Mohamed ElGohary

I need someone close to me…

MB Blogger/Journalist Ahmed Abdel-Fattah just send a message through his Jaiku that he is detained and he is currently held in Dokky Police Station
____________

Update from Abna'a Masr (In Arabic)

News just reached us about our reporter, Blogger Ahmed Abdel-Fattah (Yalalally Blog), disappearance during covering the pro-Gaza caravan. The last thing Ahmed sent was about the blockade around the State Court by masses of Central Security Forces and Pseudo-Civil Karate troops for suppressing the caravan. Also there is news about the security assaulting Dr. Hamdy Hassan, the official spokesperson of the pro-Gaza caravan, and Dr. Abdel-Geleel Mustafa the General Coordinator of Kefaya Movement. Abna'a Masr demands the Ministry of Interior to release their reporter immediately depending on the government's declaration of Freedom of Press.

__________

Update:

Ahmed has just updated his Jaiku that he is free, news from inside Dokky Police Station saying that a journalist, working in Dostor Egyptian independent newspaper, is still held in the Police Station. Her name is Aya Mohamed Youssef. She is working in the Official Egyptian TV (ERTU) as well. She is interrogated for possession of leaflets against the regime (manshorat).

__________

Update:
Aya Youssef has been released earlier from the General Prosecution to the Dokky Police Station to return home.

Dear Rasha tagged me, and I really thank her for that since it has been a long time since I wrote something. Being active more via microblogging tools, basically Jaiku, twitter, and facebook status.

The tag is about what I wish for, when I got the tag I kept thinking for a while then this is what I came to:

1. Finishing my Engineering Academic life, I won't ever study in anything related to Engineering again. (hopefully this is my year)

2. Upgrading my gadgets to a fine level (hi-tech digital camera, laptop, mobile, etc).

3. After upgrading my gadgets, being involved in Citizen Journalism (hopeully after decreasing the mobile internet prices, it will happen as a first step with the beginning of 2009)

4. Being a specialist at my work.

5. Mastering the electric guitar, or even the keyboard.

6. Travelling around the world until I say enough.

7. Treating my temper issues, especially when trying to help someone.

8. Making a huge library, which will be mainly about History, Politics, and of course, Computers. Along with reading all of the contents.

9. Finding Mrs. Right and having the romantic living happily ever-after.

10. Forcing myself to go to a gym or something, this academic life destroyed my body.

In my teenage I was really enthusiastic about things seen by others as trivial, unimportant, or dull, according to the perception of each person. My everyday people whom I see everyday are unfortunately people of trivial minds, who want only to have fun and screw everything else. Screw reading, screw openmindness, screw good music, screw everything which have value in life…in the other hand people who are concerned, are not that available, once every month, every year, or even more, it is like trying to reach the moon by jumping.

I go home everyday or every night, and have a really deep breathe, and think about my feelings toward life. How did frustrations nearly destroys and is still destroying my will to anything useful in this life, and thinking only day by day without any far-sight. The same frustrations which destroyed the far sight planning. What is the value of having a far sight when its use only to prove to others that they were wrong in their judging and controlling after hell got lose and every great beginning is destroyed.

People who love us, esp our family, always try to help up, in their own way. They always try to give, in their own way. Help is considered help when it is given in time. Food is useless when given to a dead man. Facilities are useless when given after complete frustration. What hurts more is that when these facilities are granted after its right time, you are expected to do what they want, or expect you to be complete satisfied and do what you dreamed for. Not feeling all the hell you felt and all the frustrations you experienced before getting this help. It just adds to your frustrations.

Thinking, thinking, thinking. Thinking circulates my brain. I can't help not thinking about things I experienced, and reanalyzing. Who is wrong and who is right and usually not changing my judgments. I was brought up (unintentionally) to not being attached to any human being, which had double effect. It is easy for me to leave anyone whatever the results were, and it is hard for me to let go of certain people emotionally unless they clearly and directly state their negative side.

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
Blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

I usually felt this song for female friends I came close to, esp those who suddenly disappeared for no reasons, some of them who faked their accepting me as a friend also for unknown reason. It was always for only friendship and nothing more, but maybe it is a society fault or something, leading to these kind of personalities. This gives me experience anyway :), even if it was a hard way.

How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

And it was just a dream…

We are a group of Egyptian bloggers really bothered by the blockage of the two-year-old blog "Epitaph_87" ( http://www.epitaph-87.blogspot.com/) along her gmail account (epitaph87@gmail.com), since October, 4th , 2008. She has sent you her problem and requests on Google Help Center and Blogger Support, but in vain. We wish that you'd help us retrieve that blog and account and answer the requests of our fellow blogress, sending you from (epitaph_1987@hotmail.com), and hopefully ASAP!

Via MagicBox

From Guebara

Usually MubarakPhone is not followed by any comment. But I want to say that I really hesitated before making this design, for really the situation is so hard and inhuman to make fun of it. 64 bodies are out till now, 8 of them are of unknown identity due to the complete distortion of their facial features. All this with an unknown number of bodies beneath the rocks, dead and alive. What is worse is a statement out speaking of converting the scene to a mass grave for the difficulties in extracting out the bodies and the high cose!!!

MubarakPhone: I don't know what will you do more than this!!!

Credit for the pic: Mohamed Ali

Coming soon to blogs near to you

On the next 19th of October

With Laila

For more information:

laila.eg.08@gmail.com

From the Amnesty international report about trial of 49 people in mehalla :

The trial of 49 people before an emergency court for alleged involvement in the violent protests of 6 April 2008 in the city of Mahalla is due to resume on 6 September.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Egyptian authorities to stop trying individuals before special emergency courts that flout basic guarantees for fair trial.

On 5 April 2008, the government banned all demonstrations in advance of a general strike planned for 6 April in support of industrial action by textile workers in the city of Mahalla north of Cairo. Thousands of members of the police and security forces were deployed in Mahalla, Cairo and other cities.

The industrial action was called off after negotiations with officials and under pressure from the government, but violent protests broke out in Malhalla against the rise in the cost of living. At least three people, including Ahmed Ali Mabrouk, a schoolboy, died after being shot by the security forces and dozens were wounded due to excessive use of force. Around 258 people were arrested during the clashes and later released without charge.

The 49 defendants are being tried for a wide range of charges, including: assembly of more than five people with the aim of disturbing public order and security; deliberate destruction of public and private property; ransacking and theft; violent resistance and assault on police officers during the exercise of their duties; and illegal possession of firearms. If convicted they face up to 15 years’ imprisonment.

The defendants are the first to be tried by an emergency court following the Egyptian authorities' renewal of the state of emergency in May 2008. Emergency courts regularly use evidence obtained under torture and other ill-treatment to secure convictions, and their procedures routinely fall short of the basic guarantees for a fair trial. Judgments by emergency courts cannot be appealed against and become final after ratification by the President.

The trial, which started on 9 August before the (Emergency) Supreme State Security Court in the city of Tanta, north of Cairo, has been postponed upon the request of the defence lawyers in order to allow them to review the case files. The court also acquiesced to order expert examination of the damage to property allegedly caused by the defendants, and ordered the arrest of those defendants previously released on bail by the public prosecutor. When police officers later went to proceed with the arrests, they arrested relatives of the defendants who were not at home and took them into custody as “hostages” so as to force those wanted to surrender.

Torture and threats of sexual abuse

The 49 people who are facing trial were arrested after the clashes, between 13 and 18 April 2008. After their arrest they were blindfolded for up to nine days. Many of them said that while they were being held at the State Security Investigations offices in Mahalla and later in Cairo they were beaten, tortured with electric shocks and threatened with the sexual abuse of their female relatives.

When they were brought before the Public Prosecutor on 21, 22 and 23 April, their lawyers complained about the torture and other ill-treatment inflicted on their clients. No independent investigation is known to have been opened as a result. The main evidence used against the defendants are the confessions, allegedly extracted under torture, that they had thrown stones at the police, as well as the testimonies of members of the security forces and government officials. Some of the defendants stated that they had not even participated in the protests, this being confirmed by witnesses. These witness statements were dismissed by the Public Prosecutor.

All the defendants remained in detention until 2 June when the Public Prosecutor ordered the release on bail of 20 of them, including a 58-year old woman. Nine of those released were immediately rearrested under emergency legislation by orders of the Minister of Interior. All those in custody are currently held in Borj al-Arab Prison, near Alexandria. On 6 June, the Public Prosecutor referred their case for trial before the emergency court in Tanta.

Amnesty International is urging the Egyptian authorities to:

• rescind the decision to refer the defendants to the emergency court and order a retrial before an ordinary court and ensure they receive a fair trial.
• release immediately and unconditionally those protestors found not to have used violence; the others must be given a fair trial in accordance with Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law and standards.
• open a full, independent and impartial investigation into the killings of the three people in Mahalla. In particular the investigation should focus on the circumstances in which police used lethal fire and ensure that any officers or other officials responsible for using or ordering excessive force should be brought to justice.

Again with friend Gaber

My Crime

My Crime, by Egyptian hands in Arabian land.

From Gebara

Life is a group of parameters, variables in an equation. The most important equation explains the relation between different members of the family. Between the parents and their children. Their is a factor which I consider very important. A line…the determiner of right and wrong. Or maybe between what is appropriate and what is not. In many families conflicts happen, between the point of view of the parent and that of the child. Some parents see certain thing as inappropriate without considering that it is not wrong, and vice versa, sometimes opposing the natural insight of the child. It really hurts…

It hurts more when the child see the parent enrolls in what was refused before, or even enthusiastic about it. While, ironically, the child see it in a neutral way. When a child wants something, the timing is important, very important. When the margin of time is over, this desire or natural insight is no longer strong like before, no longer wanted like before. It loses its taste, its meaning, loses it value and fun. It even increases the hurt,especially when the parent is thinking to do that action towards himself and raises the always unspoken question…why?

A child in this moment is confused, experiencing a deteriorated image of freedom and of the outside world. He forms a picture in his mind that who has the power can do anything, no matter what others say or think of. He believes in the phrase: "Who cares", he has the power and nothing really matters if he is still in the controlling side.

Many things can be lost as a side-effect, important things. Any decision done this way by the parent against the right vision of their children at the time of conflict can waste a talent, waste a value, waste something which could have made others' lives better. Parents do not normally realize that anything they do, ANYTHING, is like a butterfly effect. Major things always happen from minor things. Tornados can happen when a butterfly flies in the air, just a little colorful butterfly roaming around the lighted bulb while you are enjoying its beauty. This beauty can form a powerful tornado with all its damage to others' lives.

Just give them the chance to live, to create, to love, no to hesitate. Give them the chance to feel, to understgand, to fly with their minds in their very special atmosphere of imagination, the kind of imagination you lost long ago. Give them the chance to do it their way, they have a great chance to understand their surroundings better than you, you didn't live their childhood, you maybe didn't have their experience as they don't have yours. They can be different, and you will never know if this difference is in the right way or the wrong way, or even if it was appropriate or not.

Just give them the chance…