GOE RELEASES BLOGGERS, BUT MOVES AGAINST "APRIL 6"

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 000580 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA AND DRL/NESCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2029 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EG SUBJECT: GOE RELEASES BLOGGERS, BUT MOVES AGAINST "APRIL 6" ACTIVISTS REF: A. CAIRO 544 ¶B. CAIRO 468 ¶C. CAIRO 451 ¶D. CAIRO 255 Classified By: Economic-Political Minister-Counselor William R. Stewart for reason 1.4 (d). ¶1. KEY POINTS -- (C) With the March 27 release of pro-Palestinian blogger Dia Gad who was detained February 6, the GOE has freed all bloggers arrested in the past 6 months. Earlier in March, the GOE released two bloggers, Mohammed Adel (ref B) and Abdul Aziz Al-Mugahed, who had been detained since November ¶2008. Two other bloggers arrested in 2006 and 2007 remain in jail. -- (C) Gad's lawyer told us that State Security (SSIS) decided they had convinced Gad through threats not to blog about Gaza or President Mubarak, and consequently released him. Gad insulted Mubarak on his blog in February. -- (C) In advance of the planned April 6 strike to protest political and economic conditions (ref B),State Security is increasingly detaining activists from the "April 6 Movement," and has reportedly beaten several activists severely in custody and during an April 4 sit-in protest. ¶2. (C) Comment: The release of three bloggers in March may have been a calculated move to relieve DOMESTIC and international pressure. The U.S.-based "Committee To Protect Journalists" sent President Mubarak a public letter March 13 criticizing blogger detentions, and "The New York Times" ran a story in February about Dia Gad. The Ambassador raised U.S. concern over Gad's detention March 16 with the Interior Minister (ref C). Gad's lawyer issued a public statement immediately before his release asserting that the GOE mistreated him in custody. The GOE may have decided on the March releases to minimize political fallout over its planned moves against "April 6" activists to prevent an April 6 strike. End comment. ¶3. (C) Human rights lawyer Gamal Eid confirmed for us that State Security (SSIS) released pro-Palestinian blogger and activist Dia Gad March 27 after detaining him since February 6 without charge (ref D). Gad had insulted President Mubarak on his "Angry Voice" blog as a "Zionist, an agent for Israel, and a loser." Eid, who is representing Gad, told us March 29 that SSIS warned Gad upon his release not to blog about Gaza or Mubarak. In a March 23 public statement, Eid's organization, The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI),accused the GOE of locking Gad in solitary confinement, depriving him of medical care and threatening to kill him. ¶4. (C) According to Eid, SSIS decided that it had accomplished its goal of convincing Gad not to blog about these two subjects, and therefore released him. Eid believed another factor in the release was the GOE's realization that it had no substantive legal case against Gad. On March 29, ANHRI organized a press conference for four formerly detained bloggers and activists to discuss their experiences in custody. Eid told us that SSIS physically prevented Gad from attending the press conference. Gad has resumed blogging and posted information on two young female rank-and-file members of the "April 6 Movement" -- Sara Risq and Minna Taha -- whom SSIS detained April 1 for distributing leaflets at a university in the Delta calling for an April 6 strike. ¶5. (C) "April 6 Movement" leader Ahmed Saleh told us that State Security beat the two young women activists "severely" in custody before releasing them on bail April 5. Saleh also said that while breaking up an April 4 Delta court house protest calling for the activists' release, SSIS officers seriously injured the sister and mother of one of the activists. Saleh noted that SSIS "violently" beat 10 protestors and detained them. He expects the GOE will not release them until after April 6. According to Saleh, SSIS entered the homes of two additional activists April 5 in Fayoum and Port Said, and arrested them. He said many "April 6" activists in Cairo and Alexandria have gone "underground," fearing arrest. SCOBEY