Egyptian court postpones trial of blogger on hunger strike

[News_Editor]

Egyptian court postpones trial of blogger on hunger strike

2011-10-05 11:07:29 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) -- An Egyptian court on Tuesday postponed the trial proceedings of a blogger who has been on a hunger strike for 43 days until next week, the Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported.

Relatives and supporters of detained Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil on Tuesday staged a demonstration outside Cairo's notorious C28 military court and were disappointed when the judge adjourned the trial until October 11. Nabil was sentenced in August to three years in jail on charges of insulting the military after publishing a blog post entitled, "The people and the army were never one hand."

"They postponed proceedings because Maikel's file had not yet been presented to the judge," said Mark Nabil Sanad, Nabil's younger brother. "It's not our fault that some court bureaucrat failed to do his job."

The 28-year-old online activist's brother added that Nabil is suffering from kidney failure and energy depletion. Last week, Nabil told his brother that he would maintain his hunger strike until his release and warned that if today's trial failed to secure his release he would also begin a "thirst strike", the newspaper reported.

The small crowd of protesters outside the courthouse chanted slogans against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) after hearing the decision. Soldiers arrested one activist for taking photos and video of the protest, along with a foreign journalist.

Authorities also confiscated a video camera belonging to a reporter with Iran's Press TV and warned protesters that their cameras and mobile phones would be seized if they tried to film or photograph the scene. 

Last month, the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information noted a 'sharp decline' in freedom of opinion and expression in Egypt following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak during a revolution earlier this year. The human rights group condemned recent measures taken by the SCAF, which was handed the power to govern Egypt after the ouster of Mubarak, such as the return of Mubarak-era emergency laws.

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