Five prominent revolutionaries face serious legal charges as tensions escalate between Egypt’s activist community and ruling military.
As recent events have shown, Egyptian personalities that have become symbols of the Egyptian revolution are now becoming targets for legal prosecution. So far, at least five prominent revolutionary figures have been formally charged with crimes in cases linked to recent escalations between anti-government protesters and security forces.
Prominent blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah (@alaa on Twitter) was among the first to have his name included among the accused. Abdel-Fattah was detained pending investigation after a journalist for Al-Wafd newspaper, Hanan Khawasek, claimed in a recent article to have seen the blogger inciting the violent clashes that took place in Cairo’s Maspero district on 9 November.
The clashes, which left twenty-seven dead and hundreds injured following a protest march by Coptic-Christian demonstrators, represented one of the most violent episodes seen in Egypt since last year’s revolution – and one for which Abdel-Fattah vocally criticised Egypt’s ruling military council. While videos circulating on social-media forums showed military vehicles running over protesters, military spokesmen claimed that a “third party” had incited the clashes.
Being a well known blogger and revolutionary activist, Abdel-Fattah’s detention by the military triggered an uproar among Egypt’s activist community. Numerous demonstrations were organised as a response, while a “Free Alaa” campaign – similar to that launched after his first arrest under the Mubarak regime – garnered considerable support. Although Abdel-Fattah has since been transferred to a civil court instead of a military one, he is still accused of stealing weapons from the military, attacking military personnel, destroying military property and inciting violence against military personnel during the Maspero clashes. Continue reading
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