CAIRO: Members of the Egyptian blogosphere, Muslim Brotherhood members, and a number of local and foreign journalists gathered outside the office of the public prosecutor in Shubra on Tuesday morning for a sit-in awaiting the outcome of the the interrogation of detained Brotherhood blogger/journalist Abdel Moneim Mahmoud.
The protestors patiently awaited Mahmoud’s legal advisor Ahmed Helmy for two hours outside the building.
“A minister is arriving shortly for a meeting here. That’s why all the journalists are here. Go back to your work, plain-clothes officers reportedly told inquisitive onlookers.
Upon his exit from the prosecution office, Helmy informed anxious bloggers and the growing number of journalists that Mahmoud was given another 15-day detention order pending the investigation.
While Helmy emphasized that his client “looked ok from far away , he told The Daily Star Egypt that none of Mahmoud’s legal advisors were granted access to their client either before or after Tuesday’s interrogations.
A correspondent for British Al-Hiwar channel and moderator of the blog ‘Ana Ikhwan’ (I am a Brother) Mahmoud was arrested at Cairo Airport on April 14 en route to Sudan, where he was planning to investigate a story on human rights issues in the Arab world.
Mahmoud was arrested for charges including “membership of an illegal organization and “tarnishing Egypt’s image .
He is reportedly under investigation for “co-organizing military parades with students from the Cooperation Institute in Shubra Al-Khaymah – a claim the Brotherhood and several human rights organizations argue is fabricated.
“The authorities are fabricating a fake case against him because they don’t have enough to go on. This is just another attempt to crack down on prominent figures of the political opposition movements, an Egyptian blogger who asked not to be identified told The Daily Star Egypt.
According to sources, Mahmoud was interrogated along with the dean and students from the Cooperation Institute on Tuesday afternoon.
Armed with giant yellow cardboard pencils, 17-year-old ‘Alwataweet’ blogger and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, joined the sit-in with a group of her friends in support of Mahmoud.
“We made these at home. They symbolize the fight for freedom of expression in Egypt, she explained to curious journalists while waving her larger-than-life pencil.
Global rights watchdog Human Rights Watch denounced Mahmoud’s arrest on Friday and urged his immediate release.
“Once again, the Egyptian government is prosecuting a journalist because he has reported on human rights abuses in the country. The government should focus its energies on ending the abuses, not silencing those who expose them, Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch said.
According to leftist blogger “Gemyhood , Mahmoud’s arrest is “just the beginning of a larger systematic crackdown on Egypt’s bloggers .
“They’re starting with the non-believers and the Brotherhood, such as Kareem Amer and Mahmoud. Then I expect the authorities to come after the leftist and liberal bloggers. This is just the preview, Gemyhood sighed.
Mahmoud will appear before the state security office in Nasr City in 15 days.
The Daily Star Egypt was unable to get a comment from the Ministry of Interior or the prosecutor’s office at time of press.
