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May 8, 2006
Arrested Blogger Needs Help - Urgent Action Requested!
Urgent action from readers and fellow bloggers is needed to help an Egyptian blogger that has been arrested in Egypt.
The following has been reposted from Egyptian Sandmonkey:
As you can read here Alaa has been arrested , and the situation is turning bleaker by the minute. Given what the egyptian police is like , and how they wanted to hurt Alaa for quite a while now, I don't think it's wise to wait until they decide what THEY want to do with him. The fight should start immedietly.A blogger is in trouble for writing about his beliefs and what he strongly believes as truth. It is indeed now time to release the hounds!The contact information for the Egyptian embassy is below:
The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Ct. NW
Phone (202) 895 5400
Fax (202) 244 5131
(202) 244 4319
Email:E-mail them, send them letters, harrass them. The last time you did that we got Abdel Karim released. I am not joking when I tell you that I had information from a source inside that this is the only reason they released him. Too much pressure by the average american and european. The egyptian government is cowardly, they will sucumb to pressure. Tell them that you find his detainment and arrest unacceptable. That you will not set foot in this country, and will tell every friend of yours never to visit Egypt, unless Alaa and the other detainees are released immedietly. That a government that throws people in jail for freedom of speech is not one that will get your money. Tell everyone you know and spread the word. In the words of Tigerhawk: Release the Hounds.
Let's help save Alaa!!!
Reposted from Hyscience, orginal text from Egyptian Sandmonkey.
Update: Egyptian Sandmonkey has an "Update on the situation so far".
Email templates below (via Egyptian Sandmonkey) for readers to use when emailing support:
Here are some E-mail templates you can use when sending out e-mails for Alaa's release (Thasnks Tommy and Meg):
Dear such-and-such,
I am writing you concerning what I consider to be a serious infraction against the human and civil rights of one your countrymen.
A citizen of your country, Alaa Abd El-Fatah, was arrested at a demonstration in Cairo on May 7th, 2006, alongside agroup of his colleagues. He was demonstrating peacefully along with other activists against attempts to reduce the independence of the judiciary in Egypt. As an American, living in a country that places a high premium on freedoms of speech and assembly, I find the detention of him and his colleagues to be outrageous and unacceptable.
I want to make it absolutely clear to your country that I intend to follow up on this matter by contacting the White House and my representatives in Congress to support suspension of the approximately $2 billion in annual aid
the United States currently provides Egypt. Also, I will not be visiting, and I will discourage others from visiting, Egypt as a tourist until this matter is resolved.
I would like to see this matter resolved as quickly as possible and without developing into a possible diplomatic incident. I hope you will seriously reconsider your actions in detaining this man and others like him. Alaa Abd El-Fatah was exercising rights that Americans insist are innate, God-given, and not subject to interference or suppression by human governments.
Sincerely,
Name and email address
Or
Dear
I am writing concerning the arrest and detention of the Egyptian writer/blogger Alaa Abdel El Fatah (Alaa Ahmed Seif El Islam) and 7 others, named below. I was very distressed to hear of this, to say the least. I thought Egypt
was trying to become a modern country, but when tactics like these are employed against a simple protest, it
reminds one how disappointingly far Egypt is from true freedom. I hope to hear soon of the release of Mr. El Fatah and his fellow detainees; I would really hate to have to write to my congressman, my senators, the secretary of state, and the president, and for my husband to write to his member of parliament, the minister for foreign affairs, and the prime minister here in Canada, but of course we're quite ready to do so. I appreciate your attention to this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Name and email address
Kat has more templates here
Hat tip - Tommy.
Posted by Richard at May 8, 2006 10:30 AM
