A judge who was suing two activists and a blogger with defamation, blackmail and “abuse of the Internet service” has withdrawn the lawsuit. Gamal Eid of the Arabic Network of Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Ahmed Seif El Islam Hamad of the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre (HMLC) and blogger Amr Gharbeia reached an out-of-court settlement with Judge Abel Fatteh Murad on 18 September. The trial date was originally set for July, but hearings were postponed five times. The three men agreed to withdraw a complaint accusing the judge of plagiary.