Raw content

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 001447 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA AND DRL/NESCA NSC FOR KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2029 TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, EG SUBJECT: RECENT GOE ACTIONS TO SUPPRESS CRITICAL OPINION REF: A. CAIRO 1332 B. CAIRO 1263 C. CAIRO 930 D. CAIRO 504 E. CAIRO 79 Classified By: Economic-Political Minister-Counselor Donald A. Blome for reason 1.4 (d). 1. KEY POINTS -- (C) A recent series of selective GOE actions against journalists, bloggers and even an amateur poet illustrates the variety of methods available to the GOE to suppress critical opinion, including an array of investigative authorities and public and private legal actions. -- (U) A journalist was jailed on defamation charges for the first time in recent memory, and an amateur poet was imprisoned for three months for allegedly defaming President Mubarak. -- (C) The GOE arrested three Muslim Brotherhood (MB)-affiliated bloggers, and has repeatedly used the Emergency Law to block a court ordered release of another jailed blogger. -- (C) The government is working with NDP operatives to flood the courts with suits against political enemies, using tactics such as fabricating assault charges against a journalist and filing a profanity case against a novelist. -- (C) The GOE's actions are examples of where it decides to draw redlines in an environment featuring frequent press articles and blogs critical of both the regime and President Mubarak. -- (C) These GOE actions, combined with arrests of MB officials (septel), could be the start of an attempt to tighten the political environment in advance of the 2010 parliamentary elections. --------------------------------------------- ------------ Proactive Security Forces and an Unfortunate Amateur Poet --------------------------------------------- ------------ 2. (C) The recent case in Minya (150 miles south of Cairo) of Mounir Saad Hanna, a local government clerk arrested, convicted and jailed for writing unpublished poetry allegedly insulting to President Mubarak, illustrates how proactive security forces and courts can successfully move against a civilian defended by incompetent lawyers. In late June, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) issued a statement that police in Minya arrested Hanna in April for defaming Mubarak in a poem, and a local court subsequently sentenced him to three years in prison. According to the statement, the court set bail at LE 100,000 (15,000 USD) pending appeal, and since Hanna could not afford that sum, he remained in jail. Skilled Cairo-based lawyers from ANHRI appealed the case, and a Minya appeals court acquitted Hanna July 18; he was released July 20. Hanna might still be in jail if his original defense lawyers had not sought help. 3. (C) ANHRI Executive Director Gamal Eid told us he was not aware of the case until June when lawyers from Minya contacted him to help with the appeal. Eid attributed the conviction in part to the poor skills of the defense lawyers. The case remained virtually unknown until the days leading up to the July 18 appeal verdict when the local and international press began reporting on it. Until mid-July, even our contacts specializing in freedom of expression were unaware of the case. Following Hanna's release from prison, he appeared on Egyptian satellite television and said he would not write any more poetry critical of the government. Hanna also criticized lawyers from Minya for not defending him aggressively out of fear of the GOE's response. -------------------------------- Arresting and Harassing Bloggers -------------------------------- 4. (C) In a blogging environment often critical of the government, the GOE has selectively moved against certain bloggers. Most recently, the GOE arrested three young, Muslim Brotherhood (MB)-affiliated bloggers. Gamal Eid confirmed for us July 27 that State Security Investigative Services (SSIS) arrested bloggers Magdy Saad and Abd El Rahman Ayyash July 22 at Cairo International Airport CAIRO 00001447 002 OF 002 following their return from a conference in Turkey. Eid also confirmed that SSIS arrested a third blogger, Ahmed Abu Khalil, at his home on July 22, and that all three bloggers remained in detention. The MB website reported July 28 that the GOE released Saad that day. The three bloggers have criticized trials of MB members in military courts and have voiced support for MB detainees. Our contacts have asserted that the GOE fears young, tech-savvy MB-affiliated bloggers because of their ability to generate mass support for the Brotherhood and organize rallies and other events via the internet. Contacts attributed the arrest and torture of young MB-blogger Mohammed Adel in November 2008 (refs D, E) to these factors. Police released Adel in March 2009 (ref D). 5. (C) Prominent blogger Wael Abbas ran afoul of the GOE by publicly criticizing the regime in late June at a conference in Sweden (ref B). Abbas, who was held at Cairo International Airport June 30 for 13 hours upon his return, told us July 28 that police have still not returned his laptop. Hafez Abu Seada, Secretary-General of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights which is representing Abbas, told us July 22 that the police have not responded to his organization's inquiries beyond saying that they are holding the laptop to search for "intellectual property violations." Abbas had told us that NDP members attending the same conference in Sweden reported his critical comments to the GOE. 6. (C) The GOE is using the Emergency Law to reject court orders for the release of blogger Hany Nazir whom SSIS has kept in jail since October 2008 for allegedly insulting both Islam and Christianity (ref C). Nazir's lawyer Gamal Eid told us that the Interior Ministry rejected a July 11 court order to release Nazir, and since SSIS made the arrest under the Emergency Law, neither the courts nor attorneys have any recourse. Eid commented that this is the fifth time the MOI has refused to follow court decisions ordering Nazir's release. --------------------------------------------- - GOE Actions Against a Novelist and Journalists --------------------------------------------- - 7. (C) The GOE and NDP operatives have stepped up their efforts to file lawsuits against political opponents. Human Rights attorney Negad Al-Borai told us in late June that he is defending the leading independent newspaper "Al-Masry Al-Youm" against more than 70 defamation suits, most of which have been filed by NDP loyalists. Al-Borai is also defending Mohammed Al-Sharkawy, author of the comic book-style novel "Metro," against a government suit alleging that the work is profane. Al-Borai said the MOI filed the profanity suit as a pretext to punish the author for the novel's criticism of the NDP and of MOI heavy-handed police tactics against demonstrators. The profanity suit focuses on one relatively explicit sex scene and the use of expletives. Al-Borai said such content is common in books and magazines, and almost never incurs suits. The trial is currently adjourned until the fall. 8. (C) EOHR Secretary-General Hafez Abu Seada told us in early July that he is defending Alaa Al-Gamal, a journalist from the weekly newspaper "Sawt Al-Uma," whom he said the Interior Ministry has targeted for writing a series of articles critical of the minister and other senior MOI officials. Abu Seada said an Interior Ministry general confronted Al-Gamal on the street as a pretext for filing charges against him for allegedly "assaulting" an officer. The Arab Network for Human Rights Information issued a statement July 13 criticizing the police for breaking into Al-Gamal's home six times between July 10 and 11. 9. (C) In mid-July, police arrested Yasser Barakat, editor-in-chief of the independent paper "Al-Moagaz," to implement a June 24 court decision convicting him of defaming independent MP and SSIS confidante Mustafa Bakry. In the first instance in recent memory of a journalist jailed for defamation, Barakat spent 5 days in jail before his July 11 release pending appeal, following lobbying by the Press Syndicate (ref A). Contacts have told us that SSIS was able to provide political cover to support Bakry in his long-running personal feud against Barakat. Tueller