CAIRO: In a continued sign of Egypt's military junta's crackdown on activists, police arrested four activists on Tuesday for putting up posters critical of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Human rights activists in the country say the move is further proof the military rulers will not allow criticism in the country. The arrests come as Egyptians head to the polls for the third and final stage in the parliamentary elections to vote in a new parliament tasked with writing a new constitution. It also comes as the military continues to bully activists, and use violence against them, to silence criticism of the military, which has been in power since February 11, when a popular uprising ousted former President Hosni Mubarak. The activists, members of the popular grassroots April 6 Youth Movement, were detained as they were putting up the posters that compared heroic images of soldiers after the 1973 war with Israel with images of the military attacking and beating women in Cairo during clashes last month, the April 6 movement said in a press statement. Kamal Amr, a young 20-year-old activist and ardent supporter of April 6, told Bikyamasr.com that “this is the final straw I believe. It will be bad for the military.” He added that he hoped that “all movements will see this as proof that opposition in this country will not be tolerated and that we have to take to the streets in large numbers once again like we did on January 25,” making note of the tens of thousands of Egyptians who took to the streets last year to topple the regime. The public prosecutor's office said the four activists were being investigated for “putting up pictures defaming the military.” A source told Reuters news agency that an order for their arrest and continued detention had yet to be formally called for. Gamal Eid, the head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), which provides legal assistance to activists including the four detained, accused the military of stepping up oppressive measures ahead of a January 25 demonstration that will mark the first anniversary of the uprising. “These are fast steps to neutralise the movements and activists which are supporting the revolution or who are calling for the continuation of the revolution starting from this coming January 25,” said Eid. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/eJTlM Tags: Activists, April 6 movement, Arrest, featured, SCAF Section: Egypt, Latest News
