160 Case Closed, Sort of

I was sitting in the offices of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights this afternoon when human rights lawyers started calling with news that all the detainees from State Security Case 415 would be released… except Mohamed al-Sharqawi and Karim al-Sha’er, whose detention State Security renewed for another 15 days. Still, the mood at EOHR was jubilant. Al-Sharqawi and al-Sha’er, the consensus was, would be released sooner than 15 days, and may be held only as collateral to keep the recently released protesters cool when they hit the streets this weekend or early next week.

That evening, I ran into Ahmed ad-Droubi and Faisal as I was rushing out of Cafe al-Horreya to watch some sufi dancing with a friend visiting from Montreal. They were also in a celebratory mood and reported that a crowd of Alaa’s friends had gathered outside the Giza offices of State Security to greet Alaa when he gets out… and to put a bit of pressure on the prosecutors to release him sooner.

It will be a weekend of celebrations.

“What’s next?” 2alb Sayed asks. Here’s my suggestion: First, celebrations. Then, when everyone’s in a good foul, hangover-induced mood, some attention to the members of the Muslim Brotherhood still in detention. A close observer of the Brothers and I did the math the other night: Almost 1,000 Brothers arrested since March 3. Many of them have been released, but that would still leave hundreds in detention. And these people don’t have faces or names outside the Brotherhood. Not in the same way the Kifaya protesters did.

[tags]Egypt, alaa, protests, Kifaya, Muslim Brotherhood[/tags]

3 Comments »

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  1. he’s not anon..he says clearly on the way i see it that his name if faisal. one of the few bloggers i have actually met! altho he doesn’t remember me much.

    Comment by forsoothsayer — June 22, 2006 #

  2. Thanks, FSS. I’ve upated the text accordingly. He’s a really nice guy. I’m sure he remembers you.

    Comment by Administrator — June 22, 2006 #

  3. Elijah:

    I agree that everyone, especially those close to the released activists, has every right to celebrate.

    I’m just worried that this move isn’t as random as it seems. And we should not get carried away in whatever victory this translates into. And we certainly, as you rightly point out, should not forget about the rest of those still in detention.

    Comment by Alb Sayed — June 22, 2006 #

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