CAIRO: The European Union has begun to pressure Egyptian authorities on Thursday to uphold international standards in protecting prisoners. This move comes as the jailed Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad was reportedly sent to a psychiatric hospital on Tuesday, although Bikyamasr.com cannot confirm these reports, which were published then taken down and then republished. Nabil has been on a hunger strike for almost 60 days after being arrested for posting a blog titled “the people and the army were never one hand.” His view on the Arab-Israeli conflict has led him to be labeled as pro-Israeli, creating a lot of backlash against him from the activist community, who only recently began calling for his release. Officialy, Nabil was jailed on charges of spreading false information in regards to Egypt's military. His hunger strike began on August 23. According to Amnesty International, Nabil's family had informed them his condition had deteriorated severely, with the authorities refusing to allow him to take medication. “The EU has been following with great concern the case of Egyptian blogger (Nabil)… His health condition is claimed to have seriously deteriorated and if he is not immediately moved to facilities where he can receive proper hospital care, his life could be in danger,” a spokesman for the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said. EU spokesman Michael Mann has said that various EU governments have written to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in regards to Nabil's imprisonment. Thus far there has been no reply. “To date no reply has been received,” he said. “The EU urges the Egyptian authorities to respond and immediately transfer … Nabil to facilities where he can receive proper medical care.” “Furthermore, the EU urges the Egyptian authorities to be transparent in the communication on his status, treating … Nabil and all other detained individuals in line with internationally agreed minimum standards,” he stressed. According to many activists, Nabil's treatment emphasizes the Egyptian army's approach toward dissenters who voice their criticism of the army. Such tactics are an eerie echo of the Mubarak era, they say. The EU ministries also expressed their disapproval of the Maspero incident, which saw at least 27 people killed when the Egyptian military opened fire on Coptic Christian protesters on October 9. According to the ministries, the government has the responsibility of protecting minorities. BM
