Egyptian Activist Blogs from Jail
CAIRO, Egypt -- Even from his cell in an Egyptian prison, Alaa Abdel-Fattah is blogging -- scribbling messages on slips of paper that make their way to the internet and spread around the world.
The 24-year-old Abdel-Fattah's blog, which he posts with his wife Manal Hassan, has become one of the most popular pro-democracy voices in Egypt. He has continued writing despite being arrested in early May during a street demonstration in Cairo -- part of a crackdown on reform activists by Egyptian security forces.
"We covered the walls of our cell with graffiti of our names and slogans and website addresses," Abdel-Fattah wrote one time, referring to himself and fellow imprisoned activists. "We chanted and sang and the mood was great."
But another posting was very different. "I'm sitting here terrified they'll move me to a worse cell or cut off my visits. What should I tell you -- that the day will come for them (the regime)? I'm afraid our grandchildren won't see that day, much less us."
The duo call their blog Manalaa, a combination of their first names. Young, secular and anti-authoritarian, they link the blogosphere with a democracy movement demanding reform from President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power longer than they have been alive.
Their blog, launched two years ago and written in a mixture of English and Arabic, is an internet rallying point for activists in a nation where state-run media predominate and give little voice to reformers.
Comments