April 11th, 2011 by Ali
Two people died and fifteen were injured in the early hours of
Saturday as the Egyptian military forcibly
dispersed
protesters who remained in Tahrir Square following Friday’s mass
protests. Among the protesters were several members of the armed forces
who were singled out for arrest. Political leaders from the Muslim
Brotherhood and new parties of the reform bloc have
called for
reconciliation with the military.
Steven A. Cook views
the military’s behavior as part of a drive for stability and as a
competition for legitimacy between the armed forces and the
revolutionary groups.
Meanwhile on Monday, an Egyptian military court
sentenced
political activist
Mikel Nabil to three years in prison
for “insulting the military” and “publishing false information.” Nabil
had posted on his blog that the military took part in torturing
protestors in the early phase of the revolution.
Gamal Eid,
head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), said
that Nabil’s lawyers
were
not present for the verdict. Human Rights Watch had called for the
charges to be dropped. HRW’s Middle East and North Africa director
Sarah
Leah Whitson said the verdict set a “dangerous precedent” just
as the country is attempting to transition away from the abuses of the
Mubarak era.
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