CAIRO: Prominent Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah was refused appeal in an Egyptian court today, and will remain in detention. Alaa was transferred from a military court to a security court last week. Activists had hoped that he would be released before the birth of his first son, expected soon. The prosecution has accused Fattah with the “intent of committing crimes, assaulting security personnel and using force against them,” on the night of the October 9 Maspero Coptic Christian march, where the army killed 27 demonstrators. Egypt's interim military rulers, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), dismissing any accountability for the violence that took place at Maspero, alleged that Alaa had stolen weapons from soldiers and assaulted officers on the night of the protest. He was summoned to an Egyptian military court for questioning on October 31, weeks after the incident. Fattah defiantly refused to stand testimony in front of the court on the day of his initial summoning, denying the authority of Egypt's controversial military courts and refusing to acknowledge the fabricated charges against him. Fattah has denied all charges, saying that he was “not part” of the Maspero events, arguing he arrived around 9 PM that night to the scene. This was hours after the initial violence began at around 6 PM. The prosecution's case rests on two witnesses, al-Aziz Fahmy, a member of Egypt Freedom Party, and journalist Hanan Khawasik. Fahmy claims he saw Fattah and a number of his friends, including blogger Wael Abbas and Baha'a Sabr “beat a military soldier, steal his weapon and then Fattah took the weapon and threw it into the Nile before getting into a taxi.” Fattah denied the testimony, saying that Abbas was in Tunisia at the time, attending a bloggers conference. Eyewitnesses have also come forward to speak out against the allegations, which they say are fabricated. The detention of the blogger has been a particular point of contention for those angry with the nation's military rulers. Egypt's military courts are notorious for their harsh sentencing and lack of proper legal proceedings. An Egyptian rights group estimates that 12,000 Egyptian civilians have been tried and sentenced in these courts since the SCAF took power in February. The defendants often appear before military judges by the dozen, and are not granted access to legal council or witness testimony. Verdicts of the courts may not be appealed, and the trials often take place in private. Meanwhile, international human rights groups have chimed in to demand the immediate release of the detained blogger. “Instead of identifying which members of the military were driving the military vehicles that crushed 13 Coptic protesters, the military prosecutor is going after the activists who organized the march,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Abdel Fattah's detention is a blatant effort to target one of the most vocal critics of the military. The prosecutor's acts further entrench military impunity by failing to build public confidence that there will be a transparent investigation of those responsible for the deaths,” she continued. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/5x08d Tags: Alaa Abdel Fattah, featured Section: Egypt, Latest News
