The upholding of a prison sentence against Al-Ahram Weekly's Webmaster for posting a poem online is sending negative signals about Internet freedom in a country that wants to be the region's IT hub, writes Amira Howeidy On Monday 14 October, the south Cairo Bab Al-Khalq appeals court affirmed a one-year prison sentence handed down on Al-Ahram Weekly's Webmaster, Shohdy Naguib, 40, by the Sayeda Zeinab misdemeanour's court in June. The decision was no surprise to Naguib, his lawyers or the Internet community in Egypt. Because the prison sentence was handed down for a "felony", which in Egypt requires that the defendant be physically present at the appeals session, the judge had no option but to uphold the prison sentence since Naguib did not attend. On the other side of the planet, in Moscow, Naguib now dubbed "the first Arab Internet prisoner of conscience" was waiting for news of the expected ruling. His absence came as a disappointment for a group of lawyers, rights activists and intellectuals who were preparing an "impressive" defence argument for what they considered an opportunity to win the battle for Internet freedom in Egypt. Naguib was arrested last November by the vice squad and accused of posting on the Internet a sexually explicit and politically critical poem by his late father, the renowned poet, Naguib Surur. He was sentenced to one year in prison on 30 June under article 178 of the penal code, which forbids possession of materials intended for sale or distribution "that have the intent to corrupt public morals". "This was the right time, and it is sad that he didn't come," said Hossam Bahgat, programme director of the newly founded Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) centre, "He would have definitely been acquitted because the case itself is weak." According to Bahgat, intensive efforts during the last two months succeeded in bringing together a strong defence team that included, among others, veteran lawyer Nabil El-Hilali, Amira Bahieddein, a prominent lawyer; Gamal Abdel-Aziz, a lawyer who is taking up Internet cases; and EIPR. The team, Bahgat told Al-Ahram Weekly, planned to divide the defence argument so that each lawyer's contribution related to his/her specialisation. A number of prominent writers and intellectuals were also prepared to explain and analyse the work of Naguib Surur for the court. "This case was a good opportunity [to win an Internet-related case] because it's a political one, while [all] the previous cases [in Egypt] were related to pornography," Bahgat said. Before he took off to Moscow two months ago, Naguib was adamant that he would return to Cairo to fight the case, knowing he only stood a 50-50 chance for winning his freedom. Although there is no law that governs Internet usage in Egypt, the security apparatus has, during the past two years, been arresting people for activities conducted over the Internet. Many of those people were subsequently convicted. All of these cases, however, concerned content deemed offensive to public morals. For the court to acquit Naguib, many agree, would be a step towards ensuring a measure of Internet freedom in Egypt. "I regard the whole case against me," Naguib told Al-Ahram Weekly, "as a macabre farce, fully in accord with Naguib Surur's early warnings and fulfilling his predictions [regarding political and cultural developments in the country] with awesome precision." "I want my sentence as is and in absentia," said Naguib. Naguib's case came as a shock to the local Internet community. Before the prison sentence was handed down, the net was considered a safe place, and in many cases a venting ground for those wanting to express themselves freely. It was the virtual alternative to a politically stagnant environment where political dissent is not only punishable, but pre-emptively not allowed. Ironically, the first signs of controlling this have overlooked the strong anti-government content on Web sites or in news groups, instead fixing on a poem criticising two dead presidents, Gamal Abdel-Nasser and Anwar El-Sadat and their regimes. Naguib Surur's poem, known as the Ummiyat, was written between 1969 and 1974. It uses strong and bitter language to express the author's frustration with the Egyptian establishment following Egypt's defeat by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967, as well as expressing frustration on other issues. Although it was never available in print form during Surur's life, the Ummiyat remains popular amongst intellectuals and is available on clandestinely distributed cassettes. It's been online for the past three years on a Web site, wadada.net, which hosted in the US. Although both the local press and rights groups showed interest in the case at its earlier stages, the attention faded over the past few months. However, Western rights groups such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Reporters Without Borders (RWB) condemned the conviction of Naguib. In its Middle East and North Africa overview for the year 2002, HRW devoted a section to the case, referring to Egypt as a country that "had" a tolerant approach to online content. RWB took a stronger position when it recently issued a statement on 10 October which described the conviction as "grotesque". "Why should he be declared guilty today of something written back then by his father, who was himself never prosecuted when he was alive?" said RWB Secretary- General Robert Ménard. While claiming they are defending public decency, said the statement, the authorities are really trying to stifle free expression on the Internet. If Naguib's sentence is confirmed, argued Ménard, "Egypt will be joining the club of countries who are enemies of the Internet." Naguib, who has dual Russian and Egyptian nationality, is one of Russia's Internet pioneers and was part of the team that created the country's first Webzine. Naguib can still appeal Monday's decision. "This means we go through the same process again, and he must appear before the court," Sayed Fathi, one of the lawyers on Naguib's defence team, explained. "If he appeals and doesn't show up, the prison sentence will be final. In that case, if he returns to Egypt, he will be arrested immediately." To a disappointed Bahgat, the case is "closed", although he concedes that the picture is perhaps not all gloomy. Indeed, the Interior Ministry has announced the establishment of a new investigation bureau to combat Internet crimes. But the massive growth of Internet use in Egypt is creating a huge audience, which could give rise to a pressure group supporting unrestricted use of the net. Official figures claim that there are 1.2 million Internet users in Egypt and that every month, an additional 70,000 go online. The government, which recognises Egypt's potential as an IT hub in the region, has been active in promoting Internet usage across the nation, successfully implementing a free Internet model. The Interior Ministry might be interested in controlling Internet usage, but the growing number of users may well make this a difficult task. Related stories: Phantoms of liberty 29 August - 4 Sept. 2002 Control without bounds? 4 - 10 July 2002 Sex, lies and censorship 27 Dec. 2001 - 2 Jan. 2002 Web cats 29 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2001 Rebel with a cause 22 - 28 October 1998 Related links: A tribute to Naguib Surur on the Web
