Detained Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil has reportedly been sentenced to two years in prison for insulting SCAF.
New York Times journalists Nicholas Kristof and Adam Ellick were briefly detained by security forces yesterday at a protest in the Bahraini village of Sitra. Both journalists tweeted throughout the course of their brief detention.
Several Bahraini human rights activists have been sent threatening twitter messages during the past few days. Hostile messages were allegedly to Mohammed Al-Maskati, President of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), and Yousif Almuhafda, who also works for BCHR, from a twitter account (@ADEL_FELAIFEL) allegedly operated by former colonel in the State Security and Intelligence Service, Adil Felaifel. According to Al-Maskati, one tweet, which came from the now deleted account, were directed towards himself and AlMuhafda, and said: “Do not think that because I’m not in the Ministry of Interior, I will shut up about you.”
Another tweet aimed at Maskati and Rajab said: “Maskati and Nabeel Rajab your future death and hell.”
Human rights activists in Bahrain, particularly those active on the popular social media site have endured regular attacks from “trolls” who regularly bombard individuals that send tweets to the Bahrain hashtag. The online attacks, which attempt to fan sectarian differences, are carried out by what activists call “e-thugs”, who are pro-Bahraini government activists as well as accounts believed to be run by government officials.
While twitter attacks have become commonplace for activists, Al Muskati felt that the potential threats from Adil Felaifel, who some believe is one of those responsible for overseeing torture in the 1980s and 1990s, changes the tone of the tweets. He said, “what’s different is that he is an ex-torturer who feels that he can threaten Human Rights Defenders publicly with impunity, knowing that no one will hold him accountable.”
Detained blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah (@alaa) was denied a request to be released from detention by the High State Security Court on 5 December, preventing him from being present for the birth of his son the next day.
A Cairo-based media collective called Mosireen made a video showing the blogger at his trial, followed by a clip of baby Khalid with his mother, blogger Manal Hassan, after his birth on 6 December.
Abdel Fattah’s son was named Khalid after the iconic Khalid Said, whose brutal beating by Alexandria police in 2010 made him one of the icons of Egypt’s revolution. The birth of Khalid during the detention of his father has become an unfortunate family tradition, as Abdel Fattah’s sister and fellow activist, Mona Seif, was born while her father, a human rights lawyer was serving time in prison for his work.
Abdel Fattah, who has been detained since 30 October, was initially detained for 15 days, and since then his prison sentence has been extended twice, bringing his total time in prison to 45 days. He was initially prosecuted by the military court, but had his case transferred to civil prosecution on 22 November. While there was initial hope in the transfer, many have been dismayed by the continuation of the same pattern. Abdel Fattah has previously refused to be interrogated by military prosecutors, as he has been active in speaking out against the practice of trying civilians by the military. Abdel Fattah is scheduled to appear in court on Sunday, where he will learn whether or not his detention will be extended for another 15 days, pending investigation.