CAIRO: Egypt's late symbol of the January 25 uprising Khaled Said will be awarded the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation's Human Rights Award for 2011 on Monday. Said's sister, Zahraa Kassem will receive the award on the late activist's behalf at a ceremony to be held in Berlin. A portrait of Said will also be painted on the Berlin Wall as part of the ceremony by graffiti artist Andreas von Chrzanowski, aka Case. In October, the portrait will be repainted in the coastal city of Alexandria, Said's hometown where he lived and died, as part of a project with the Goethe Institute, the German culture center. Said's famous picture, wearing a blue sweatshirt and smiling became a icon in almost all anti-regime protests in Egypt during the January uprising and beyond. “With its Human Rights Award 2011, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung wishes to honor two important players and symbolic figures as representatives of the protest movements and fights for freedom in Tunisia and Egypt.” the award website read. Said is being honored along Slim Amamou, a Tunisian rights activist and blogger. “With commitment and bravery they provided an account of rampant corruption, oppressive poverty, lack of prospects for young people as well as violent suppression by security and police forces – often risking their health and their lives,” the website said about the award's recipients and activists in the Arab world who play a pivotal role in shaping the region's political future. Khaled Said, born in 1982, was killed on June 6, 2010, when he was beaten to death by two plainclothes police officers at an Internet cafe in Alexandria. Said was attacked as a result of posting videos that showed police corruption. He was openly beaten in the streets next to the Internet cafe where he was picked up from. A photo of Said's dead body that showed the marks of torture was published on the Internet and almost immediately went viral, gaining hundreds of thousands of supporters for change in Egypt. “We are all Khaled Said” was created on Facebook and played a great role of mobilizing young people to participate in the January 25 uprising's first days. January 25 was also, ironically, national police day in Egypt. BM
