Bloggers In Trouble

The Sandmonkey reports:

"Alaa, blogger, co-founder of the egyptian blog aggregator Manalaa and democracy activist, got arrested today during a protest to support the Judiciary's branch fight for independence. He, and about 10 others, were rounded up in the street, beaten up and thrown in a police car. Amongst those who got arrested were at least 3 girls, and the police beat up at least another 2 girls as well.

The way it worked, the police made sure to press the demonstartors close to the egyptian musem, where they cordoned them and wouldn't let them leave, while continiously hurling insults at them. The demonstartors tried to get the police to let them go for half an hour, but no avail. The Police cordon then opend where a group of plainly dressed police officers and thugs rushed in and started beating up the demonstartors and dragging them on the asphalt till they threw them in the police vehicles. The Police also made sure that none of the satalite news channels would be able to get video footage of what they did by not allowing the press to come close and keeping them away the entire time.

Now, I don't know that this will be just a one night arrest thing or if they will try to make an example out of him and keep him arrested for a while. I am still waiting on that piece of news. But by all the gods in heaven, if they keep him more than another day I will start my own campaign and will not rest till we free him like we did AbdelKarim. I will be damned if we let the regime get away with this. So, readers, if things come to that, we will need your help. The Committe to protect bloggers is no more , we are on our own and the regime is getting more desperate, paranoid and brutal by the minute. We will most certainly need your support to get him out, but let's just hope it doesn't come to that.

For now, all we can do, is wait and see.

Rabena yostor!

Update: They've taken alaa to the state secuirty building in Heliopolis. Rumors I am hearing are not good, at all."

According to another Egyptian blogger Mostafa Hossein:

"Alaa is one of the most active people working to support the blogosphere in Egypt. Coupled with his wife manal, thier "Bit Bucket", is the aggregator collecting almost all Egyptian bloggers. He is one of the people that the Egyptian blogosphere success and latest wide spreading is indebted to."

Sandmonkey thinks you may be able to help Alaa, Malek & the other(nearly 60 activists including girls & minors) who are currently incarcerated over these events.

It seems that the Egyptian police have a record of not treating detainees very well & there are serious concerns about their safety.

This is very bad news. Everytime I read of similar events in the Middle East am filled with depression & self-pity not just for the victims - for all of us. That in the year 2006, we still have to live with this sort of threat hanging over our heads, that we have no culture of human rights & that the government which is supposed to protect its citizens should instead be abusing them.