By Joseph Mayton
Bikya Masr
"CAIRO: Those waiting for jailed Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil to be set free, after the military junta reportedly pardoned him and over 1900 others on Saturday were met with intimidation by undercover officers, activists told Bikyamasr.com on Sunday afternoon. Adding more fuel to the activists anger was the reality that the embattled blogger was not to be released, his brother Mark wrote on his Twitter account.
He would likely be released only after the one-year anniversary of the January 25 uprising that ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and installed the military in power.
Some 12,000 civilians have faced a military trial, much like Nabil, since Mubarak’s rule came to an end on February 11 last year.
Those waiting for his release were disappointed by early evening that Nabil would not be released.
Egypt state television, however, reported that Nabil was en route to his home after 10 months in prison. Egypt’s al-Ahram newspaper, and its sister English publication Ahram Online, also reported that Nabil was free, even as his brother Mark said the opposite.
The Egyptian government has received fierce criticism domestically and abroad for their detention and sentencing of Nabil, who was jailed for comments he made in a blog post entitled “The army and the people are not one hand.”
On April 10, in a case widely seen as the first of its kind in the post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt, Nabil was sentenced to three years in jail by a military court.
The young blogger spent most of his time in jail on a prison hunger strike to protest his treatment in Egypt’s judicial and prison systems.
Earlier this fall, authorities sent Maikel to a psychiatric hospital after he refused to eat. Doctors and observers said it was a move by the government to distance themselves from the potential death that has faced the young blogger during their care.
Nabil was considered by many to be the first prisoner of conscience since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak on February 11."
Bikya Masr
"CAIRO: Those waiting for jailed Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil to be set free, after the military junta reportedly pardoned him and over 1900 others on Saturday were met with intimidation by undercover officers, activists told Bikyamasr.com on Sunday afternoon. Adding more fuel to the activists anger was the reality that the embattled blogger was not to be released, his brother Mark wrote on his Twitter account.
He would likely be released only after the one-year anniversary of the January 25 uprising that ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and installed the military in power.
Some 12,000 civilians have faced a military trial, much like Nabil, since Mubarak’s rule came to an end on February 11 last year.
Those waiting for his release were disappointed by early evening that Nabil would not be released.
Egypt state television, however, reported that Nabil was en route to his home after 10 months in prison. Egypt’s al-Ahram newspaper, and its sister English publication Ahram Online, also reported that Nabil was free, even as his brother Mark said the opposite.
The Egyptian government has received fierce criticism domestically and abroad for their detention and sentencing of Nabil, who was jailed for comments he made in a blog post entitled “The army and the people are not one hand.”
On April 10, in a case widely seen as the first of its kind in the post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt, Nabil was sentenced to three years in jail by a military court.
The young blogger spent most of his time in jail on a prison hunger strike to protest his treatment in Egypt’s judicial and prison systems.
Earlier this fall, authorities sent Maikel to a psychiatric hospital after he refused to eat. Doctors and observers said it was a move by the government to distance themselves from the potential death that has faced the young blogger during their care.
Nabil was considered by many to be the first prisoner of conscience since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak on February 11."
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