogger for the last six year. He is one of the most outspoken critics of the post-revolutionary military junta. Even after having been freed from military duty he kept attacking military service with the help of his „No to Compulsory Military Service Movement“. He was arrested, beaten, threatened, but did not give in. In his blog he published information on how during the protests and even after the toppling of Mubarak critics of Mubarak like himself were arrested, taken away and tortured by the army, how women were humiliated by „virginity tests“, and that the army and the people were not „one hand“, as people kept shouting in good faith in Tahrir square. He wrote: „The revolution toppled the dictator but not the dictatorship.“

Especially this last blog was too much for the generals: At the end of March Sanad was again arrested and is now facing trial before a military court for „insulting the military institution and publishing false news about it and disturbing the public security“. Critical voices see this as proof of troubling habits continuing: Up to today the Armed Council has not lifted the emergency law that allows for quick trying of accused. The Egyptian bloggers are duly alarmed: The new power-elite they fear disposes of its critics with just the same methods as its predecessor. Thousands of civilians have been arrested since the days of the revolution and convicted by military trials. Sanad however could be the first one to have to go to prison for expressing an opinion: that seems like the writing on the wall.

The Egyptian revolution is considered to be a triumph of „idealism over realism“ as the blogger wrote only a short while ago. One can‘t be sure that it was not only a partial victory.

Sonja Zekri

(translated from original German version - print edition)

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What you can do to help Free Maikel Nabil!

There is not much time. The military court has postponed the trial only until Wednesday, April 6. We have to fear that Maikel Nabil will be sentenced if we don't take action immediately!

1. Armed Forces
Post a comment on the Facebook Page of the SCAF and demand that Maikel Nabil is set free. Point out that the freedom of speech and opinion is guaranteed by the Interim Constitutional Declaration!

2. Cabinet
Send a message via twitter to @Cabinet_EG and ask them to support the demand to set Maikel Nabil free.
Post a comment on the Cabinet's Facebook Page  الصفحة الرسمية لرئاسة مجلس الوزراء المصرى
Write a mail to PM Sharaf pm@cabinet.gov.eg - On the web-site of the Government the Prime Ministers says: “It will be a pleasure to receive your communications through this e-mail." Give him the pleasure.

3. Join the Facebook Group  Free Maikel Nabil Sanad الحرية لمايكل نبيل سند
Post comments, show your support, get friends to join, so the number of followers become impressing for those who think they can detain Maikel Nabil without facing resistance.

4. Write to Hillary Clinton
Send a message to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton via the website of the US State Dept. and ask urgently for supporting the demand to free Maikel Nabil. The US Dept. on Wednesday issued a statement saying the US was deeply concerned about the arrest of Bahrain blogger Mahmood. The next day Mahmood came free. - Now we need the same support for the Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil! The US must make sure it is not paying the army of Egypt for arresting bloggers and violating the right of freedom of speech!

Good luck to him. Good luck to us all.



April 04, 2011

840 killed in Jan25 revolution!

Shocking news from the Ministry of Health: The official death toll of the Egyptian revolution has now reached 840!

Up until now it was believed, 686 peaceful demonstrators had been killed by security forces at Tahrir and in the streets of the Egyptian cities. Now an Egyptian health ministry official said that 384 deaths had been recorded in hospitals affiliated with the ministry, but deaths at private, police, military and university hospitals showed the total number of victims has reached 840.

According to the newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm the ministry official, Hesham Sheeha, went on to say that the number of injured people had reached 6.467.

The health ministry has now submitted these reports to the general prosecutor but pointed out, the ministry was not in charge of preparing reports for all the deaths.

This can only mean it is up to the general prosecutor to prepare all these cases and file charges in criminal court as soon as possible. That will not be an easy task. Only few cases of about 100 have been handed over to the criminal court so far, cases in which the killers had been identified by witnesses. But what about all those many killings that took place in the midst of the uprising where hardly any valid identification of individual killers was possible?

Bullet proof

One thing urgently needed is sound ballistics for evidence. In not few victims the bullets were still embedded when families finally found their bodies in hospitals and morgues. Many families however were pressured to sign 'natural cause' on the death certificates for their beloved ones or the bodies would not be handed to them. Not few in their grief have given in to this blackmail (that according to hospital and morgue workers came from "orders high up"), others have not. Some where determined enough and willing to allow for an autopsy securing the bullets that killed their kin. For others this was an impossible thing to do due to cultural issues. In those cases important evidence will forever have been lost with the burying of the body.

But ballistics is vital in establishing who shot a person. For each gun has a distinct and individual fingerprint it leaves on a bullet. So that a bullet - given ballistic experts are at hand - can lead back to the individual weapon used. Then with a high degree of certainty one would be able to pin the killer.

All this will however only be possible if the authorities of the general prosecutor are truly determined to find out individuals linked to individual killings. Up to now this is not certain. While 100 cases have been transfered to the criminal courts, the authorities have pointed out that many killings will not be solved and former Minister of Interior Al-Adly will be charged with them. For it is him the general prosecutor has established as having given order to shoot at demonstrators with live ammunition.

For the families of those killed this will only be a small solace. They want to know exactly who killed their brother, father, son, cousin - or of course (and not in that order) sister, mother, daughter or cousin. It will not be enough for them that Al-Adly gets all the blame but the actual killer gets off running free. They will not ever be able to come to terms with the horrors that happened during the peaceful revolution of #jan25 - the killing of 840 unarmed, innocent, peaceful Egyptians.

Don't fail on them for a second time ya government. See to it that all possible means are exploited to really find out who killed the 840 martyrs of Egypt!

April 03, 2011

Help free blogger Maikel Nabil !

Word is coming from the steps of the military court that the trial against Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil was postponed again! After having been arrested last Monday night at home for writing a blog post the army found was "offending" them he appeared twice already in court - Tuesday to get a 15 day custody pending charges - and Thursday for trial which was then adjourned until today.

Now today the court made the surprising discovery that it had not printed out the evidence against him!

And so trial was adjourned again until tomorrow, 10am, so the military court can now print a hardcopy of that blog post the military says offended them. The day after will be the pleading session. - Maikel of course has to await all this in prison. He will then already have spent a week in jail just for writing a blog post.

With or without a hardcopy - fact is, the civilian blogger Maikel Nabil is being tried by a military court because he made use of his freedom of speech. A freedom guaranteed in the Interim Constitutional Declaration the same army that is now wanting him tried only issued last Wednesday. That is illegal and totally unacceptable and is betraying every promise the Egyptian army made that the demands of the revolution for a transparent, just, democratic Egypt would be met.

Please urgently take steps to assure that Maikel Nabil will not be sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for making use of his right of freedom of speech. You can take action to support him. Please do! There is only little time left. As it stands today on Tuesday might be the verdict!

UPDATE April 4 - After a session at the military court today regarding the dealing with evidence the trial was again postponed, this time to Wednesday, April 6, 10am. That leaves only 40 hours to fight for Maikel Nabil's freedom!

UPDATE April 6 - After another session at the military court today the trial was again postponed, this time to Sunday, April 10. That shows that the military is in pains over coming to a verdict and this could speak in favour of Maikel. It also shows that the growing pressure from media coverage around the world and from activists and human rights groups is not without effect. Pressure must therefore be kept up in the next days to get him free!

UPDATE April 11 - After another long day in court yesterday the judge told the lawyers that no verdict was going to be handed down yet. A new court date was set for Tuesday, April 12, and the session was adjourned. - Today, Monday, April 11, when lawyers came to the court house they had to read in the anouncements that the military court had sentenced Maikel Nabil the evening before in his absence and the absence of his lawyers to 3 years in jail. Maikel was brought straight away to the notorious Tora prison where he is held now.
Neither his lawyers nor his family are allowed to have contact with him!
This is unparalleled in court history and an act of treachery that one can hardly believe. Both the lawyers and the accused of a trial are tricked into believing a new court date is set - and then when the lawyers are gone the accused is convicted in secrecy and thrown in jail for 3 years not even hearing the sentence being handed down!
With this act the military of Egypt has violated all rules of conduct for judicial procedures and violated the rights of the defendant in an unbelievable way!
Please sign this petition online to voice your strong protest against this unfair trial against the Egyptian blogger! This verdict of an unfair trial must be reversed immediately!
 

What you can do to help Free Maikel Nabil!

1. Armed Forces
Post a comment on the Facebook Page of the SCAF and demand that Maikel Nabil is set free. Point out that the freedom of speech and opinion is guaranteed by the Interim Constitutional Declaration!

2. Cabinet
Send a message via twitter to @Cabinet_EG and ask them to support the demand to set Maikel Nabil free.
Post a comment on the Cabinet's Facebook Page  الصفحة الرسمية لرئاسة مجلس الوزراء المصرى
Write a mail to PM Sharaf pm@cabinet.gov.eg - On the web-site of the Government the Prime Ministers says: “It will be a pleasure to receive your communications through this e-mail." Give him the pleasure.

3. Join the Facebook Group  Free Maikel Nabil Sanad الحرية لمايكل نبيل سند
Post comments, show your support, get friends to join, so the number of followers become impressing for those who think they can detain Maikel Nabil without facing resistance.

4. Write to Hillary Clinton
Send a message to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton via the website of the US State Dept. and ask urgently for supporting the demand to free Maikel Nabil. The US Dept. on Wednesday issued a statement saying the US was deeply concerned about the arrest of Bahrain blogger Mahmood. The next day Mahmood came free. - Now we need the same support for the Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil! The US must make sure it is not paying the army of Egypt for arresting bloggers and violating the right of freedom of speech!

Good luck to him. Good luck to us all.


Egyptian pacifist Maikel Nabil Sanad arrested for insulting the military
Reporters without Borders shocked at arrest of blogger Maikel Nabil
CNN Arabic reporting on military crackdown on Maikel Nabil
 

April 02, 2011

Today a blogger - tomorrow ?

Ok, so you think the arrest of blogger Maikel Nabil has nothing to do with you. Why should you speak out in his favour and demand his freedom?

You say that you don't like his pro-Israel views. You feel that his criticism of the army is wrong because the army "is our friend" and besides we don't want to irritate them to keep it nice and quite. And anyhow - what has it got to do with you? You don't know him.

Well, it has a lot more to do with you than you think. Because - believe it or not - tomorrow it might be you.

No! you say. You would not utter harsh words against the army. And you are not writing blogs. This is only about bloggers, very outspoken critical bloggers, is it not?

You wish.

On Wednesday this week the Supreme Council of Armed Forces presented the Interim Constitutional Declaration. In a press conference with General Mamdouh Shaheen and General Ismail Etman it was pointed out that the Declaration prevents arrests or detentions without legal basis and ensures freedom of the press as well as freedom of belief and opinion. - Only two days before this Maikel Nabil was arrested for making use of his freedom of opinion. And one day before declaring the right of freedom of opinion by the SCAF Maikel Nabil was sentenced to 15 days jail pending charges for "offending the army" - because he had made use of his right of freedom of opinion. When convicted he is facing three years in jail.

You are sure this has nothing to do with you?

Let me try and explain again: The arrest of Maikel Nabil by the army for expressing his opinion in a blog is a violation of the Interim Constitutional Declaration that the army issued only one day after disregarding his freedom of opinion by putting him in jail. Work it out for yourself. What worth has a Constitutional Declaration if its essence is violated already while it is published?

The days when bloggers or activists where arrested for expressing their critical views on political wrongdoings belong to the Mubarak-era that ended on Feb 11 when the dictator finally stepped down. From then on the army vowed: "The demands of the revolution will be met!" But did you ask during the revolution for bloggers or journalists or activists to be arrested when they express critical views on the army? I never heard that demand in Tahrir, did you? Why then is the army continuing to arrest bloggers as if Mubarak never was toppled? And what does that mean for you tomorrow? What if you express a critical view on the street, in a café, on a campus, at work? Will you too be in danger of losing your physical freedom because you made use of your constitutional freedom of opinion? What makes you so sure you won't? The Interim Constitutional Declaration is not going to save you. It didn't save Maikel, why you?

When the Nazis took power in Germany any form of criticism was crushed. Freedom of speech and opinion existed on paper, but those making use of it landed in jail or worse in concentration camps. One of them was Martin Niemoeller, an evangelic priest who was critical of the Hitler-Regime. He was arrested and tried then re-arrested and deported to the concentration camp of Sachsenhausen. Hitler personally decided that Niemoeller was to be killed. The only thing that saved his life was someone speaking up for him - who was not in his position, not endangered as he was, not even living in the same country: the British Lord Bishop George Kennedy Allen Bell. When he got to hear of Niemoeller's situation he raised his voice, went public and made the case known accross the world. Niemoeller stayed in the concentration camp, but the Nazis did not dare kill him anymore. For they knew now -  the world knew.

After the war, when he came free, Niemoeller wrote famous words about the time before his imprisonment that now should ring loud in our ears when we ponder on whether we, of all people, should speak up for Maikel Nabil and his freedom - that in truth is not only his freedom but our's too:

When the Nazis arrested communists I remained silent - for I was no communist.
When they put the socialists in jails I remained silent - for I was no socialist.
When they came to detain the unionists I did not protest - for I was no unionist.
When they came to fetch me - there was no one left who could have protested.


The arrest of Maikel and the demand of his freedom has to do with you. Trust me. Much more than you should like to think. Because who will protest for you when the Maikel Nabils of Egypt are in prison?

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(follow me on twitter if you like at @jonamorem)

Egyptian pacifist Maikel Nabil Sanad arrested for insulting the military
Reporters without Borders shocked at arrest of blogger Maikel Nabil

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What you can do to help Free Maikel Nabil!

There is not much time. The military court has postponed the trial only until Sunday, April 3. We have to fear that Maikel Nabil will be sentenced tomorrow if we don't take action immediately!

1. Armed Forces
Post a comment on the Facebook Page of the SCAF and demand that Maikel Nabil is set free. Point out that the freedom of speech and opinion is guaranteed by the Interim Constitutional Declaration!

2. Cabinet
Send a message via twitter to @Cabinet_EG and ask them to support the demand to set Maikel Nabil free.
Post a comment on the Cabinet's Facebook Page  الصفحة الرسمية لرئاسة مجلس الوزراء المصرى
Write a mail to PM Sharaf pm@cabinet.gov.eg - On the web-site of the Government the Prime Ministers says: “It will be a pleasure to receive your communications through this e-mail." Give him the pleasure.

3. Join the Facebook Group  Free Maikel Nabil Sanad الحرية لمايكل نبيل سند
Post comments, show your support, get friends to join, so the number of followers become impressing for those who think they can detain Maikel Nabil without facing resistance.

4. Write to Hillary Clinton
Send a message to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton via the website of the US State Dept. and ask urgently for supporting the demand to free Maikel Nabil. The US Dept. on Wednesday issued a statement saying the US was deeply concerned about the arrest of Bahrain blogger Mahmood. The next day Mahmood came free. - Now we need the same support for the Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil! The US must make sure it is not paying the army of Egypt for arresting bloggers and violating the right of freedom of speech!

Good luck to him. Good luck to us all.