CAIRO: Coptic human rights activist and blogger Hala El-Masry, also known as Hala Helmy Botros, was reportedly arrested in Qena governorate over the weekend following alleged harassment by state security. El-Masry maintains that the harassment is directly related to a report on religious freedom in Egypt issued by the US Congress in which there is a reference to her name. She was released from Qena police station early Saturday morning, according to a report in Al-Masry Al-Youm. Following her release, El-Masry contacted representatives of Egyptian as well as international human rights organizations to inform them about her arrest and the harassments. "Yes, she called me up immediately on the day it happened, said Gamal Eid of the Egyptian NGO the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. Another source who spoke with El-Masry late Friday night told Daily News Egypt that she was "very upset over her arrest. El-Masry stressed several incidents of alleged harassment including surveillance of her house, theft of her mobile phone, and a raid on her house by an unknown assailant. An active voice on Coptic issues, the weekend's events do not mark the first time El-Masry faces hardship with the national security authorities. She claims she was forced previously by state security to discontinue her internet blog Aqbat Bela Hodood (Copts Without Borders) on which she aired her opinion on the alleged persecution of the Coptic Christian minority in Egypt. Following the shutdown of her blog, Botros' activities appear to have been closely monitored by the authorities. In a November interview with Daily News Egypt, Botros said that state security officers had just confiscated the computer equipment at a cyber café she had frequented in her home area. As a result, the owners of nearby internet cafes denied Botros access to their facilities for fear of receiving an unannounced visit from state security and having their expensive computer equipment taken away.
