Alaa has finally be released after 45 days in prison. We heard the good news from Manal earlier this week. Here is a news report from the The Independent published on 21 June 2006.
Alaa has finally be released after 45 days in prison. We heard the good news from Manal earlier this week. Here is a news report from the The Independent published on 21 June 2006.
The Independent (co.uk)
Egypt releases blogger jailed for 45 days after ‘insulting’ President By
Jeff Black in Cairo Published: 21 June 2006
Egyptian authorities have ordered the release of an award-winning blogger
and activist, imprisoned 45 days ago on charges including insulting the
President.
Alaa Seif al-Islam, 24, who was arrested at a pro-reform demonstration on
7 May, had drawn the ire of the authorities for his provocative weblog and
taking part in banned street protests. He is expected to be released from
the Tora prison in Cairo today.
The release comes after a turbulent period of protest and violence in
Egypt. Practically all groups opposed to President Hosni Mubarak,
including the Muslim Brotherhood and secular groups such as Kifaya!
(Enough!) and Youth for Change have had members beaten. Hundreds have been
arrested.
Alaa’s wife, Manal, with whom he runs the website Manalaa.net, which won
an award from the media freedom group Reporters Without Borders, said
after the decision: "There’s no going back now, we’ll definitely be
continuing our activities."
Opposition groups have rallied around two judges on trial after making
allegations about election fraud. Since April, 48 activists associated
with Kifaya! and Youth for Change have been detained. Allegations of
sexual assault and torture have been made by prisoners. In particular, the
case of Mohammed al-Sharqawi, a Youth for Change member, who was
reportedly sexually assaulted while in custody, continues to cause rights
groups concern.
Alaa Seif al-Islam has risen to prominence as part of a new generation of
secular activists that, while lacking a specific political programme, are
in essence anti-authoritarian. The nephew of the author Ahdaf Soueif and
the son of veteran campaigners Dr Layla Soueif and Ahmed Seif, Alaa has
the dissident pedigree. However, he is a relative latecomer to street
protests. " After May 2005, when I was beaten up by police, it was then
that Alaa became an activist. Before that he didn’t get personally
involved," said his mother, Layla, a mathematics professor at Cairo
University.
Supporters highlight Alaa’s importance in pushing the boundaries for
political dissent through the internet. Nora Younis, a fellow blogger and
activist, said: "He raises the ceiling of what is possible. After others
were arrested on charges of ‘insulting the President’, he arranged a
petition on his site that said ‘we, the undersigned, insult the President’
- to be given to the Public Prosecutor."
Officials at the Ministry of the Interior were not available for comment
on the release, but analysts suggested that it did not signify a relaxing
of the government’s strict stance.
http://www.independent.co.uk//eceRedirect?articleId=1093520&pubId=55
http://www.manalaa.net/