Maikel Nabil Sanad is entering his 42nd day of hunger strike in protest against a three-year sentence imposed by a military court for criticising the army. He spoke to Shahira Amin
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It’s Maikel Nabil Sanad’s 26th birthday but he is in no celebratory mood. When I arrive at El Marg prison north of Cairo during visiting hours on Saturday 1 October, I can barely hide my shock at seeing his bony physique. Maikel is wearing a wrinkled blue track suit and on his head is a baseball cap worn backwards in a sign of rebellion. It is clear that Maikel is in extremely frail health. He attempts to stand up to greet me but almost immediately falls back into his chair in sheer exhaustion. That’s because today, Maikel tells me, is also the 40 day of his hunger strike — one that he had hoped would draw public attention to his plight and force the ruling military council to reconsider what he describes as the military’s “discriminatory “policies.
“I have been tried in a military court and sentenced to three years in prison on charges of spreading rumours about the armed forces and criticising the ruling military council, SCAF in my blogpost. Other high profile figures have simply been summoned by the military prosecutor for questioning for similar charges. They have had their sentences revoked,” he explains. His voice is weak and I have to lean over to hear him clearly.
Maikel, who now weighs 48kgs after shedding 12kgs as a result of his food abstinence — has languished behind bars since the 28 March 2011 when he was detained for accusing the military of having conducted virginity tests on female protesters earlier that month — a charge that a senior military general later admitted was true. He had also written on his blog that “The army and the people are not one” — a view that ran counter to the one expressed by tens of thousands of pro-democracy activists in Tahrir Square during the mass uprisings earlier this year. Chants of “The army and people are one” had echoed through Tahrir Square after it became clear that the military had chosen to side with the opposition activists –possibly even defying orders to shoot them.
Maikel is post-revolutionary Egypt’s first prisoner of conscience. He was handed the harsh jail sentence after being tried in a martial court where, according to his younger brother Mark, “eyewitnesses were barred from testifying in the case.”
After spending a fortnight in the notorious state security prison at the Hikestep, Maikel was moved to the civilian prison at el Marg where he has since languished in near solitary confinement.
“Other prisoners have been warned against talking to me. The prison guards have also been spreading rumours to turn fellow prisoners against me. They tell them I have called on Israel to prolong its occupation of Palestinian land or that I support gay rights,” he says, his voice now a soft whisper.
In a conservative predominantly Muslim society, Maikel’s unconventional religious and political views have at best, raised eyebrows or been dismissed as the hallucinations of a madman. At worst, they have earned him the ire — even hatred — of some of his fellow countrymen and provoked the wrath of the ruling military council, for Maikel is a self proclaimed atheist and liberal who supports normalisation of relations with Israel and who has called for military service to be non-compulsory.
“Many intellectuals whom I have associated with share my views but do not dare voice them publicly,” he says, shaking his head.” I do not like hypocrisy so I have openly shared my views knowing they may ruffle some feathers.”
But that is an understatement. Maikel’s refusal to go along with the flow has come at a terribly high price: not only is he serving prison time and losing his health and vitality, but he also risks death, according to a warning from doctors who believe few can survive more than forty days without food. “I’d rather die than live as a slave without dignity under an oppressive regime,” is Maikel’s explanation for refusing to end his hunger strike. He has survived on nothing more than water and a few sips of fruit juice since starting his food abstinence.
I offer Maikel a can of orange juice and urge him to take a sip. He reluctantly accepts it and I notice that his hands are as cold as ice as his fingers accidentally brush my hand. Four of his friends have joined me on the visit to lend their support and try and coax Maikell into ending his hunger strike. Like him, they are all ardent activists and revolutionaries.
” You have already made a statement. Enough Maikel. We need people like you to continue to push for change,” argues Sahar Maher, a mass communication student.
“If I die, scores of Maikels will emerge after me,” is Maikel’s stubborn response.” I have already succeeded in winning many converts. Many of my friends, my brother and my father have all become politicised.”
But his father is quick to point out that while he shares many of Maikel’s political stances, he vehemently rejects Maikel’s religious views. “We are a pious Coptic family. Maikel became an atheist when he started associating with the wrong crowd at university and this is where it has led him.”
While his religious views are not the cause of his imprisonment, they are partly responsible for the little sympathy afforded Maikel by fellow Egyptians — which is not surprising in a society where religion plays a significant role in shaping people’s lives. Maikel is disappointed by the almost complete lack of local media support which he also blames on what many in Egypt perceive as his pro-Israeli stances. He has expressed his admiration for “Israel’s democratic values and freedom of expression” — an opinion that has shocked the Egyptian public angered by Israel’s aggressive policies towards the Palestinians and the recent killing of a number of Egyptian security guards by Israeli forces near the border with Israel. In recent weeks, anti Israeli protesters have called for the dismissal of the Israeli ambassador from Egypt and an annulment of the Camp David peace accords with Israel.
Lack of local support for Maikel in his native Egypt is however compensated for by the strong show of solidarity for him by the international community. A “free Maikel Nabil page” on FaceBook currently has more than 61,400 fans from around the world and the number is steadily on the increase.
As his friends sing Happy birthday and Maikel blows out the candle on the small cake they’ve brought with them, he says that his birthday wish is for more Egyptians to read his blogs. He also yearns for his freedom “so that I can receive medical care in a proper hospital,” he says.
Maikel cites a long list of ailments including a tooth infection, scabies , low blood pressure and low sugar level. He says he is being denied the blood tests and treatment he badly needs to recover. The on-duty prison inspector Sameh Labib denies this. He insists that Maikel, like all other prisoners is getting the attention he requires at the prison hospital.
But whether or not Maikel will be released soon will be decided on the 4th of October when his appeal is scheduled. That day will also mark Maikel’s 43rd day of hunger strike. As we head out of the prison compound, Mark says “We can only hope for the best. There cannot be another Khaled Saeed. Our revolution was sparked by Saeed’s brutal killing by police officers. There cannot be others losing their lives in similar fashion in post revolutionary Egypt.”
Maikel’s lawyer Negad el Borei says he does not have high expectations from the appeal. He adds that Maikell’s imprisonment is “another black spot for the image of the SCAF.” EL Borei also regrets the lack of media attention to Maikel’s case adding that this is because of new restrictions imposed on the media by the ruling military government which are greater today than those imposed by the former regime. “The media in post revolutionary Egypt has gone as far as condoning torture which never happened under Mubarak,” he laments.
Journalist and television anchor Shahira Amin resigned her post as deputy head of state-run Nile TV on February. Read why she resigned from the “propaganda machine” here.
The Cairo offices of Al-Jazeera Mubasher (Direct), an affiliate of the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera International news network, were ransacked by Egyptian security forces early this week. In a raid on the channel reminiscent of an earlier raid on Al-Jazeera International’s Cairo offices by Mubarak’s security forces during the mass uprisings last February, equipment was seized and a studio engineer was detained. Transmission by the network — devoted almost entirely to live coverage of developments in post- revolutionary Egypt, including street protests — was abruptly brought to a halt. But programming resumed a few hours later from Al-Jazeera’s headquarters in Doha.
The channel’s website quotes an unnamed security source as saying that, prior to the raid, several complaints had been filed by residents of the Giza neighborhood where the channel’s offices are located. The residents accused the network of being noisy and disturbing public peace. The source added that during an ensuing probe, it was discovered that the channel had been running without a license in violation of Egyptian media laws.
The channel’s lawyer defended the network, saying Al-Jazeera Mubasher had applied for a licence before it began operating in March, but had not received any response from the Egyptian authorities.
Earlier, Egypt’s newly appointed Minister of Information, Osama Heikal, had issued a stern warning that the government would deal firmly with stations that “endanger the stability and security of the country.” Media analysts fear the raid and the minister’s warning signal a slide back to the repressive ways of the Mubarak regime.
The decision was met with an outcry from journalists. “This is unacceptable in the new Egypt,” said Ibrahim Badawy, a journalist working for the independent El Youm El Sabe. “The raid is a serious breach of a basic human right — the right to free expression. If we remain silent, the government will not stop at this but will take more measures to curb media freedom.”
In the same speech broadcast on Egyptian State TV, Heikal announced that the government would discontinue the issuance of permits for new stations, citing concerns about broadcasts that incite violence. The announcement came after fiery protests in front of the Israeli Embassy last Friday turned deadly. Three protesters were killed and nearly 1000 others were injured after security forces fired tear gas and plankets to disperse the protesters.
Wealthy businessmen closely connected to the previous regime had a monopoly on ownership of independent satellite channels during the Mubarak era. They used their privately-owned channels to further their own business interests and stuck rigidly to the government line, spreading the same government propaganda disseminated by state-owned TV channels.
After the uprisings that forced Mubarak’s authoritarian regime out, there were small signs that Egyptian media was finally changing course, as independent TV and radio channels and publications began to emerge. Most declare “objectivity, clarity and free expression” as their stated goal. Some, like the January 25 channel launched by veteran producer Mohamed Gohar after the revolution, claim that their motive is the creation of a people to people channel — one that allows Egyptians to see themselves for the first time. “For a long time the underprivileged members of society were hidden and not given a platform to air their views. But no more,” Gohar told me.
The new January 25 channel — named after the date Egypt’s longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak was ousted — is almost completely run by young revolutionaries themselves. Although critics describe it as amateurish, the channel is as revolutionary in content and form as the young activists themselves who operate it. A live cooking show presented by a former cook and housemaid turned celebrity chef is just one striking example of how things are changing in post-revolutionary Egypt.
Meanwhile activist and media specialist Hisham Qassem — who is in the process of establishing a new media group that will produce TV and radio broadcasts, an online wire service and a daily newspaper — described the government decision not to grant licenses to new media outlets as a “disappointing development.” He added that, with parliamentary elections less than two months away, it was a knee-jerk reaction from Egypt’s tense military rulers who wish to avoid any kind of incitement.
Qassem however pointed out that the decision may have an opposite effect. With the mainstream media’s credibility at an all- time low, the crackdown may give the politicised social media the chance of creating the very tensions the SCAF is hoping to avoid. “The crackdown on media freedom could very well lead to an information meltdown where rumours dominate,” he warned.
Both Qassem and Gohar believe that the new atmosphere for free expression in the post-revolutionary era will prevail. “The trend is irreversible and with the fear barrier now broken, there is little the government can do to silence the ‘free voices’ or curtail free expression,” said an optimistic Qassem.
Journalist and television anchor Shahira Amin resigned her post as deputy head of state-run Nile TV on February. Read why she resigned from the “propaganda machine” here.
The world has been watching with bated breath as a third Arab authoritarian regime collapses. Crowds of jubilant Libyans continue to throng the capital’s Green Square to celebrate the end of Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year reign of tyranny and oppression.
But unlike the international euphoria triggered by the ousting of the Egyptian and Tunisian dictators, Gaddafi’s downfall is being met with cautious optimism — perhaps, even, anxiety. Rather than being hailed as heroes, Libya’s young revolutionaries are being eyed with scepticism. The wariness, say analysts, is largely caused by a fear of the unknown, as many wonder who the rebels are and what the future holds for the North African country.
In the early stages of the uprising in Libya, Gaddafi had pointed the finger at Al Qaeda, accusing the rebels of having close ties with the terrorist organisation. He had hoped that the accusations would win him Western backing that would enable him to stay in power. But the rebels leading the public protests are not “terrorists”: they are ordinary Libyans demanding change, freedom and an end to authoritarian rule — as I found out on a recent trip to Benghazi, Libya’s second city. The rebel city has been free from dictatorship since February this year.
The rebels I met during my trip in May asserted that their demands were similar to those of the opposition activists in Egypt and Tunisia.
“We simply want to see an end to the era of brutality and oppression. The Libyan people have suffered for long…we now want our freedom and dignity,” Khalad Khashab, a senior Gaddafi aide who defected to Egypt in February told me.
And like pro-democracy activists who led the Egyptian and Tunisian mass uprisings, the young Libyan revolutionaries also take pride in their revolution. There’s rarely any mention of the support they’ve been getting from NATO forces, which for months now have carried out aerial attacks against Gaddafi defence positions. Chants of “Libya hurra, Libya is free” echo through the streets of Benghazi and youths are often seen flashing the victory sign as they climb on top of charred cars and raise the rebels’ red, black and green flag.
And now that they are free from repression, the young activists in Benghazi are using every means possible to express themselves. The graffifi on the walls, the launch of new radio stations and internet TV channels the public debates about their future, the increased volunteerism and political activism are all manifestations of their newfound freedom. In Benghazi’s “Revolution Square”, citizens gather nightly to recite poetry, make public speeches, sing revolutionary songs or simply exchange anecdotes. The square has been transformed into a Hyde Park-style Speakers’ Corner, where young men and women can vent their hatred of an autocratic leader who for decades, stifled all forms of free expression and creativity.
Many young Libyans, feeling they now have a stake in their own country, volunteer to direct traffic, patrol the streets or collect donations to help casualties of the uprising or the martyrs’ families. Meanwhile, civil society organisations devoted to causes ranging from the promotion of women’s rights to environmental protection are rapidly mushrooming in the new Libya.
The desire to end years of isolation is also evident with the flags of friendly nations flying high over key bridges and in front of government buildings. It’s a small gesture of appreciation for the support afforded the rebels but also a signal of the Libyan people’s keenness to join the international fold.
Much of the graffiti on the streets pokes fun at Gaddafi but some of the messages also offer warnings against tribalism and religious extremism, likely challenges that Gaddafi threatened would confront any future government in Libya. And while the “One Libya” slogan is highly popular among the rebels, sceptics point out that it remains just that: a mere slogan. Analysts are concerned that the divide between regime loyalists and rebel forces may continue long after the country is free from Gaddafi’s authoritarian grip. They point to the rights violations often committed by one group against the other.
In a worst-case scenario, there’s the possibility of civil war breaking out.
“Tribal differences are deep-rooted in Libya,” cautions Ambassador Mohamed Rifaa, an Egyptian diplomat and former Ambassador to Libya. “Tribal leaders may fail to bridge existing divisions. Tensions may boil over if there’s a continued security vacuum.”
And with religion playing a significant role in conservative Libyan society, analysts also worry about a possible spread of religious extremism. This may take place despite the creation of a special commission by the National Transitional Council (NTC, the interim government leading Libya in the transitional period) to counter the influence of fundamentalists and to promote liberal ideas.
Tackling the humanitarian challenges, however, is currently the priority goal for the NTC. Tripoli’s two million residents face shortages in water , fuel and medicine, which, combined with regular power cuts and lack of proper sanitation, are creating dire conditions. If such problems are left unresolved, they could become life threatening, warn humanitarian agencies.
Providing security in the newly liberated areas is another huge challenge. Despite the challenges, many Libyans are hopeful that their country can transcend the difficulties and successfully make the democratic transition. But this can only happen, they say, if Libya gets the support it badly needs from the international community; support that has been forthcoming from some Western countries with a vested interest in supporting oil-rich Libya.
Government structures — which were non-existent under Gaddafi — are being formed, new political parties and civil society organisations are emerging, and there’s already talk of elections being organised.
“The Libyan people have suffered huge losses and paid a high price to achieve their democratic aspirations. Now it is only a matter of time before Gaddafi’s brutal regime collapses and we can forge ahead with the task of building a new, democratic Libya,” says a hopeful Khashab.
It’s a task that requires determination, the unifying of ranks inside Libya, a concerted international effort and a clear vision, he adds.
Journalist and television anchor Shahira Amin resigned her post as deputy head of state-run Nile TV on February. Read why she resigned from the “propaganda machine” here.