Egypt police seize book published by jailed blogger

Reuters - Wednesday, April 16

CAIRO - Egypt's vice squad raided the offices of a publisher and blogger, already detained for backing a general strike last week, and took away copies of one of his publications, his fiancee said on Tuesday.

Their main target was the graphic novel Metro by author Magdy al-Shafei, which came out in January and has already been widely sold, fiancee Naira El Sheikh told Reuters.

The publisher is Mohamed el Sharkawi, who has been in custody since April 6, the day activists called for a general strike to coincide with a textile strike in the Nile Delta.

"They made the accountant, who was the only person in the office, sign an undertaking to ensure that any copies returned are sent to the vice police," she added.

Sheikh said she interpreted the raid as an act of revenge by the police, who were much criticized in 2006 and 2007 for their treatment of Sharkawi during an earlier spell in custody. Sharkawi says police tortured and raped him.

"They are settling their score with him. It's payback time for him because of the media frenzy last year," she said.

Police also took away contracts and downloaded the phone number memory from the land line, she added.

The vice squad usually deals with sexual offences but Sheikh said the novel had no more sex than other recent publications which have not had trouble with the authorities.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said they had no information about the raid.

From Sharkawy's Finacee

last night was almost ordinary.. I went to my workout class and had a nice dinner with my fiance.. After a night of sleep interupted several times by very disturbing dreams.. I woke up to find that my fiance was kidnapped by the so called security forces - i'd rather call them the self preservation forces, given how secure we, the egyptians feel!!- while he was changing the flat tyre of my car.. I went -like any decent citizen- to the police station to report the incident.. Only to get a confirmation beyond doubt that this country is no place for decent citizens.. The esteemed officer refused reporting the incident on my behalf.. Insisted on going off topic.. Tried every stupid way that he learned to intimidate me and scare me off.. And -exactly as expected- offered me a dead end with a stupid smile on his face!.. Until that moment i was in trauma.. I haven't realized it till i got home to find a note that my fiance left me.. Telling me that he loves me.. Asking me to take good care of myself and be strong.. Was he feeling endangered?.. Did he know what was going to happen deep inside?.. Only then did i come to my senses and realized what was really happening.. I felt angry.. Frustrated.. And devastated.. There's nothing that i can do at this point and it feels like my hands are tied behind my back.. This is disgusting.. Inhumane.. And brutal.. As i sit here writing about it.. I feel even more helpless.. While the question keeps banging inside my head.. What becomes of us?.. What becomes of this?!!To be continued...

Free Sharkawy .. Free Egypt

I never thought that there would come a day when I would write anything with political inclination ... I was never interested!!!!!!

OK .. it is the 6th of April ... so what?!!! People are on strike!!! .. Who Cares?... Certainly not me!!

I woke up today .. like I wake up on any other day ... got my tea ... and my laptop ... then I got a call from Sandmonkey that my publisher has been arrested ... yeah right ... the cynical monkey joking!!!

An hour later JSC announced the names of those who were arrested ... Mohamed El Sharkawy has been arrested!!!

I called his finacee. In tears she told me what happened ... early that morning he stopped by her house to pick up something he left there and the taxi waited downstairs. Sharkawy told her that she had a flat tyre and that he was going to change it. The next thing she knew was the taxi driver screaming in the street "amn el dawla khatafo Sharkawy" - State security kidnapped Sharkawy.

Four private cars - mallaky ya3ni - and three motorcycles stopped under their building and 20 people got out and "kidnapped him"!!! ... they also took his fiancee's car keys so she would not follow them!!!

She went to report it in the Sheikh Zayed police station .... they refused to file a report!!!

WTF?!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is my publisher ... he started a new business ... he found a new way to voice his opinion ... he was just starting ... he is gone!!!!!!!!!

I do not know how to feel ... I am partly angry .. shocked .. resentful .. and scared.

As an Egyptian I am provoked .. As a writer I am pissed ... As a human being I am offended and ashamed of YOU .. ashamed of Egypt!!

Blurb:
I am sitting now at home next to Mohamed El Sharkawy's fiancee ... we have no clue where he is .... she is sitting there looking all helpless and frustrated ...

"Whatever happened to new beginnings? Whatever happened to second chances? He knew they were going to come after him .. he felt it .. he told me that he will be arrested ... he left me a note asking me not to worry and to be strong" she said

What are they expecting? Is that a way to deal with anger? Is that a way to deal with our countrymen? In all my posts I have called for independence, dignity, pride, and character .... how could anyone raise his head up high and walk like an Egyptian? I know that Sharkawy will go home tonight or tomorrow .... but what kind of person will he be? Defeated? Ashamed? Oppressed? Livid? Resentful? Negative?

And here I am .. calling for a better life, better love, better relationships, and better future ... bala nila!!!!! PS I just heard on JSC that the Egyptian government said that people did not go to work/ universities/ schools today because of bad weather conditions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update:
خبر صحفى من مركز هشام مبارك للقانوناصدر مركز هشام مبارك العديد من البيانات والوثائق عشية بدء احتجاجات 6/4/2008 منها نداء موجه للزميلات والزملاء المحامين تسجيل بياناتهم للتطوع دفاعاعن حقوق المواطنين المصريين http://hmlc.katib.org/node/167ونداء لمواطنيين لاستفادة من هذه القائمةhttp://hmlc.katib.org/كما اعد المركز بعض الدفوع القانونية التى قد تكون مفيدة على الموقع التالى http://hmlc.katib.org/node/165وسبق للمركز اصدار بيان بهذا المعنى موجه للمواطن العادى بيان مشروعية الاضراب http://hmlc.katib.org/node/162كما نشر المركز النص الكامل لحكم البراءة فى قضية اضراب سائقى السكك الحديدية لاهميته فى هذه المناسبة http://hmlc.katib.org/node/156