CAIRO — More than 2,000 Egyptians marched through downtown Cairo on Monday, protesting the military's arrest of a prominent blogger-activist in the latest sign of discontent with the ruling generals' managing of the country.
The activist, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, was ordered held by the military a day earlier for questioning. The military says he is suspected of inciting Christian protesters to attack soldiers during an Oct. 9 protest in Cairo that turned into the bloodiest violence since the February fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
But his supporters dismiss the claim, saying the military is trying to silence a prominent critic and to deflect blame on its soldiers in the violence, which left 27 dead – mostly Christians – when troops cracked down on the protest.
In Monday evening's march, the crowd shouted, "Down, down with military rule" and "Alaa, we're behind you, don't stop," as they moved into central Tahrir Square, then headed toward the nearby jail where Abdel-Fattah is being held.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/31/egypt-alaa-abdel-fattah_n_1067804.html?ref=twAmnesty urges authorities to release Alaa Abd El FattahThe international human rights watchdog Amnesty International urged the Egyptian authorities on Monday to release activist and blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah and drop all charges against him.
On Sunday, Egypt’s military prosecutors ordered Abd El Fattah to be detained for 15 days. They also ordered activist Bahaa Saber, who was questioned along with Abd El Fattah, to be released.
Both men face accusations of inciting violence on 9 October, when the military violently dispersed a protest in front of the Maspero state TV building and killed 27 protesters. One military soldiers was reportedly also killed in the violence.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/510672Egyptian revolutionary Alaa Abd El Fattah arrested by juntaMubarak opponent and blogger refuses to recognise authority of prosecutors after charge of inciting violence against military
One of Egypt's most prominent revolutionaries has been taken into custody by the country's military rulers, provoking the biggest crisis yet in relations between pro-change activists and the increasingly repressive army junta.
Alaa Abd El Fattah, a 29-year-old who has been at the forefront of anti-regime struggles for a decade and was a political prisoner during the Mubarak era, was arrested on Sunday on charges of inciting violence against the military. He refused to recognise the legitimacy of his interrogators or answer their questions and is set to be held for 15 days, a period that can be renewed indefinitely by the authorities.
Presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh condemned the detention as "a major setback for the Egyptian revolution", while a number of campaign groups – including the influential 6 April movement – immediately declared a policy of total non-co-operation with army prosecutors, putting them on a guaranteed collision course with the ruling generals.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/31/egyptian-junta-arrests-revolutionary-fattah