Currently browsing posts tagged: Alaa Abd El Fattah.

On the Anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution…

Descending onto Cairo is surreal.  From afar, looking down, it seems as if the green and sand are broken into tiny farmshares; as you get closer, however, you realize that those are actually buildings, all identical, though of varying heights, and laid out in what is actually a rather orderly formation.  Closer still, and you’re [...]

25.01.2012

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Do solidarity campaigns really help bloggers?

Edit: A Saudi contact points out that campaigns have been helpful in the cases of Manal al-Sharif and Feras Begnah, but adds: “It seems that only when it’s way too silly to arrest people, massive attention will be given and the government is likely to [surrender].” When Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy was briefly detained–and beaten–by [...]

29.12.2011

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Razan, Alaa, Ali.

I’ve spoken publicly quite a few times about the influence of the Arabloggers network, an organic network that Sami Ben Gharbia turned into a semi-annual conference in the summer of 2008 in Beirut (at which all three above were present, though this picture is from Budapest that same summer) and repeated in Beirut 2009 and [...]

05.12.2011

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A Small Reminder

…in case you’re not convinced as to why we shouldn’t trust the US government on this one.

14.11.2011

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#FreeAlaa

On Sunday, Alaa’s detention was extended by another 15 days. At this point, the United Nations, Amnesty International, and countless other advocacy groups (including the EFF) have called for the release of Alaa, as well as others unjustly imprisoned by Egypt’s ruling military council. There are also numerous groups in the US and Europe actively [...]

14.11.2011

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Ten Days Later, Alaa is Still in Jail

It is nearly November 9 in Egypt and my friend Alaa is still in prison. It’s now been 10 days, five fewer than the 15 that he was assigned by a court run by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which has illegitimately tried more than 12,000 Egyptian civilians since January. Alaa and his [...]

08.11.2011

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Free Alaa. Again.

Last week, Alaa Abd El Fattah was staying at my house, playing with all of the toys and things (and the enormous all-terrain stroller he’s taken to referring to as Khaled’s SUV) he and his wife, Manal had sent to our house and today he’s in prison. When he arrived at my house last Monday, [...]

30.10.2011

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