Authorities free last two bloggers after 56 days in detention

Mohamed Sharkawy and Karim El-Shaer, two bloggers who were arrested during a demonstration outside the Cairo press union on 25 May, were finally freed today. They had been held in Tora prison, where they were often harassed by fellow inmates. One inmate recently attacked Shaer with a knife, slightly injuring one of his arms. Sharkawy also received a death threat from a member of the security forces while in prison. There were the last two bloggers held in Egypt. In all, six bloggers were arrested in May in a crackdown on pro-reform activists who use the Internet to coordinate their activity. ------------- Create your blog with Reporters without borders: www.rsfblog.org ------------------- 11.07.2006 Death threat by prison staff against blogger Mohamed Sharkawy Egyptian blogger Mohamed Sharkawy has received death threats from a member of the staff at the prison where he has been held since his arrest on 25 May following a demonstration in Cairo, according to fellow blogger Alaa Abd El-Fatah, who was himself detained for nearly six weeks in May and June. The prison official told Sharkawy it would be very easy to kill him with a contaminated hypodermic and then make it look like a natural death. Alaa described these threats as “psychological torture” and said Sharkawy was being subjected to much harsher conditions than other inmates. His exercise time is very limited, for example, and he is constantly harassed by fellow inmates at the behest of the prison staff. Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for the release of Sharkawy and Karim El-Shaer, another blogger who has been held since 25 May. ----------------- 06.07.2006 Two bloggers held in custody for two further weeks Bloggers Mohamed Sharkawy and Karim El-Shaer were remanded in custody for two further weeks, on 5 July 2006, even though no charge has yet been laid against them. The two men were arrested in a particularly brutal manner on 25 May while taking part in a demonstration in front of the headquarters of the Cairo press syndicate. Mohamed Sharkawy, who was mistreated by security forces during his detention, has a fractured wrist and a broken rib, but is not receiving appropriate medical treatment, his lawyer said. ---------------------- 26.05.2006 Two bloggers arrested and beaten, Los Angeles Times reporter tear-gassed Reporters Without Borders today condemned the arrests of two bloggers, Mohammed Sharkawy and Karim El-Shaer, during a demonstration at the Press Syndicate in Cairo yesterday and the behaviour of the police in using violence to disperse protestors and attacking Los Angeles Times correspondent Hossam El-Hamalwy as he was trying to cover the event. “The eye-witness accounts we have received about the arrests of the bloggers and the attack on the LA Times reporter are very disturbing,” the press freedom organisation said. “The international community should react firmly and condemn such practices on the part of a government that claims to be democratic.” Yesterday's demonstration at the Press Syndicate was held to commemorate the opposition activists who were the victims of repression during a referendum last year. Plain-clothes police dragged Sharkawy from the taxi in which he was about to leave and gave him a beating. They then took him to a police station where he was beaten again and subjected to humiliating acts. His body afterwards bore the marks of the mistreatment and one of his ribs may be broken. El-Shaer was in the car of BBC journalist Dina Samak when he was detained by members of a group of about 30 plain-clothes policemen. (The Reporters Without Borders website has photos of the car afterwards). El-Shaer was beaten at the time of his arrest and was subjected to further mistreatment at the police station. The two bloggers are now being held in Tora prison, where they are supposed to remain in detention for at least two weeks. They are accused of “insulting the president” and violating the state of emergency (which bans gatherings of more than five people). They both asked to be examined by an independent doctor to verify the injuries they received, but their requests were rejected. Plain-clothes police sprayed El-Hamalwy with tear-gas as he was covering the protest. It seems the police wanted to prevent him and the two bloggers from going to another demonstration taking place yesterday outside the Cairo high court. A third blogger, Alaa Abd El-Fatah, has been held since 7 May. Reporters Without Borders called for his release on 9 May.