Cairo: On Sunday the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, ANHRI, expressed its deep concern about the escalation of the suppression of internet users by Arab states. It singled out Egypt, where, according to the organization's statement, users are subjected to kidnapping, torture and detention and have access to certain websites blocked as a result of their struggle with the governments to uphold the right to freedom of expression and expose corruption and human rights violations. ANHRI prepared a major report called “The Freedom of Internet in the Arab World” that was subtitled “One Social Network with One Rebellious Mission”, and will announce its findings in full on Wednesday at a news conference. The report argues that the internet has become one of the most important tools of resistance against tyranny, and that its users, according to the report, are subjected to torture and prosecution by security services of non-democratic Arab governments that attempt to punish users for siding with democracy and freedom of speech in countries that often repress these freedoms. The network revealed in its lengthy report that the number of Internet users in the Arab world reached 58 million people, and all these countries impose restrictions on the use of the internet in one form or another. The report pointed out that blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are important tools for Arab internet users in their quest to expose the non-democratic practices in their country. The report highlighted Egypt and Syria as the two of the largest oppressors in the Arab world of internet users through means of torture, detention, prosecution by security personnel and judicial proceedings under exceptional laws without fair trials or investigations. Egypt, according to the report, even exceeds Syria in its suppression of internet activists, citing examples such as the secular blogger Kareem Amer, currently jailed in Burj Al Arab prison in Alexandria, and Hany Nazir who is also imprisoned there. The report stated that, while Egypt and Syria often prosecute internet users, Saudi Arabia tops the list of Arab states that currently suppress freedom of expression on the internet, using religious edicts to close some sites. The report said that internet users in Lebanon, Algeria and Somalia have a relatively high amount of internet freedom, yet even in states known for being democratic, like the UAE and Morocco, cases of harassment and prosecution of internet users are not uncommon.
