CAIRO: A military court sentenced blogger Maikel Nabil to three years in prison on Sunday night despite announcing earlier that his trial was adjourned till Tuesday to examine the defense documents.
In an article he wrote in prison which he gave to his friend during a visit, Nabil expressed concerns about his safety inside.
The verdict was issued in a secret session not attended by the defendant, in violation of standard legal procedures, say lawyers.
Article 81 of military judicial law stipulates that the verdict should be announced in a public hearing, even if it was a secret trial, Adel Ramadan, a lawyer with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights a member of Nabil’s defense, team told Daily News Egypt. This also means that the defendant should be present in the courtroom, he added.
The same principle of public verdicts was supported by the constitutional decree, Ramadan said.
“This is the seventh time I’m arrested,” Nabil wrote in an article that he gave to his visiting brother in prison, “Twice in Syria, twice by Egyptian police and three times by the military; how many more times required from me so I can live freely.”
“At 3 pm on Sunday, the trial was adjourned till Tuesday and Nabil was transferred from the court,” Nabil’s friend Sahar Maher told DNE, adding that his family and the lawyers left at around 4 pm.
Ramadan said that the lawyers even double checked the court’s decision and were told that the case was still open.
At night Mark, Nabil’s brother, was told in an anonymous phone call about the three-year prison ruling.
“Mark received an anonymous phone call at night saying that Maikel was sentenced to three years. When I called that number back, the caller said he was visiting his own brother in the same prison where Maikel is held and that Maikel gave him Mark’s number and asked him to inform him of the verdict,” clarified Maged Maher, a rights activist and a friend of Nabil’s.
“We thought this was a silly joke till we went to court in the morning and verified the news. This is a clear legal violation,” Sahar Maher said.
According to Ramadan, the defense team will submit a petition to repeal the verdict within the current week.
Nabil was charged with spreading false news and insulting the military institution. The false news included the use of violence by the army towards civilians and using the Egyptian Museum as a torture chamber.
“This is a clear message by the army that any civilian voicing a negative opinion about the army will be imprisoned,” Ramadan said.
“Nabil was put on trial according to article 184 of the penal code; the same article that was used during Mubarak’s era to oppress opposition voices. We trusted the military judges but obviously we were wrong,” Ramadan added.
“We condemn Nabil’s verdict. This is a clear attack on freedom of expression and speech. Wasn’t freedom one of the pillars of the January 25 Revolution? This is a setback in the revolution’s path,” Maged Maher said.
According to Yasmin El-Baradei, one of Nabil’s supporters, a protest was scheduled for Monday night to condemn the ruling.
Known for his controversial views regarding the state of Israel and other issues, Nabil cited on his blog what he called the army’s conspiracy against the revolution, recounting torture allegations against the army in a post titled “The army and the people are not one hand.”
He wrote his blog post one day before he was arrested from his home, which was thought to be a possible reason for his detention.
In the written note, Nabil said he had announced his intention to publish part two of this post right before his arrest.
He said he was worried about his safety inside prison. “Don’t believe anything about me attempting suicide. The military council is responsible for my safety until I’m released,” he wrote.
“I thank everyone who supported me. Freedom has a price; I’m paying it inside the prison and you are paying it outside.”
