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→ When and how was Monem arrested?
→ What charges have been brought against Monem?
→ What is Monem’s current legal status?
→ How are Monem’s parents reacting to his arrest?
→ Is this Monem’s first arrest?
→ Can you give me more information about Monem’s background?
→ What kind of blogger is Monem?
→ What about Monem’s work as a defender of human rights?
→ How is Monem a threat to the Egyptian government?
When and how was Monem arrested?
The Egyptian blogger and journalist Abdel-Monem Mahmoud, was arrested on Sunday, 15 April 2007 as he was trying to leave Egyptian territory. He was about to begin a trip abroad to report on the “state of freedom” in several Arab countries for the TV channel El Hiwar, which employs him as their Cairo correspondent. His detention occurred when he was already aboard the airplane. These events took place two days after special forces entered his family home in an attempt to arrested him.
Absent from his home at the time of their visit, Monem was informed about the intimidation and threats by his parents. Monem told a friend of his concern for his own safety and for that of his parents, who were threatened daily by visits from security forces. Monem told his friend that he was thinking of turning himself in to the authorities. Finally, with the advice of his lawyers, Monem decided not to turn himself in until he learned the exact nature of the charges brought against him. Thus far, no official charges had been brought. Because the authorities had no valid warrant for his arrest, Monem decided to take his previously planned trip abroad, at which time he was arrested.
What charges have been brought against Monem?
After his arrest on the airplane, Monem was driven to the police station at Shobra El Khima, which was not the police station of the zone in which he was arrested. At Shobra El Khima he was subjected to many charges, including “belonging to an illegal organization,” “creating and possessing images destructive to public order,” and “organizing secret meetings with the aim of disturbing public order.” Monem was also charged with “attacking the image of the Egyptian regime” and “discrediting the authorities by accusing them of routinely using torture in local police prisons,” as well as “associating with human rights organization in an effort to soil the image of the regime.”
What is Monem’s current legal status?
Following this first interrogation, Monem was placed in provisional detention for a renewable term of fifteen days. At that time he was transferred to Mahkoum prison, which is located in Tora, southeast of the capital. On Tuesday April 24, the Shobra El Khima tribunal ruled on Monem’s provisional detention. The courthouse was encircled by dozens of police officers and state security agents who prevented anyone from entering the building. The presiding judge decided to prolong his detention for another fifteen days.
Currently, the judge has the right to prolong Monem’s provisional detention for up to six months before bringing him to trial on the charges brought against him. This possibility represents a worst case scenario and those who are mobilizing for Monem’s freedom fear that this detention serves no purpose other than to submit him to emotional and physical pressures which will break his will. There is deep concern, above all, because he was already subjected to torture during his incarceration in 2003. Moreover, Monem risks receiving a very long prison term if he is convicted of the charges against him.
How are Monem’s parents reacting to his arrest?
Since the forced entry by the special forces in his home, the health of Monem’s mother has worsened considerably. That same day, while he was being pursued by the authorities, his friends recorded a video in which he expressed his worry about the health of his father and about the consequences of the police harassment his parents were being subjected to. Three days after the arrest of their son, Monem’s father was admitted to the emergency room at the hospital in Alexandria for cardiac distress. On the point of leaving, he was admitted again on April 27, as he had slipped into a coma following a panic attack. This attack occurred after he learned that he could not visit his son in prison the following Sunday. His final words before losing consciousness were alleged that he wished to see his son before he died.
Unfortunately, this is not Monem’s first arrest. On 14 January 2003 he was detained with fourteen other members of the Muslim Brotherhood who were taken prisoner during a meeting at which they were organizing a rally against the war in Iraq. After being forcibly arrested, he was charged with “belonging to an illegal organization” and placed in jail “for the sake of the investigation” at Mazraat Tarh prison. Initially intended to be a fifteen day detention, his incarceration lasted four months, during which time Monem was subjected to intimidation, harassment, and physical and psychological torture.
In a moving account, the Egyptian blogger revisited the details of this incarceration in a moving post entitled “The Fourth Anniversary of the Torture of Detainee #25.” ( Available in English- The title refers to the number that he needed to give every time his jailers asked him to identify himself while he was being transferred for “questioning” at the state security headquarters.) On 14 April, during the fifth Cairo conference, the journalist returned to this sad episode of his life.
On 12 March 2006, he was again arrested with sixty-six members of the Muslim Brotherhood of Alexandria as they were holding a rally in support of legal magistrates who were being persecuted by the regime. On this occasion, Monem was imprisoned for six months on charges of “protesting and disturbing the public order.”
Can you give me more information about Monem’s background?
Monem received his law degree from Alexandria University, where he was a leader of the student movements. He also received a journalism degree from the University of Cairo. In addition to writing in his own blog, “Ana Ikhwan” (I am a Brother), Monem is also the editor of the English version of the Muslim Brotherhood website and the Cairo correspondent for the Arabic TV station El Hiwar.
What kind of blogger is Monem?
Monem has been a blogger since October of 2006, one month after his release from prison. His blog is called “Ana Ikhwan” (I am a Brother), the first blog by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. His blog introduced many other Brotherhood members to blogging and encouraged some to begin their own blogs.
Monem also used his blog to defend the Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman, sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam and President Mubarak. In a post entitled “Freedom for the Brothers, Freedom for Kareem Amer, Freedom for Egypt” (available in English)” Monem explained that although he has profound disagreements with Kareem’s harsh criticism of Islam, he has no choice but to support Kareem against persecution by “the oppressive and corrupt state.” Monem’s support of Kareem has won him the vicious criticism of members of his own community and the Brotherhood.
Monem is emblematic of the new generation of the Muslim Brotherhood. Through his courage and open mindedness he has helped bring debate and a more self-critical mindset to the group. On his blog, Monem does not hesitate to discuss and critique the opinions of the representatives and leaders of the organization. He has also succeeded in giving a human face to the Brotherhood, which is so often vilified in the media, and allowed many Egyptian families to receive updates on the condition of political prisoners who have fallen victim to Egypt’s military courts and the misapplication of its anti-terrorism laws.
What about Monem’s work as a defender of human rights?
Monem was among the first to go to
Monem was among the first to take a position in favor of the blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman, sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam and President Mubarak. In a post entitled “Freedom for the Brothers, Freedom for Kareem Amer, Freedom for Egypt” (available in English) Monem explained that although he has profound disagreements with Kareem’s harsh criticism of Islam, he has no choice but to support Kareem against persecution by “the oppressive and corrupt state.” Monem’s support of Kareem has won him the vicious criticism of members of his own community and the Brotherhood.
How is Monem a threat to the Egyptian government?
The Egyptian authorities have systematically worked to eliminate all who fight for transparency and reform of Egyptian politics. Behind all the charges brought against Monem over the years, and his repeated detentions, it is not difficult to discern an effort to silence Abdel-Monem Mahmoud, who represents all that the regime fears. He is a symbol of the new Egyptian generation which is united by the values of freedom and human dignity and has left behind the schisms of Islamist versus secularist which the government has so far used to divide its opponents.
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