1033 Riots, Detentions, Harassment, and Hashish
Busy with work, but wanted to flag a few items from the past few days:
* Two thousand people rioted in Aswan after police mistakenly killed a bird-seller in the southern Egyptian city.
* Egyptian activists yesterday staged protests to call for the release of 16 people detained in the southern city of Samalout in mid-October. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse an angry crowd that gathered when police killed a pregnant woman on October 8 as they searched her house.
* The protesters also called for the release of two activists, Mohammed Adil and Mohammed Khairy, suspected of trying to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza. State Security officers raided Mohammed Adil’s home in the early hours of November 21. State Security officers have detained Mohammed Khairy twice since October, and prosecutors have twice ordered his release, yet the latest reports I’ve seen indicate he is still in custody. Both are sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, and both maintain blogs. Noha Atef is doing a great job covering this for Global Voices.
* An Iranian reader wrote in to chastise me for writing about Hossein Derakhshan’s possible detention while ignoring two less ambiguous detentions. I am much ashamed.
* Egyptian police announced last Wednesday that they had arrested 550 boys in Cairo on suspicion of sexually harassing schoolgirls. The police reportedly focused their raids on Internet cafes near schools.
This drives me nuts. If there is an appropriate security response to sexual harassment, it is ensuring that women and girls feel comfortable reporting incidents and ensuring that police follow up on the reports. Rounding up boys by the hundreds for using the Internet is not the answer. Educating them from an early age to treat women with respect is.
* By the hash-o-meter, Barack Obama may be the most popular foreign leader in Egypt since Saddam Hussein. Wael Abbas reports that dealers are selling Obama-brand hashish in the Mediterranean town of Marsa Matrouh. 3arabawy recalls that “in 2003, a quite popular brand of hash that appeared in Cairo was named ‘Saddam’ coz it was ‘stronger than chemical weapons.’ “
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[…] Elijah Zarwan, also based in Egypt, further comments: By the hash-o-meter, Barack Obama may be the most popular foreign leader in Egypt since Saddam Hussein. […]
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[…] The Skeptic from Egypt reports: “Two thousand people rioted in Aswan after police mistakenly killed a bird-seller in the southern Egyptian city.” Posted by Amira Al Hussaini Print Version Share This […]
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[…] Egypt, Elijah Zarwan writes: “Egyptian activists yesterday staged protests to call for the release of 16 people […]
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[…] The police reportedly focused their raids on Internet cafes near schools,” writes Elijah Zarwan, from Egypt. Posted by Amira Al Hussaini Print Version Share […]
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