An Egyptian pacifist, political prisoner, and survivor of torture, Maikel Nabil Sanad, is scheduled to go on trial tomorrow, March 31, 2011, at 10 am Cairo time. What's his alleged crime? He's accused of, "insulting the military institution and publishing false news about it" and "disturbing the public security."
Sanad actively participated in the this winter's largely nonviolent revolution, and on his blog regularly warns the public about the dangers of continued military control. Sanad, a conscientious objector, founded the "No to Compulsory Military Service Movement" in April 2009.
By putting Sanad on trial, the new Egyptian government is really putting itself on trial: how politically repressive will it be? To what extent are the ideals of the revolution going to be crushed?
To send a protest email, visit this action alert page put up by War Resisters International. More details from the WRI press release below.
I wonder, can we generate at least 100 protest emails from the DailyKos community on behalf of freedom of expression, human rights, democracy in Egypt, and solidarity with a blogger and nonviolent activist under threat? Please answer the poll below so we can track how many of us send the protest.