Nada Barakat profiles the lawyer defending his own case The political future of Ziad El-Oleimi, a member of parliament, is at risk. His membership is currently being reviewed by parliament's special bureau after he denounced the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and a Salafi leader during a speech he gave in Port Said last month. An investigation was called for by MP Mustafa Bakri and several complaints about El-Oleimi's remarks were filed with the military prosecutor. Having used a popular proverb that goes 'he who could not take the donkey took the saddle instead,' El-Oleimi is said to have been angered by the political status quo, hence insulting the head of SCAF, and at the same time creating quite a buzz. El-Oleimi condemns the accusations, claiming his statement was written and its content agreed up by 20 representatives from various factions. He said that in his speech he was just using an Egyptian proverb and responding to a question from one of the audience members asking who he meant by the proverb. "I was simply stating liability and not a personal feud," El-Oleimi said. "Distortion is a trade" was the title given to El-Oleimi's last column in the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm published a few days before his tirade and the resulting accusations which he sees were intended to distort political figures to break their relationship with the public and to minimise their power and influence. "It's ridiculous to compare a man accused of insulting someone to another accused of killing. In this case I don't mind swapping positions to see how would SCAF members feel about losing one of their own every day," El-Oleimi said. El-Oleimi has been an important face of the revolution, since he is the spokesman of the Revolution Youth Coalition, a founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and human rights and political activist who was working against former president Hosni Mubarak's regime since early 2000, especially after the rise of the Kifaya activist movement, that allowed him a strong base. He won his parliament seat with 148,600 votes. "I don't really like politics, but I have to be part of it, to reform what I see is wrong in my country and community, and to have a clear conscious that I was never just a bystander seeing people suffer without truly changing their lives." El-Oleimi is willing to face the consequences that might lead to expulsion from the parliament as well as jail time. If so he plans to keep up his legislation reform agenda from jail through trusted fellow parliament members. He entered parliament to work on a big political agenda that starts with having legislation for minimum and maximum wages, regulating the presidential role and his power, and passing new laws dealing with the freedom of syndicates, health insurance and the role of local administration. Although El-Oleimi indulged in political activism at the age 16, his personal dream is to walk away from politics as soon as he realises his reform policies to enjoy more time with his son, build on his law firm and spend his spare time enriching his passion for literature and arts. He talks about his feelings on being part of the revolution and the transition phase. "It's hard to have 12 of my closest friends killed in one year. I don't really appreciate the fact that I can identify gun shots when I hear them, but this is the cost of freedom that this revolution generation had to pay." The 31-year-old activist doesn't mind the cost of his beliefs. "During my campaign I knew that my criticism of the SCAF would cost me votes and maybe the election, yet I faced the challenges and always will." Throughout El-Oleimi's activism journey, he has been injured during protests and was arrested several times. His political awareness was enriched from childhood at Ahmed Seif's house. Seif's family were neighbours and they went to school together. Alaa Ahmed Seif, also known as Alaa Abdel-Fattah, became a blogger and political activist starting in early 2000. Although El-Oleimi was brought up with several of the early revolutionary Internet activists who are a major factor for the political participation of the current youth generation, he was never a blogger. "I am not a virtual creature, since I never had a problem expressing myself." Before the revolution he was part of Mohamed El-Baradei's campaign for president, and the Kifaya and the people's campaign that was against Mubarak staying in power or allowing Gamal Mubarak to inherit his father's position. The campaign was also the first to warn about military rule and its dangers. El-Oleimi says it's not about being against the regime or system, "but it's always about what I believe in, like justice and equality."
