CAIRO: Documents seized by protesters from State Security premises around Egypt over the weekend exposed classified information and a series of scandals about an array of sectors, politicians and media personalities and prominent members of society. Most of the documents that protesters managed to save before being destroyed by State Security were leaked online and are being circulated through Facebook and Twitter. A page called Amn Dawla Leaks was swiftly created to upload some of seized files along with a Twitter account with the same name. In communiqué 27, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces called on citizens to hand over State Security files to the Armed Forces so it can take the appropriate action. It also warned against circulating the documents through different media channels since the information may threaten individuals and national security. These documents were obtained online by Daily News Egypt, which could not verify at time of press that they were actually taken from State Security premises. According to one document, the State Security apparatus imposed a media blackout on major bribery cases that involved judges. “It has been agreed to [impose] media blackout on these cases to [maintain] the prestige and independence of the judiciary before the public opinion,” the document read. Dated Oct. 28, 2010, the note revealed that 24 judges were bribed in order to “manipulate cases they were looking into and issue verdicts in favor of the defendants.” According to the leaked paper, 16 judges were referred to the commission authority to decide whether to lay them off or not, while the other eight would stand urgent trials. A memo dated October 2009 claimed that a prominent television host closely cooperated with State Security, saying that he had rejected an interview request from an opposition leader who wanted to discuss his political views. The document said that when contacted by State Security, the media personality said he apologized to the opposition member under the pretext that the program had a busy agenda. The memo described the talk show host as having “good relations with State Security” as well as an awareness of its “general orientations.” Another leaked memo on the “analytical overview” of what State Security described as “a chaotic state” witnessed in Egypt claimed that foreign forces were behind the January 25 Revolution. “A massive state of chaos recently swept the country [after] a group of youths…started on the Police Day date of Jan. 25 [fueling] a series of protests [via] Facebook followed by violent confrontations between protesters and police,” the memo read. The confrontations led to “security forces losing control over the situation on the street and…opposition forces [to exaggerate] their demands to the extent of calling to overthrow the president,” the memo added. The document accused the US and the European Union for being behind the revolution while cooperating with Israel. “The US and the EU have been working cooperatively with the Zionist entity on setting a scheme that targets the Arab and Islamic world to end the Arab-Israeli conflict in a way that suits [Israeli] orientations,” the document alleged. By doing so, these counties aim to deprive the Arab world of their national and Islamic identities and “force Arab people to normalize with Israel,” the memo added. Based on the note, this “scheme” was put into force in 2004 when former US president George W. Bush met with leaders of the Group of Eight announcing his intention to establish a “Greater Middle East.” A similar document included information about Iran and Hezbollah having links to Hamas factions who coordinated with the Muslim Brotherhood group in Egypt as well as Bedouins affiliated with the group to attack prisons in Egypt and release detainees. The leaked papers disclose that the State Security had control over the judiciary. One document alleged that a judge held a meeting at State Security on Dec. 21, 2005 and was directed to hand down a prison sentence to a prominent opposition member. Another document dated August 14, 2003 revealed that the total number of detainees held in custody without charges was 9,413. One file showed that there is a specialized department within State Security for hacking into citizens' emails. A document released from the department of electronic hacking revealed information about the brother of a pro-democracy advocate receiving an email from a member of the Jan. 25 Revolution Youth Coalition, detailing demands before former president Hosni Mubarak stepped down. Meanwhile, a video posted by protesters on YouTube Saturday showed former interior minister Habib El-Adly's office inside the State Security headquarters in Nasr City annexed to a luxurious apartment comprising of a bedroom that contains a Jacuzzi. –Daily News Egypt
