CAIRO: Maikel Nabil, an imprisoned blogger who has been on a hunger strike for 48 days, assured his family that he is “staying strong and will not be broken,” according to his brother Mark who spoke at a press conference Sunday at the Hisham Mubarak Law Center.
Mark Nabil said his brother’s health condition is deteriorating and that the family will hold Field Marshal Hussein Tantawy personally responsible should he die.
Maikel Nabil went on a hunger strike in protest of a three year sentence by a military court on charges of insulting the armed forces and spreading false news in a blog post published last March titled "The army and the people are not one hand."
Mark Nabil said that his family submitted several requests to the ruling military council, the interior ministry, and the Prosecutor General office to transfer Maikel Nabil to a hospital.
Sahar Maher, who was charged with illegal assembly and filming military establishments on Oct. 4, when protesters gathered in front of the military prosecution where Maikel Nabil’s appeal session was held, recalled her story at the conference.
“I was told to go retrieve my confiscated mobile phone from the military prosecutor’s office where I was asked about the number of people gathered outside,” she said, “When I told him we were 20, he replied that since it is higher than five, I am charged with illegal assembly.”
Maher, who is also a close friend of Maikel Nabil’s, is scheduled to appear for her first hearing on Oct. 11.
Presidential hopeful Bothaina Kamel drew parallels between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ rule and that of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
“I ask SCAF why they are following in Mubarak’s footsteps and killing the revolution,” she said, “It is time the military left, we don’t see them as protectors of democracy.”
“We are all subject to military trials, all those who have been sentenced in military courts are the same as you or me, even if we don’t agree with their political views,” Kamel added.
On Oct. 4, the first appeal session of Maikel Nabil was adjourned to Oct. 11 because the file case was not in court when the session opened.
“I cannot find any reason for this,” said Mark Nabil.
While some activists present at the conference suggested taking Maikel Nabil’s case to international courts, others disagreed, saying it will cost him public support.
“All we need is justice,” Mark Nabil said, “If other people were released after insulting the military so should he.”
“I see no change after the uprising, only that some people are now behind bars,” he added.
