CAIRO: A group of 13 young human rights activists and bloggers were turned away by military at a Ismailiya checkpoint on their way to al-Arish on Monday, a member of the group told Bikya Masr via telephone. “We were headed to Arish to pray the Eid prayer on Tuesday morning and celebrate the Eid with the families of the martyrs there, they are our families as well,” said Karim Ziyadi, a member of the group. The army had stopped them at the Ismailiya checkpoint and kept them on the side of the road for five hours before letting them return to Cairo. When asked about the resons why they were not allowed to pass, the activists were simply told “that is the orders we have.” Among the group was prominent activist Asmaa Mahfouz, who made headlines earlier this month after she was summoned and investigated by the military for comments she wrote on her personal Twitter and Facebook accounts. Mahfouz was later released after paying a sum of 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($3,200). The group of activists are affiliated with the 6 of April movement, the Freedom and Justice Party, the Egyptian Current Party, and the Free Egyptians Party. One member of the group fainted from exhaustion and was allowed to go back in a car by himself while the others waited to be released. However Ziyadi added that the military personal at the point treated them with respect during the five hours of detention. The group, on Tuesday morning, chose to hold their prayer in Tahrir Square instead, despite the heavy presence of military and riot police that surrounds the iconic square preventing activists from sit-ins. The last sit-in that started on July 8 was forcibly dispersed by military police the first day of Ramadan and saw hundreds arrested for fighting the move. They were later released, but rights activists say thousands remain in military prisons for protesting or criticizing the military. BM
