so what is your point?

what law did he violate? and why is he denied his basic rights?

it is simple he is a jouranlist who is illegally detained, is being questioned without clear charges and without a lawyer and is most probably arrested for expressing his views and doing his job as a journalist, wether you like what he wrote or not changes nothing.

I'm not sure what they meant by حصانة الصحفي و أرشيفه, are they being poetic or do they actually refer to a specific legal principle.

One can not claim immunity under the guise of some profession and then attempt to wreak havoc with the society he/she lives in.

There are plenty of examples that readily come to mind, the point is that Abdallah is, like any other Egyptian, accountable for his own actions, and if or when he breaks a law, like everyone else, he should bear the consequences. It was interesting to see the statement by the "freedoms commitee" of the Jouranlists Union demanding Abdallah's release regardless ...etc, as if belonging to a certain profession is enough to justify one's freedom no matter what he/she may be accused of !!

The thing is, he is not being charged for breaking any laws. That is illegal detention.

--صاحب الأشجار

I have difficulty accepting that Abdallah did not break any laws !!

The arresting police would not raid his home in the early hours of the morning and collect his hard discs unless they are after further evidence on whatever charges he's likely to face.

The only way to find out if he has broken any laws is for the people who want to limit his freedom to go through a whole process of fair trial, and that does not start with kidnapping. --صاحب الأشجار

lol you must be kidding.

people get arrested for no clear reason everyday in Egypt, in most cases involving amn el dawla (state security) they don't charge you until after questioning is over and in many cases they never get around to charging you with anything. they arrest you for as long as they want then release you without charges, without lawyers and without courts.

as far as we can tell (based on the words of the family, the lawyers and the syndicate), he was not charged and is being questioned without a lawyer, and since it is such a common thing it is safe to assume it is true.

valid points

but again I'm not sure what they mean by حصانة الصحفي و أرشيفه some professions do have a certain form of immunity on documents for instance (psychaitrists, lawyers etc.) this immunity does not extend to the person of course but I've no idea what kind of regulation is common.

maybe someone can enlighten us.

The reason Alaa is not sure of the validity of claiming Immunity for Abdallah is simple- It does not exist !!

Doctor/ Patient and Lawyer/ Cleint are the only two professions that can claim confidentiality and hence immunity for their records.

The Professional Unions, such as the Journalists', tend get a bit loose with the truth and claim it as theirs as well drawing similarities with their sources/ Journalist relationship.

Recently a prominent New York Times journalist was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to obey a Court order to disclose the name of news source- So much for immunity in the land of the free !!

maybe, maybe not, I would prefer to hear from someone who knows the law in Egypt, the fact that it doesn't apply in the US (assuming we are talking about a federal court) doesn't automatically mean it doesn't apply in Egypt.

I'm just saying I don't know.

الاعتقال بدون امر نيابة وغياب المحامين عند التحقيق أمر مرفوض أيا كان الشخص، ولكن أعتقد ايضا انه من المهم ان نعرف ان كان اعتقاله كان بسبب كتاباته على الانترنت ام لاسباب اخرى

المشكلة هي ازاي تتأكد من السبب اذا كان لم توجه له تهم و لم يحضر محامي؟

في الحالات دي أقصي ما تقدر عليه هو التخمين.

نشاط أبو اسلام منحصر ما بين مركزه و الانترنت و كل كتاباته تنشر بالأساس على الانترنت يعني الاحتمال عالي يكون ما ينشره هو السبب و دي المعلومات المتاحة لدينا.

protest blackouts typically mean changing the frontpage only

في الغالب الحجب الاعتراضي بيكون للصفجة الرئيسية فقط