Year: 2006

Ayoub released!

Posted on By 3arabawy

Ayoub (Ramy Siyam) was released in the early hours of the morning, after bloggers and political activists in Sharqiyya threatened to march on State Security’s office in Zagazig, where he was to be interrogated today.

UPDATE: Here’s an AP report on Ayoub’s release and Kareem’s detention renewal:

One Egyptian blogger released but another ordered detained for 2 more weeks
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
CAIRO _ An Egyptian blogger was released Thursday, four days after authorities detained him, but another blogger, first arrested earlier this month, has had his detention extended by more than two weeks, police and activists said.
Rami Siyam was detained in downtown Cairo early Sunday for questioning, a police officer said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Siyam has been running his blog since May 2005, posting material critical to the government including information on police torture and political opponents.
The officer did not say whether Siyam’s detention had any connection with anti-government items he had posted on his blog.
Fellow blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil, who was first arrested on Nov. 7, had his detention extended on Wednesday by 15 days, police said. Authorities would not say why he was arrested and why his detentions was extended.
Nabils’ friends had posted an item on the Internet that said he appeared to have been detained over an article he recently wrote on his blog dealing with Islam.
Amnesty International and media watchdog Reporters Without Borders have both criticized Egypt’s arresting of bloggers as restricting freedom of expression. the Paris-based RCF has included Egypt in “Enemies of the Internet” report issued this month.
The government has not issued any official comment.
Blogging took off in Egypt in 2004 at a time domestic political activists and the U.S. stepped up calls for political reform.
Last month, a handful of Internet bloggers reported that a group of young men had sexually harassed women at night in downtown Cairo in full view of police who did not intervene.
The bloggers, who claimed to have witnessed the attacks or spoken to witnesses, said the assailants were groups of young men and boys. They argued that the police’s failure to intervene was a sign of mismanagement and corruption in the force.
The government denied that such assaults took place and accused the bloggers of defaming Egypt.

A letter

Posted on By 3arabawy
I received this letter from a sister of an Islamist detainee, who’s been incarcerated since 1993…
اعتقل أخي عبد المنعم جمال الدين عبد المنعم منيب في 21/2/1993 و كان يعمل صحفي بالقطعة بجريدة الشعب و قدم لمحاكمه عسكرية و برئته في 30/10/1993 وكان وقتها محبوس بسجن شديد الحراسة بطره.و منعت عنه الزيارة بل عن السجن كله و انتظرنا أن يسمح لنا بزيارته و نقل دون علم الأسرة الي سجن الوادي الجديد في فبراير 1995 و كان والدي يرسل له حوالة بريدية على سجن شديد الحراسة الى أن عادت حوالة في عام 1996 و عليها ختم بريدي من الوادي الجديد و كان يصعب علينا أن نتحرى عنه ان كان نقل أم لا و قمنا بعمل تصريح زيارة الى معتقل الوادي الجديد فاذا بنا نجده هناك وكانت الزيارة سيئة و مهينة لنا و له جدا مما يشير الي وجود تعذيب مستمر وشديد للمعتقلين، و كانت زيارة من خلف الأسلاك لم نستطع رؤيته جيدا ولا سماعه فاذا بأمي تنهار و يرتفع ضغط الدم حتى يسبب لها جلطة في المخ أدت الى شلل نصفي طولي و بدأ أخي أضراب عن الطعام تقدمنا خلاله بمحاضر الى النائب العام و نيابة الخارجة و حتى رئيس الجمهورية و وزير الداخلية ووزير العدل و رئيس مجلس الشعب و وزير الصحة تلغرافيا دون جدوى، و أرسلنا خطاب استغاثة الى مفتي الديار المصرية ثم نقل المستشفى بعد أن أوشك على الموت من الاضراب و كان ذلك في منتصف عام 1998 و بعد عدة أشهر ذهبنا لزيارته بالمستشفى حيث أننا كنا نزوره كل 15 يوم فاذا به نقل الى استقبال طره حيث انه قدم الى محاكمة عسكرية أخرى تسمى العائدون من ألبانيا و قد برئته المحكمة العسكرية العليا للمرة الثانية و لكن دون جدوى حيث صدر قرار باعتقال جديد و كانت برائة المحكمة العسكرية للمرة الثانية في 18/4/1999 وقد قمنا بعمل تظلمات لم نستطيع حصرها من كثرتها و لكن دائما يعاد اعتقاله مرة ثانية و بشكل دائم دون أن يخرج من محبسه و لو ليوم واحد بالطبع كلما عاد اعتقاله تسوء حاله والديه أكثر و بعد ذلك أصيبت والدته بجلطة أخرى بالقلب و تكاثرت جلطات القلب مما سبب لها قصور شديد بالشرايين التاجية وكذلك ارتفاع في ضغط الدم و كذلك ارتفاع سكر الدم و قد اصيبت منذ الجلطة الأولى بالمخ بثقب في أذنها اليمنى و في ديسمبر الماضي أصيبت في أذنها اليسرى بثقب مما جعلها لا تستطيع السمع الا بسماعة طبية و كذلك ارتفاع السكر جعلها لا تستطيع أن ترى الا أشباح و أصيبت منذ العام الماضي بهشاشة بالعظام و تأكل في بعض غضاريف العمود الفقري و كذلك أبي يعاني أمراض الشيخوخة وتأكل في الفقرات كما أن زوجة عبد المنعم كانت تحمل طفلهم الأول و قد وضعته في سبتمبر 1993 و الآن ولده يعاني من بعض أزمات نفسية بسبب بعد والده عنه و كان يرى والده لأول مرة في مستشفى ليمان طره 1998 و لديه مشكلة في التواصل مع والده بسبب اعتقاله.عبد المنعم موجود الآن بمستشفى سجن استقبال طره و يعاني من مشاكل في غضروف العمود الفقري و قد أحاله طبيب السجن في الصيف الماضي الى مستشفى القصر العيني حيث أجريت له اشعة و عرض على الطبيب المختص بمستشفى القصر العيني وقد قرر له علاج و عودته بعد شهر كامل يوم 15/9/2006 و رغم نزول معتقلين وبشكل دائم الى مستشفى القصر العيني الا أنه منع من استمرار علاجه و قرر له و بشكل شخصي طبيب العلاج الطبيعي بالسجن أنه اذا أستخدم جهاز معين للعلاج الطبيعي الغير موجود بمستشفيات السجون و موجود بالقصر العيني سيتم شفائه.
بثينة جمال الدين عبد المنعم منيب
بطاقة رقم 2100168

There’s another letter, I had posted last summer from a former Islamist detainee, you can find here.

The tale of two amendments

Posted on By 3arabawy

Re Mubarak’s speech to the People’s Assembly and Shura Council, the day before yesterday, here’s an AP report by Nadia Abou El-Magd:

Mubarak: Amend constitution article criticized as opening way for succession of his son
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) _ Egypt’s long-serving president asked parliament Sunday to amend an article of the constitution that critics say was tailored to allow his son to succeed him.
President Hosni Mubarak told parliament the article should be changed to make it easier for candidates from registered political parties to run for president. He did not provide details.
Mubarak, 78, also dismissed speculation that he would step down before his term ends in 2011. He has been in power since 1981.
“I will carry on with you, crossing to the future, shouldering the responsibility, as long as my heart is beating and I’m breathing,” Mubarak told parliament in a speech marking the beginning of the new session.
The opposition claims the article, which was rewritten last year to permit Egypt’s first multi-candidate presidential election, opens the way for Gamal Mubarak, the president’s youngest son, to become Egypt’s next leader by making it impossible for anyone to compete against the ruling party in the 2011 election.
The article requires that independent candidates obtain 250 recommendations from members of parliament or city councils to be eligible to run. Those offices are overwhelmingly held by members of Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party, or NDP.
The article also stipulates that only political parties representing at least 5 percent of parliament can put forward a presidential candidate _ a requirement no political party achieved in last year’s legislative elections.
Egypt’s largest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, which holds nearly 20 percent of parliament, is officially banned. Its lawmakers ran as independents.
Egypt’s opposition said the NDP’s previous refusal to amend the article demonstrated that it was clearing the way for 42-year-old Gamal Mubarak, who has risen rapidly in the party in recent years and is now deputy secretary general. Hosni Mubarak denies his son is being groomed to replace him.
The United States has called greater democracy in the Middle East a top priority, and at one time wanted its ally Egypt to be the centerpiece of reform. But critics say President Bush has recently backed off pressuring Cairo as concerns have escalated over the war in Iraq and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
In his speech, Mubarak said the upcoming parliament session would witness “the biggest and widest range of constitutional amendments since 1980.” He said changes would also highlight Egypt’s commitment to free market policies and social justice.
But political analysts say Mubarak’s speech adds little to his earlier statements.
“People don’t expect anything new or serious from this government or this party, and there is nothing new or serious from them. The only serious things are coming from the opposition forces _ Islamists, secularists and the judiciary,” said Osama el-Ghazali Harb, a former NDP member and political scientist.
Another political expert, Diaa Rashwan, said the speech was similar to Mubarak’s platform ahead of the September 2005 elections.
“It was as though he hadn’t heard people’s objections to it,” he said.