Egyptian protesters fighting for a revolution “stolen” by the military

The death toll from three days of unrest in Cairo’s downtown Tahrir Square has risen to 33, with more than 1700 injured. More casualties and fatalities are expected as riot police and security forces continue their crackdown on the tens of thousands of protesters demanding the ousting of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawy who heads the […]

Blogger passes 40th day of hunger strike

It’s Maikel Nabil Sanad’s 26th birthday but he is in no celebratory mood. When I arrive at El Marg prison north of Cairo during visiting hours on Saturday 1 October, I can barely hide my shock at seeing his bony physique. Maikel is wearing a wrinkled blue track suit and on his head is a […]

Raid on Egyptian Al Jazeera offshoot marks new media crackdown

The Cairo offices of Al-Jazeera Mubasher (Direct), an affiliate of the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera International news network, were ransacked by Egyptian security forces early this week. In a raid on the channel reminiscent of an earlier raid on Al-Jazeera International’s Cairo offices by Mubarak’s security forces during the mass uprisings last February, equipment was seized and […]

Libya: Overcoming the challenges

The world has been watching with bated breath as a third Arab authoritarian regime collapses. Crowds of jubilant Libyans continue to throng the capital’s Green Square to celebrate the end of Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year reign of tyranny and oppression. But unlike the international euphoria triggered by the ousting of the Egyptian and Tunisian dictators, Gaddafi’s downfall is […]

Egypt military pardons activist bloggers after criticism‎

Egypt’s ruling military council decided on 18 August to drop charges against high-profile activists Asmaa Mahfouz and Louai Nagati. The two had been charged with “insulting” and “defaming” the military after posting their personal views (which were critical of military policies) on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. A statement posted on the military council’s […]

Cracks show in post-revolution Egypt

Six months after tens of thousands of opposition activists staged peaceful protests in Tahrir Square forcing longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak to step down, the Egyptian revolution finds itself at a “dangerous curve”. The demands made by the pro-democracy activists during eighteen days of mass uprisings remain largely unfulfilled and analysts have expressed concerns that the […]

“I am on the people’s side, not the regime’s”

Shahira Amin, the number two at Nile television, explains why she resigned from Egyptian state television When I got into the car to drive to work on Thursday 3 February, I had no conscious plans to quit my job. I took the same route I take every day to the Ministry of Information building in […]