CAIRO: The mother of prominent political activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is currently in military prison under investigation, began a hunger strike on Sunday, in opposition to the imprisonment of her son by the country's ruling military council. According to the “No Military Trials” group, a telegraph was sent to the general prosecutor acknowledging him that Fattah's mother, Laila Soueif, started a hunger strike until her son is released. Fattah was recently summoned by the military prosecutor and arrested for allegedly participating in violent acts against the military during the Maspero October 9 events, where thousands of Coptic Christians who marched for more rights, then attacked by the armed military guards outside the state TV building, also known as Maspero, and left 27 protesters dead and hundreds more injured. Fattah's charges go from “inciting violence” that night, “stealing a military weapon” and “assaulting armed forces.” Fattah refused to talk or answer the prosecutor's questions, announcing that as a civilian, his place is in front of a civilian prosecutor. As a result of standing up for his beliefs, he was handed a 15-day imprisonment and is now being held under investigation in a military holding facility in central Cairo. Fattah's arrest has shed much light on the military trials of civilians, made easier by the extension of the emergency laws following violence outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo late last summer, and drew attention to the cause. Rights activists say the number of civilians who have gone through military trials in the past 8 months to have reached 12,000 people. BM
