CAIRO: Eight Egyptian NGOs filed a report with the general prosecutor against the minister of interior and a number of police officers at al-Marg police station in Cairo over the illegal detention of Christian blogger and activist Alber Saber without obtaining the right permissions or legal cause for his arrest. Saber is spending 15 days in detention after a number of conservative neighbors called the police on him accusing him of defaming Islam for allegedly posting portions of an anti-Islam clip online that had sparked protests in the country. They also accused him of being an atheist. The residents had gathered outside his house chanting against him until police arrived at his house, but instead of clearing the crowd from the area, they arrested Saber. The rights organizations are also protesting the forced eviction of his family from their home, after Saber's mother received threats followed by the forced eviction. The rights groups are calling for an investigation into the injuries that Saber received in jail when he was held by others who used sharp blades to cut his neck as well as attempts to extract forced confessions. The groups say the police acted “lawlessly” when they broke into the activist's home with “no permission or legal reason” and preventing his family from visiting or even obtaining news on his whereabouts. Among the rights organizations are the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression. Saber has since been held by police pending an investigation. An online Facebook page in solidarity with the man has been created and accuses the police of torturing him during initial interrogations. “The Egyptian police protects violence and vandalism, and arrests the activist Alber Saber from his house after his house was besieged by some people who threatened to burn it," read a statement published on the Free Alber Saber page. In a video posted on YouTube, the angry mob is seen demanding Saber be apprehended. Hundreds of angry protesters had gathered before police arrived. As Saber was hauled to the police van, insults were heard being hurled at the man, with many calling for his death due to him being an infidel. “I don't want to live in a country that arrests people for being atheists," one Egyptian journalist told Bikyamasr.com. “An angry mob is attacking a man and police arrest the man and not the mob? That isn't right." According to the Facebook page, Saber has no lawyer and is being detained for 15 days by police as an investigation takes place. A press conference to discuss his situation was held on Saturday evening and supporters of Saber have called for solidarity and media coverage of his case. It comes on the heels of massive protests and clashes in Egypt that began last Tuesday when protesters took down the American flag at the US Embassy in Cairo. Clashes then erupted on Wednesday evening and although calm has returned to downtown Cairo near the embassy, there are growing fears that Christians and secularists could be attacked similarly to Saber for their beliefs. ** Joseph Mayton contributed to this article.
