Monthly Archives: March 2012

A year ago this week, Maikel Nabil became the first Egyptian blogger to be arrested solely for his opinion. Now released, he talks about his fight for one of the key principles of democracy.

Maikel Nabil's views are controversial in Egypt in almost every way his open atheism, his support for gay rights, and especially his support for Israel.

But it was his opposition to the military that made him the first Egyptian blogger to be imprisoned for his opinions after the uprising that overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak.

The rail-thin blogger, a pacifist, had become a thorn in the Egyptian Army's side well before Egyptians took to the streets en masse last year by publicly refusing mandatory military service.

He started a campaign against conscription on his blog, where he also posted poetry and nonpolitical musings.

Then, less than two months after the fall of Mr. Mubarak, the military arrested Mr. Nabil. His offense? Writing a post describing abuses by the military, which had stepped in to take power.

In the immediate wake of his arrest, which took place exactly a year ago, few defended Nabil or his right to freedom of expression a central tenet of democracy. His case turned out to be a harbinger of a crackdown on free expression by Egypt's military rulers last year.

While Nabil was recently released after going on a hunger strike, some are worried that Egyptians' reluctance to defend the rights of unpopular figures like him will mean a slow but sure erosion of the right of free expression.

"The failure to respond immediately to cases like Maikel Nabil's early in the year in a sense set the stage for the military to keep tightening the public space there was for dissidence," says Heba Morayef, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. Now, she says, "there isn't a strong sense of the need to protect freedom of expression. And that's very dangerous going forward."

Born into a Coptic Christian family in Assiut, a city in southern Egypt, Nabil got a degree in veterinary science from a university there. He says he's not cut out for 9-to-5 office jobs, so he focused instead on writing, activism, and studies. He was studying for a postgraduate law degree at Cairo University, but missed his final exams while in prison.

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Atheist and pro-Israel, Maikel Nabil tests free speech in Egypt

Michael David Meeks, 42, of Manchester, Mich., speaks to the press with his lawyers after being acquitted of all conspiracy charges connected to the Hutaree Militia. (Kimberly P. Mitchell / Detroit Free Press)

(DETROIT FREE PRESS) - When the FBI prepared to arrest nine Hutaree militia members two years ago in a homegrown terrorism case, the lead agent made one point clear.

"We haven't worked a year and a half on this investigation and risked (an undercover agent's) life to walk away from this with 3 arrests," the agent wrote in an e-mail that surfaced during trial.

In the end, that's exactly what the FBI got.

In a sharp rebuke, a federal judge on Tuesday acquitted the remaining Hutaree members of plotting a violent revolt against the U.S. government with weapons of mass destruction -- crimes that could have landed them in prison for life. Just two are left standing in the case on a handful of weapons violations. One previously pleaded guilty, and one was found incompetent to stand trial. U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts concluded that federal prosecutors, who rested their case last week, failed in five weeks of trial to prove the Hutaree had a specific plan to kill a police officer and attack law enforcement personnel.

"The government's case is built largely of circumstantial evidence. While this evidence could certainly lead a rational fact finder to conclude that 'something fishy' was going on, it does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendants reached a concrete agreement to forcibly oppose the U.S. government," Roberts wrote in her 28-page ruling.

The ruling was hailed by defense lawyers as a major victory for free speech. They had long argued the defendants never had any real plans to harm anyone and were merely engaged in tough talk, a protected First Amendment right.

"Judge Roberts understood that you just don't charge individuals with doing certain things, then lump a lot of bad, scary evidence against them and expect a jury to convict," said defense attorney Mark Satawa, whose client Michael Meeks was jailed for two years until Tuesday. "Her opinion shows exactly what we as lawyers have been saying all along: They did nothing wrong."

The FBI arrested nine Hutaree members after a paid confidential informant and undercover agent infiltrated the group for months and secretly recorded conversations and videotaped various trainings.

Satawa also lambasted the government for charging the defendants in the first place and jailing his client.

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Free speech victory declared in Hutaree acquittals

Encinitas has violated the U.S. Constitution's free speech provisions by banning a local arts group from publicly displaying banners with a memorial message honoring former Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan, her husband told the City Council on Wednesday night.

Houlihan's husband, Ian Thompson, told city officials that they made a "shameful," politically motivated decision when they barred the memorial message from public display, and that they must rescind the decision by April 6.

Speaking to a reporter outside the council chambers after he made his announcement, Thompson and his attorney said they were considering legal action against the city, but said they hoped it wouldn't come to that point.

"I'm waiting to see what the next steps are by the City Council," Thompson said.

City Attorney Glenn Sabine, during a break in the council meeting, said he had just received a letter from Thompson's Coast Law Group attorneys and had no immediate comment. He said he would be reviewing the attorneys' letter and a letter he recently received from the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

In that letter, the ACLU's chapter legal director David Loy wrote that he had concerns about the city's decision to prevent the banner displays.

"Based on the facts as I understand them, the city may have violated the First Amendment," Loy wrote and cited several court cases in other communities.

Thompson's announcement Wednesday night was the latest development in a controversy that began months ago when the organizers of the annual Arts Alive banner project decided to honor Houlihan by putting her photograph and a memorial message on the back side of this year's arts banners ---- a spot where they usually advertise the annual arts banner auction in May.

Houlihan, who was well known for her support of local arts programs, died in September after a five-year battle with cancer. She was serving her third term on the council at the time of her death.

The banners were printed and distributed to local artists, who had agreed to decorate the front sides, when opposition to the Houlihan memorial message surfaced. The city manager's office informed project organizers that the memorial message wasn't allowed under the terms of the group's temporary city sign permit and thus the banners couldn't be displayed on city light poles.

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ENCINITAS: Husband says memorial ban violates free speech rights

The last of the 2011-12 University Lectures will conclude Thursday with free speech advocate, conservationist and author Terry Tempest Williams.

Williams has been hailed a citizen writer who focuses on many prominent societal issues, particularly environmentalism, according to a March 26 SU News release. She is known for her environmental literature, including An Unspoken Hunger: Stories from the Field, Leap and her most recent book, Why Women Were Birds.

The event, The Writer as Witness, is free and open to the public. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The lecture will be conducted as a conversation between Williams and Don Mitchell, a geography professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Her text is passionate, philosophical, honest, eye-opening and thought-provoking, said Esther Gray, special assistant for the Office of Academic Affairs. She brings an honesty and openness about our environment that we all need to hear.

Williams has published work in The New Yorker, The New York Times and Orion Magazine, among others, according to the release. She also received the Wilderness Societys highest honor, the Robert Marshall Award, in 2006.

Williams said she will discuss major environmental issues, particularly the policies that affect New York, during the discussion. One major environmental issue is the proposed hydrofracking legislation that is currently being debated in the New York State Assembly.

Williams said she is very interested in what Gov. Andrew Cuomo will decide concerning hydrofracking in New York, the damaging chemicals used and the environmental consequences. Recently, she said, she attended a rally in New York City where hydrofracking discussions took place.

As a writer, these environmental issues become economic issues, which ultimately are matters of social justice, Williams said.

One controversial issue that has been discussed among political contenders has been President Barack Obamas decision to not allow the production of the Keystone Pipeline System. Williams said she strongly supports Obamas stance.

These are issues of water, issues of public land, Williams said. We all certainly have a lot at stake with this presidential election.

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Free speech advocate, conservationist to discuss environmentalism