Egypt: imprisoned Coptic blogger threatens hunger strike
A Coptic Christian blogger in Egypt held in prison for more than a year without charge says he will go on a hunger strike unless authorities grant his next application for release, reports Compass Direct.
Hani Nazeer, a 28-year-old high school social worker from Qena, Egypt and author of the blog “Karz El Hob,” received word today that his latest application for release was denied. His lawyers said they would re-apply for his release tomorrow. The interior ministry did not “supply the grounds for refusal” according to Rawda Ahamad, Nazeer’s lead defence lawyer.
On 3 October last year, Nazeer was arrested by Egypt’s State Security Investigations (SSI) and sent to Burj Al-Arab prison. Nazeer ran afoul of SSI officers a few days before his arrest when a group of local teenagers visited his website and clicked on a link to an online copy of Azazil’s Goat in Mecca, a novel written under the pseudonym “Father Utah.” The book is a response to Azazil, a novel by Yusuf Zidane, critical of Christianity.
Nazeer said prison authorities have pressured him to convert to Islam. Nazeer’s situation is complicated by the fact that his writings upset both Islamic authorities and the hierarchy of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
“He is not a criminal,” said his lawyer, Ahamad. “He must be released immediately.”
More at www.compassdirect.org
