Egyptian Political Activist-Blogger Freed From Jail
Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah has been released from jail after nearly two months detainment.
Fattah, an adamant blogger and activist during the Arab Spring uprisings, was arrested on Oct. 30 after he wrote an eye witness account of the Oct. 9 protest, during which 27 protesters were killed when soldiers drove tanks into crowds and violently crushed protests by Christians.
Coptic Christians took to the street on Oct. 9 to protest the burning of a Coptic Church in Southern Aswan, which took place on Sept. 30. Fattah was arrested, along with 27 other activists, for allegedly prompting soldiers and initiating the violence.
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“The young man reportedly refused to undergo questioning by the military prosecution on the grounds that the military itself was implicated in the case,” reported Al Jazeera News.
El Fattah went directly to Tahrir Square in Cairo after being released from prison Sunday, toting his infant son Khaled in his arm as he spoke of the military’s injustices. His son was born three weeks ago while he remained in jail.
“We need to end military rule,” Fattah told his crowd of supporters after being released from the police headquarters in Cairo, according to The Telegraph.
“We cannot just celebrate my innocence. We know from the beginning I am not the one who killed people. We have not gone after the real criminals who killed people,” he added.
Fattah was one of the leaders in the Arab Spring Uprisings, which began in February and ousted ex-president Hosni Mubarak from his tyrannical reign. The success of the Arab Spring uprisings is largely attributed to the use of social media platforms for communication between protesters, and Fattah’s standing as a prominent political blogger helped push the uprisings to success.
Tension between Egypt's protesters and the ruling military has grown since the Oct. 9 massacre. Egyptians were especially outraged when last week, a YouTube video showing soldiers brutally beating a female protester went viral.
Protesters are continuing to push the ruling military regime to step down from power, arguing that the regime should initiate a democratic government before July.
Fattah’s detention helped raise attention to the authoritarian practices of Egypt’s military regime.
