[E-rundbrief] Info 1006 - Egypt war-resister sentenced to 3 years prison

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 1006 - War Resisters International/ WRI: EGYPT: 
Pacifist blogger and conscientious objector Maikel Nabil Sanad 
sentenced to three years in prison.

Bad Ischl, 12.4.2011

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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EGYPT: Pacifist blogger and conscientious objector Maikel Nabil Sanad 
sentenced to three years in prison.

War Resisters' International, London, 11 April 2011

Maikel Nabil SanadMaikel Nabil SanadWar Resisters' International has 
learnt this morning that pacifist blogger and conscientious objector 
Maikel Nabil Sanad has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment 
yesterday on charges of "insulting the military". Yesterday, in front 
of the military court in Nasr City in Cairo, his family and friends 
were told that the trial had been adjourned (see co-alert, 10 April 
2011), while in fact it was happening, and Maikel Nabil Sanad was 
being sentenced to prison, without his family or lawyers present. This 
is an outrageous violation of the right to fair trial according to 
article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
(ICCPR).

Maikel Nabil Sanad was arrested by military police in the night of 28 
March (see co-alert, 29 March 2011, also: Info 997, 
http://webmail.horus.at/pipermail/e-rundbrief//2011/001059.html), and 
has been kept detained since. He is being tried in a fast-track trial 
in a military court, although he is a civilian.

The trial has been adjourned several times, most recently on 
Wednesday, 6 April 2011 for sentencing on Sunday, 10 April (see 
co-alert, 6 April 2011, also: Info 1002, 
http://webmail.horus.at/pipermail/e-rundbrief//2011/001064.html).

Egypt is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights. Freedom of expression and opinion is a human right, protected 
under article 19 of the ICCPR, as repeatedly stated by the UN Human 
Rights Committee.

The newly approved interim constitution of Egypt also guarantees the 
right to freedom of expression, and the freedom of the press.

In his writings, Maikel Nabil Sanad made use of his right to freedom 
of opinion and expression. This includes his right to criticise the 
role of the military during and after the revolution.

The sentencing of Maikel Nabil Sanad to three years in prison is a 
violation of his human rights - especially his right to freedom of 
opinion and expression and his right to a fair trial. In addition, 
Maikel Nabil Sanad was tried in a military court, although he is a 
civilian. This again is against Egyptian and international law and 
legal standards. He was sentenced deprived of the presence of family 
and friends, which is a violation of the principle of public trial, an 
important aspect of the right to fair trial.

War Resisters' International calls for letters of support to Maikel 
Nabil Sanad:
Maikel Nabil Sanad
Toura Prison
Mansheya El-masry
Tora
Cairo
Egypt

War Resisters' International calls for letters of protest to the 
Egyptian authorities:

Director of Military Judiciary
Major-General Ahmed Abd Allah
Military Judicial Department
Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +202 2 402 4468 / +202 2 411 3452 (ask for fax)

Military General Attorney
Major-General Medhat Radwan
Military Judicial Department
Cairo, Egypt
+202 2 412 0980 (ask for fax)

Minister of Defence
His Excellency Muhammad Tantawi
Ministry of Defence
Cairo, Egypt
mmc at afmic.gov.eg ; mod at afmic.gov.eg
A protest email can be sent at http://wri-irg.org/node/12728.

Egyptian Embassy in Britain
26 South Street, London W1K 1DW
Tel.: 020 7499 3304,
Fax: 020 7491 1542,
E-Mail Address: eg.emb_london at mfa.gov.eg
A list with contact details for Egyptian embassies is available at
http://www.mfa.gov.eg/English/Embassies/Pages/Listing.aspx

War Resisters' International calls on the Egyptian authorities to 
immediately release Maikel Nabil Sanad and all those other activists 
arrested during and after the revolution.

Andreas Speck
War Resisters' International

Archives of co-alert can be found at http://wri-irg.org/news/alerts

P.S. Das ARTE TV-Journal am 11.4.2011 hat um 19:00 darüber berichtet. 
Ist auf : http://videos.arte.tv/de/ ab 12.4.11 im Archiv zu sehen.

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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
Wolfgangerstr. 26, A-4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
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