CAIRO: Egyptian security forces Saturday released eight political prisoners arrested in a raid Thursday night, according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). The individuals, including several members of the National Coalition for Change, were in a central Damanhour square, talking to citizens about democratic reform and the Coalition's mission. According to ANHRI, security forces “burst into an assembly of about 19 people... gathered in the square of the social club in Damanhour to discuss... democratic reforms.” Out of the 19 activists present, security forces managed to take only eight into custody including Ahmed Milad, a lawyer and coordinator of the National Coalition in Beheira governorate, and Adel Al-Attar, coordinator of the Kefaya Movement for Change in Damanhour. The accused were then taken to the SSI headquarters in Damanhour that evening. The next morning, they were brought before prosecutors at a Damanhour police station. The suspects were accused of “disabling the provisions of the Constitution and the law [through] the distribution of leaflets and posters of the National Coalition for Change,” according to ANHRI. Over the next two days the suspects were questioned repeatedly, but the charges against them were ultimately found to be without merit, and they were released May 22 — the same day the ANHRI contacted the authorities to demand their freedom. “There was no crime, but the government was trying to send a message,” Gamal Eid, ANHRI's director, told Daily News Egypt. “They were just talking to people on the streets.” “This shows the government is lying when it says it allows freedom of expression by activists calling for democracy,” he said. The National Coalition for Change was spearheaded by Mohamed ElBaradei, a former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a galvanizer of Egyptian opposition movements. It consists of a loose grouping of Egyptians from a variety of backgrounds and centers its demands on seven key reforms, including an end to Egypt's state of emergency law, empowerment of the judiciary to supervise electoral procedures, and an end to arbitrary restrictions on the right to stand in presidential elections, in line with Egypt's obligations under international conventions.
