CAIRO: The recent arrests of Egyptian and regional bloggers have highlighted the pressures political activists in the Middle East have come under in the past several years. The trial of blogger Abdel Kareem Soliman Amer, currently incarcerated in Alexandria and awaiting trial for allegedly slandering and defaming both the government and Islam, has also gained international media attention. Egypt is one of 13 countries on the RSF Internet blacklist, listed alongside countries such as Cuba and Iran. Egypt is also ranked number 133 on the RSF's annual press freedom index, which came out last month. Journalism lecturer and director of undergraduate studies at the American University in Cairo (AUC), Professor Naila Hamdy told The Daily Star Egypt that the government crackdown on political bloggers calling for reform was a worrying sign. "We originally started reasonably well with [Internet blogging] because at first there weren't many individuals and they had little impact, but now it has changed. She added, "It's not a terrible situation yet, but it is not a good sign when the government is looking to prevent freedom of expression on the Internet. Hamdy states that now there is a larger audience for blogs, which might explain recent events. "They bring a lot of stories to light, most recently the downtown sexual harassment case. I cannot swear to the credibility of the stories or quality of reporting, but [the bloggers] have brought these stories to the national agenda, to television and newspapers, official and semi-official, she told The Daily Star Egypt. Hamdy believes that the government is trying to control the blogosphere as it does traditional media. She says, "They are trying to extend the same kind of laws to the Internet as the ones [applicable] to the traditional press. To a certain extent they can control blogs. Bloggers are traceable and many of them make no secret of who they are. No other country has faced as intensive an anti-blogging campaign as Bahrain, where recent arrests of political activists have reportedly sparked riots and demonstrations throughout Bahrain over the past few days. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Hassan Mushaima of the Bahraini Democratic Movement, and Shaker Abdul-Hussein, were detained by state security on Feb. 2. While the reasons for the arrests remain unknown, the three men currently face charges including insulting the king and inciting hatred against the regime , circulating false information , and an intention to change the governing system of the country . If convicted, the activists can face up to more than 10 years in prison, or even the death penalty, according to Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. The arrest of the Bahraini activists is a blatant attempt to silence critics of a government that has become increasingly authoritarian, Tarek Radwan from Human Rights Watch in Egypt told The Daily Star Egypt. Esra a Shafei, a young Bahraini blogger, argues that violent protests like the ones that took place over the weekend will not help move democracy forward in her country. These people call themselves activists, but I call them morons. You don t go out with hundreds of people and set trash cans on fire, thinking that you are doing society a favor. Activists shouldn t always be a threat to the government. We have to make them understand that we are willing to work with them for a better Bahrain, Shafei told The Daily Star Egypt. What is needed are more peaceful protests where people's voices can be heard without rioting, she added. Ironically, Bahrain signed the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in late 2006, which clearly stipulates "everyone s right to freedom of expression and that "this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds. The Feb. 2 arrests occurred just days after two other Bahraini activists, Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahlawi and Hussain AbdulAziz Al Hebshi, were sentenced to one year and six months in prison respectively, for spreading and possessing leaflets denouncing as illegal the country s national elections which took place in late 2006. Their trial attracted heavy criticism from international organizations. "The imprisonment of the two Bahrainis trying to express nonviolent political opinions, violates freedoms guaranteed under Bahrain's international obligations and the kingdom's own constitution, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Bahrain's persecution of free expression makes a mockery of its membership in the UN Human Rights Council, Whitson added. In another twist, Egyptian airport security recently prohibited Mohamed Al-Maskati, the director of Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), from entering Cairo for a conference on youth and human rights on Jan. 31. A well-known activist, Al-Maskati has strongly criticized Bahraini authorities in the past. Recently he participated in a demonstration in support of Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer, currently standing trial for his controversial blog writings on Islam. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information [HRInfo] considers the prevention of Al-Maskati from entering Egypt a clear example of the cooperation between the security bureaus of Arab interior ministries to hinder and punish credible Arab human rights activists, Gamal Eid, director of HRInfo, told The Daily Star Egypt.
