From Egypt...
Sabahat Ashraf
in other places?
S
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Fouad Gehad <fo2...@link.net>
Date: May 26, 2006 2:10 PM
Subject: [PMU] Fw: EGYPT Flash (two bloggers arrested, beaten and charged)
To: PMUNe...@yahoogroups.com
Friends,
more friends arrested, beaten and subject to "humiliating acts" by police
forces as Egyptians protested demanding democracy and independent journalism
and judiciary!
"humiliating acts" was the word free expression and human rights groups
chose to use to refer to sodomising sharkawy and shaer according to
eyewitnesses who claim to have seen/heard police officers ordering soldiers
to "stick poles up their a**es."
Sharkawy was arrested and kept in Mahkoum Torah prison for nearly a month,
released a few days ago, and then this happened. While in detention, he was
my friend Droubi's cellmate and was our only source of information on how
Droubi is doing since his arrest (after which we were unable to get any info
on my diabetic friend). His family were told he was in Mahkoum Torah prison
but were denied the right to visit even with official court ruling.
F
EGYPT: Two bloggers arrested, beaten and charged
EGYPTE: Deux bloggers arrêtés, passés à tabac et détenus
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________
UPDATE - EGYPT
26 May 2006
Two bloggers arrested, beaten and charged
SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris
**New case and update to IFEX alert on the El-Shaer case of 26 May 2006**
(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrests of two
bloggers, Mohammed Sharkawy and Karim El-Shaer, during a demonstration at
the Press Syndicate in Cairo on 25 May 2006, and the behaviour of the police
in using violence to disperse protestors, and attacking "Los Angeles Times"
correspondent Hossam El-Hamalwy as he was trying to cover the event.
"The eye-witness accounts we have received about the arrests of the bloggers
and the attack on the 'LA Times' reporter are very disturbing," the press
freedom organisation said. "The international community should react firmly
and condemn such practices on the part of a government that claims to be
democratic."
The 25 May demonstration at the Press Syndicate was held to commemorate the
opposition activists who were the victims of repression during a referendum
last year. Plain-clothes police dragged Sharkawy ( blog:
http://www.speaksfreely.net/ ) from the taxi in which he was about to leave
and gave him a beating. They then took him to a police station where he was
beaten again and subjected to humiliating acts. His body afterwards bore the
marks of the mistreatment and one of his ribs may be broken.
El-Shaer ( blog: http://misrhura.blogspirit.com/ ) was in the car of BBC
journalist Dina Samak when he was detained by members of a group of about 30
plain-clothes policemen. (The Reporters Without Borders website has photos
of the car afterwards). El-Shaer was beaten at the time of his arrest and
was subjected to further mistreatment at the police station.
The two bloggers are now being held in Tora prison, where they are supposed
to remain in detention for at least two weeks. They are accused of
"insulting the president" and violating the state of emergency (which bans
gatherings of more than five people). They both asked to be examined by an
independent doctor to verify the injuries they received, but their requests
were rejected.
Plain-clothes police sprayed El-Hamalwy with tear-gas as he was covering the
protest. It seems the police wanted to prevent him and the two bloggers from
going to another demonstration taking place outside the Cairo high court on
25 May.
A third blogger, Alaa Abd El-Fatah, has been held since 7 May. Reporters
Without Borders called for his release on 9 May.
For further information, contact Julien Pain, RSF Internet Desk, 5, rue
Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 71, fax: +33 1 45
23 11 51, e-mail: inte...@rsf.org, Internet: http://www.internet.rsf.org
The information contained in this update is the sole responsibility of RSF.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit RSF.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
555 Richmond St. West, # 1101, PO Box 407
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 3B1
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: ale...@ifex.org general e-mail: if...@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_________________________________________________________________
IFEX - Nouvelles de la communauté internationale de défense de la liberté
d'expression
_________________________________________________________________
MISE A JOUR - EGYPTE
Le 26 mai 2006
Deux bloggers arrêtés, passés à tabac et détenus
SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris
**Nouveau cas et mise à jour d'une alerte de l'IFEX sur le cas El-Shaer du
26 mai 2006**
(RSF/IFEX) - Les bloggers Mohammed Sharkawy et Karim El-Shaer ont été
arrêtés, le 25 mai 2006, après avoir participé à une manifestation organisée
au syndicat de la presse, au Caire. Le correspondant du "Los Angeles Times",
Hossam El-Hamalwy, a par ailleurs été agressé alors qu'il couvrait
l'événement.
Reporters sans frontières demande la libération immédiate des deux bloggers
et dénonce les brutalités commises par la police égyptienne lors des
manifestations. "Les témoignages que nous avons recueillis concernant
l'interpellation des bloggers et l'agression du journaliste du "LA Times"
sont particulièrement inquiétants. La communauté internationale doit réagir
fermement pour condamner ces pratiques indignes d'un Etat qui se dit
démocratique".
Une manifestation pacifique a été organisée le 25 mai au siège du syndicat
de la presse du Caire pour commémorer la répression dont avaient été
victimes des militants d'opposition, l'année dernière, le jour d'un
référendum constitutionnel. Mohammed Sharkawy ( blog :
http://www.speaksfreely.net/ ) quittait les lieux à bord d'un taxi quand des
policiers en civil l'ont violement sorti du véhicule. Le blogger a alors été
roué de coups. Il a ensuite été conduit au poste de police où il a été de
battu et soumis à des actes humiliants. Son corps porte les marques de ces
brutalités et il pourrait avoir une côte cassée.
Karim El-Shaer ( blog: http://misrhura.blogspirit.com/ ) était quant à lui
dans la voiture de Dina Samak, une journaliste de la BBC, quand près d'une
trentaine de policiers en civil l'ont appréhendé (voir les photos de la
voiture après l'intervention sur le site de Reporters sans frontières). Il
aurait été tabassé lors de l'arrestation et également maltraité au poste de
police.
Les bloggers sont actuellement détenus à la prison de Tora, où ils devraient
être emprisonnés pour une durée minimum de 15 jours. Ils sont accusés
d'"insulte au Président" et de "violation de l'Etat d'urgence" (qui interdit
les regroupements de plus de cinq personnes). Ils ont tous les deux demandé
à être examinés par un médecin indépendant pour constater les mauvais
traitements, une requête écartée par les autorités.
Par ailleurs, le journaliste Hossam El-Hamalwy a été aspergé de gaz
lacrymogène par des policiers en civil alors qu'il couvrait la
manifestation.
Les forces de l'ordre souhaitaient vraisemblablement empêcher les deux
bloggers et le journaliste de se rendre à une autre manifestation qui se
tenait devant la Haute cour du Caire.
Un troisième blogger, Alaa Abd El-Fatah, est détenu depuis le 7 mai 2006.
Reporters sans frontières a demandé sa libération aux autorités égyptiennes
dans un courrier daté du 9 mai.
Pour tout renseignement complémentaire, veuillez contacter Julien Pain,
Bureau Internet, RSF, 5, rue Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tél: +33 1
44 83 84 71, téléc: +33 1 45 23 11 51, courrier électronique:
inte...@rsf.org, Internet: http://www.internet.rsf.org
RSF est responsable de toute information contenue dans cette mise à jour. En
citant cette information, prière de bien vouloir l'attribuer à RSF.
_______________________________________________________________
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[Sabahat Iqbal Ashraf]
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Ice
needs a whole lot more effort. There was an excellent website going
called 'committee for protection of bloggers' (or something like that)
but it shut down because it needed too much effort and wasn't
appreciated a whole lot. Egypt isn't the only place bloggers have been
in trouble. Not by far. If you can think of something that would really
help, I'm in.