Egyptian blogger sentenced to two years for insulting army

2011-12-15 03:54:14 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) -- An Egyptian blogger was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in prison for insulting the army on his blog, the Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported.

Coptic blogger Maikel Nabil was sentenced to two years in a military prison and fined LE200 ($33) for criticizing the army's role in the January 25 Revolution on his blog. The verdict was announced by Cairo's notorious C28 military court after the case was adjourned five times over the past few months.

In addition to the fine, the military court also ruled that Nabil must pay 300 Egyptian pounds ($50) in fees for the military lawyers who represented him during the appeal. Rulings by military courts in Egypt cannot be appealed.

Nabil, who has been on hunger strikes since August, was sentenced to three years in prison by a military court in April on charges of insulting the military after publishing a blog post entitled "The people and the army were never one hand." He was granted a retrial in October as the case drew widespread local and international interest.

In September, 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 measures taken by Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which was handed the power to govern Egypt after the ouster of Mubarak, such as the return of Mubarak-era emergency laws.

Nabil, who is 26 years old, was the first blogger to be tried in military courts since the ouster of Mubarak in February. Currently, more than 12,000 Egyptian citizens are languishing in prison after being tried by military courts since January 28.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-12-15

It's not enough to criminalize their people for offending religion. They do the same if you offend their military.

It's a big black smudge on Egypt's image in the eyes of the world.

Wherever you see a religion or an institution with power - that's insecure and/or paranoid - that's where you'll see draconian laws to squelch opinions.

Same same in N.Korea, China, Burma and Zimbabwe, though Burma's getting a tiny bit better.