The Interior Ministry's prisons administration on Sunday ordered the admission of blogger and activist Maikel Nabil, who has been on a hunger strike for nearly 60 days, to the mental hospital in Abbasseya, according to security sources. Nabil, a Coptic Christian, was arrested by military police on 28 March at his home in Cairo. He was later sentenced to three years in prison on charges of spreading false information about Egypt's military in a case that drew criticism from rights groups around the world. On Thursday, the European Union urged Egyptian authorities to ensure proper medical care for him and told them to respect international standards in protecting prisoners. He went on hunger strike on 23 August in protest at his conviction. His family told rights group Amnesty International this month that the activist's health had deteriorated and the authorities had prevented him from taking his medication. Nabil was the first Egyptian since the revolution to be sentenced to a prison term for expressing his opinion. His father signed a document in which he apologized for the opinions written by Nabil. However, the blogger said that he is not responsible for his father's apology and insists that he has not changed his opinions concerning the military's involvement in torture and its violation of the right to peaceful assembly. On 10 October, the Supreme Military Court of Appeals accepted an appeal for Nabil to be re-tried. The court's decision follows recent clashes between Coptic Christians and military police in which 27 people were killed in the worst violence since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak.
