Anti-war activist Ashraf Ibrahim described his acquittal as meaningless. Jailan Halawi reports on the state security case that wasn't "Today's verdict means nothing," anti-war activist Ashraf Ibrahim said from behind the caged dock. An emergency state security court had just acquitted Ibrahim of disseminating false information about Egypt's human rights violations to foreign organisations, and plotting to overthrow the regime. "I've already been detained for almost a year, without charges or a crime. What kind of law is that?" Ibrahim told Al-Ahram Weekly. In fact, Ibrahim had spent eleven months in detention, the first four of those without being charged. "My trial was a manifestation of the government's policy of punishing people for overtly criticising it and expressing their views," Ibrahim said. "I've been imprisoned for a year, away from my wife and daughter, and fired from my job. This trial has already done enough damage to my life, so the ruling came a bit too late." Ibrahim, an engineer, had been employed by multinational communications giant Alcatel. He blames State Security Investigation authorities for playing a role in Alcatel's firing him several months after being detained. Ibrahim said the acquittal did offer hope, however, "that there are still honest judges left in this country". His lawyers had argued that Ibrahim was being punished for monitoring police brutality against anti-war protesters who demonstrated in March 2003 against the US-led invasion of Iraq. Ibrahim was also an active member of a solidarity committee that collected food and medical aid for Palestinians in Gaza, and organised peaceful protests against aggressive Israeli policies in the occupied territories. He described his case as a state "message to political activists -- that the government does not allow criticism, and will continue to suppress anyone who dares" criticise it. Although Ibrahim was detained in April 2003, he was not charged until August, when he and four others were accused of plotting to form an "underground communist organisation that aims to overthrow the ruling regime". According to the indictment sheet, 35-year-old Ibrahim was the leader of the alleged group. The four others -- who were also acquitted by the court -- remained at large. Under the emergency laws that have been in force since the 1981 assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat, the five men could have faced up to 15 years in jail, had they been found guilty. State security courts rulings cannot be appealed, and are only subject to ratification by the president. Human rights groups in Egypt and abroad have repeatedly protested the government's use of such courts -- supposedly reserved for terrorism cases -- to suppress political criticism. Human rights activists speaking to the Weekly said Egypt's emergency laws impose serious restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly guaranteed by documents like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Egypt is a state party. In February 2003, the parliament approved the extension of the state of emergency for a further three years. Ibrahim's trial, which began in December, was roundly criticised by human rights groups. Foreign diplomats, representatives of international and domestic human rights organisations, and a great many activists attended the trial as a form of support for Ibrahim. The verdict was described as " a judicial victory" by Human Rights Watch, whose Middle East and North Africa division's acting executive director Joe Stork said, "if President Mubarak is serious about political reform, he should make sure that this was Egypt's last emergency court trial. The US Embassy in Cairo also issued a statement expressing its satisfaction with the trial's outcome. "We believe that people should have the right to be active politically as long as they do not practice or advocate violence," the statement said. Many observers were surprised by the charges filed against Ibrahim, the first time since 1983 that a court has heard a communist-related case. The trial, they said, followed 20 years of relative tolerance on the part of government security bodies towards leftists, who have largely led the increasing political activism of the past three years.
