Rumors have been reaching me for days now, and I received confirmation only today from lawyer Gamal Eid, executive manager of Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
It seems that Judge Abdel Fattah Morad, head of Alexandria Appeal Court, has started a lawsuit against the government in Egypt’s Administrative Courts in order to block a number of Egyptian websites. The list, 21-websites-long, includes the blogs and sites that took part in the discussion around the book the Judge has written, and the wide plagiarism evident in the book copying HRInfo’s report on Internet Freedoms in the Arab World, and a how-to-blog guide written by blogger Bent Masreya.
Of the 21 blogs and website, I was able so far to confirm Kifaya’s and HRInfo’s websites, in addition to the blogs of Bent Masreya, Yehia Megahed, and my own.
The lawsuit is started by Abdel Fattah Mourad, one of Egypt’s most senior judges–and head of the Alexandria Appeal Court, where imprisoned blogger Abdul Kareem Nabil Soliman’s case is heard next week.
Follow this story as it develops at Arabawy, where the full email is posted. This is the most serious development against bloggers to take place in Egypt, and if a court rules in favor of the lawsuit it will not only be difficult to overturn but also encourage more lawyers to make a name for themselves by filing lawsuits against other sites. As Amr says:
What worries me, however, is that this is a judge whose ruling cannot be appealed. He can silence, imprison or execute people, and he oversees our elections.
Once the blogs are found offensive by the court, then in light of the Egyptian’s regime reputation, it is automatic to prosecute the bloggers. This is an early warning.
Mish maqool… has anyone in the Western media reported this or did it *just* happen?
Email arrived a few hours ago, Abu Muqawama.
Issandr – Note the judge in question is the not the judge who imprisoned Abd al-Karim, but the judge who will hear his appeal.
Just like I said, this is an early warning, and so far our only source is Rose El-Youssef newspaper, according to Gamal Eid, executive director of HRInfo. I am sure more will come after the weekend.
This is an early warning and we have to take advantage of it.
to answer Abu Muqawama: I can’t see that it has appeared in the Western media, yet. Still, I do not have complete oversight. My guess is that it will at least be reported in the Economist (!), they have done stuff on bloggers before. And hopefully in the Norwegian media, if someone will print the article I’m planning to write..
[…] alarming piece in the Arabist this morning alerted me to this story: a judge in Egypt, who is a self-declared expert on the Internet, is […]
No, I fear the American media is too busy switching back and forth between the demonstrations in São Paulo over His Imperial Highness’ visit and the continuing fallout from the Anna Nicole Smith thing to give any attention to human rights in the Middle East.
Normally, Chris, I would agree with you. But U.S. media have been pretty good recently. The Nation (okay, it’s The Nation) ran a very good, long article recently on blogging in the Middle East, and the Washington Post has run *several* articles and even op-eds on Egypitan political blogging. Fox News, of course, is busily covering Anna Nicole Smith, but I don’t think the newspapers have ignored blogging in the Middle East at all.
Ya Abu Muqawama, you are clearly more of an optimist than I! Perhaps I’m just bitter and jaded after so many years of watching the media get even the most basic things wrong (in today’s New York Times, for example, I learned that when Muslim women cover themselves out of concern for modesty, it’s called ‘burqa.’ Fascinating!). I guess I’m still waiting for the tide to turn and for things to go back to the way they were. I hope you’re right – I hope that the media ARE getting better. But I’m still going to adopt a wait-and-see attitude on this one …
[…] is launching a lawsuit to get 21 blogs and websites blocked in Egypt, writes Issandr El Amrani in The Arabist. Amira Al […]
The contemporary Middle East is stronghold of modern dictators. Men whose energy cleverness, and ruthlessness enables them to master their countries.
[…] Did a little digging into Judge Abd al-Fattah Murad’s lawsuit to get the government to censor 21 Web sites and blogs: […]
[…] to Leave Us, has been launched to campaign against a lawsuit being brought by Egyptian Judge Abdel Fattah Mourad to block 21 blogs and websites in Egypt, which are deemed a danger to the country’s national […]
[…] l’affaire du Juge égyptien Abdel Fattah Mourad qui voulait sencuser 21 blog , cette autre affaire marque une nouvelle tendance a vouloir […]