When Blogging Is A Path To Prison

By: Hillary Profita
Topics: Blog Buzz

(AP / CBS)

In Egypt, blogging can land you in jail, apparently. That's the case for at least six bloggers in that country, who have been jailed following a spate of arrests after political demonstrations in Cairo. The Washington Post today looks at the case of one such blogger, Alaa Seif al-Islam. His blog, which he writes with his wife, Manalaa "began not only to describe the troubles of Egypt under its authoritarian president, Hosni Mubarak, but also described acts of repression and became a vehicle for organizing public protests," writes the Post. The blog has caught the attention of uber-blogger Glenn Reynolds, University of Tennessee law professor and author of Instapundit, who told the Associated Press of Seif Al-Islam: "He's certainly the most famous blogger in Egypt and arguably the best known reformer there now. When you suppress dissent, even minor voices become incredibly powerful."

According to the Post, Seif Al-Islam is still blogging from jail – on scraps of paper that his wife posts online. He's been in jail since May 7 and right now, it's unclear when he might be getting out. Writes the Post: "Under Egypt's emergency laws, which have been in place for 25 years, the bloggers can be jailed indefinitely. A special court reviews such detentions only every 15 days. Some prisoners held under emergency laws have been jailed for more than a decade."

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