iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

Maikel Nabil Sanad, Egypt Blogger, Jailed For 2 Years

Makil Sanad Jailed

12/14/11 10:29 AM ET   AP

Important
 Fascinating
 Typical
 Scary
 Outrageous
 Amazing
 Infuriating
 Beautiful

CAIRO — An Egyptian military court has sentenced a political activist to two years in prison after convicting him of criticizing the armed forces and publishing false information.

Maikel Nabil Sanad was arrested in March and sentenced to three years, but the case was appealed and sent for retrial.

Sanad was arrested following posts on his blog comparing the military to the former regime of President Hosni Mubarak, toppled in February by a popular uprising. He also charged he was tortured by military police during an earlier detention.

He is one of 12,000 civilians who have faced military trials this year, a practice critics say deprives the accused of their rights.

Amnesty International considers Sanad a "prisoner of conscience," and the U.S. has expressed concern about his detention.

FOLLOW HUFFPOST WORLD

Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:
David Keyes

David Keyes: Why the World Should Care about Freeing Maikel Nabil Sanad

Sanad is a young Egyptian blogger who at this very moment is waging a four-month-long hunger strike in the depths of the Elmarg prison in Cairo. His life hangs in the balance. Sanad is sentenced to two years in prison for the "crime" of insulting the Egyptian military. The Egyptian regime hopes the world forgets about Sanad and his fellow political prisoners. Sanad's freedom is a litmus test for Egypt's future. So far it is failing miserably.

Filed by Eline Gordts  | 
 
 
  • Comments
  • 2
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Recency  | 
Popularity
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Parade Keegan
I Can Hear You
855 Fans
02:24 AM on 12/15/2011
Looks like Egypt is still the same. To bad for the Egyptians.
Permalink  |
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
terroristmd
60 Fans
04:17 PM on 12/14/2011
Yep nothing about the Coptic Christians getting murdered daily, lets focus on the people who write on the internet for a living.
Permalink  |