Ahmed Maher, founder of the 6 April Movement, is the latest pro-democracy activist to be detained. Luckier than most, he was freed a day after his arrest. The prosecutor-general ordered the detention of Maher pending investigations into accusations he incited a demonstration outside the Interior Minister's home in March to protest against a police crackdown on activists. Maher was detained at Cairo airport on Friday following his return from a visit to the US where he had taken part in a panel discussion, “Egypt in Transition”, organised by the New America Foundation. Member of 6 April Engi Hamdi denounced the arrest and pledged a “tough” response through her Twitter account. “This is part of a series of arrests targeting activists so as to undermine their reputation,” she said. Maher's 6 April group was at the forefront of the 2011 revolution. It subsequently supported President Mohamed Morsi during his run-off election against Mubarak-era prime minister Ahmed Shafik only to become disillusioned with Morsi's failure to keep his election promises and attempts by the Muslim Brotherhood to monopolise power. Days before his arrest Maher expressed his regrets over the group's alliance with Morsi and his backers, the Muslim Brotherhood. He wrote on the group's website: “Now we are being treated as traitors and our image has been tarnished and we are sent to prisons by those we defended.” “Were we mistaken when we defended the Muslim Brotherhood at one point before the revolution and supported the Brotherhood candidate in the face of the military's and old regime's candidate?” Following his release on Saturday Maher said, “what is taking place now is worse than what we experienced during the Mubarak era… the only difference is that Morsi is doing it with a religious tint”. A day after his release Maher was involved in a car crash on the Ring Road, sustaining injuries to his arm and leg. In another case involving a political activist — Ahmed Doma, detained in April on charges of insulting the president after he called Morsi a “killer” during a television programme — scuffles broke out between lawyers and security personnel outside the New Cairo courthouse. Dozens of activists have been charged with insulting the president since Morsi took office. The government, say opposition leaders, is using the courts to target its liberal and secular critics. Security around the court, which is also hearing a case brought against six alleged members of the Black Bloc accused of damaging public property, was beefed up following the clashes. Doma had handed himself in to the Tanta prosecution service two weeks ago after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He is accused of inciting violence during the March clashes in front of the Muslim Brotherhood's Muqattam headquarters. Doma, a member of the Popular Current of the Coalition of Revolutionary Youth, the Youth for Justice and Freedom Movement and several other revolutionary movements, was imprisoned during the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on charges of incitement and vandalism during the so-called cabinet clashes in December 2011. Meanwhile, the appeal of Alexandrian activist Hassan Mustafa has been postponed until 18 May. Mustafa was sentenced to two years in prison in March after he was accused of assaulting prosecutor Ahmed Darwish on 21 January. Early last month 6 April Democratic Front member Abdel-Rahman Mohsen (aka Manno) was arrested along with seven other youths in a dawn raid by police. The men are accused of being affiliated with the Black Bloc. During their trial late last month dozens of protesters demonstrated in front of Al-Tagammu Al-Khamis Court in New Cairo in solidarity with the detained activists. Political analyst Ammar Ali Hassan told Al-Ahram Weekly that the aim of the arrests is to force activists to be more muted in their criticisms of the president. Activist Mahmoud Afifi sees things more bluntly. The recent spate of arrests, he says, is intended to weaken the opposition and terrorise activists. Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim held a press conference early this month in which he announced the ministry's new code of practice. “The Egyptian police are part of the Egyptian population and work to protect lives and property,” he insisted, “enforcing the law, preventing crimes, spreading security across the nation… in accordance with the constitution, law and human rights.” Ibrahim also promised that the police had turned over a new page and were ready to fill the security vacuum that has persisted in Egypt since the 25 January Revolution. Human Rights organisations, however, say it will take more than public statements to overhaul the practices of the Ministry of Interior and its personnel. “We are seeing a continuation of the practices and methods used by the Ministry of Interior before the 25 January Revolution,” a statement published by the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) said on Thursday. EOHR called on Prosecutor-General Talaat Abdallah to investigate claims that a policeman in Shubra Second Police Station tortured Mohamed Al-Sayed. Al-Sayed, according to EOHR, was hit by a microbus and went with his mother to the police station to file a complaint. Eventually Al-Sayed and the microbus driver came to an agreement over the incident. EOHR reported that the police officer handling the case disagreed with this outcome and when Al-Sayed challenged him the policeman attacked his mother. The policeman also threatened Al-Sayed with rape. Al-Sayed was able to record the attack on his mobile phone and the video was circulated among the social networks. EOHR called on the prosecutor-general to investigate the incident and denounced the policeman's actions as a violation of the International Convention against Torture to which Egypt is signatory. “It is an individual incident and does not reflect the wider performance of the ministry and its officers,” an official source within the Interior Ministry told Al-Ahram Weekly. “We are going about our duties according to our new code of honour. The interior minister has announced more than once that his office is open to any complaints,” the source said, adding that Al-Sayed's case was currently being investigated by the Inspection Department.
