Wael Abbas

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Wael Abbas (2008)

Wael Abbas ( Egyptian-Arabic : وائل عباس ,, IPA : [ˈwæːʔel ʕæbˈbæːs]) (born November 14, 1974 in Egypt ) is an Egyptian journalist , blogger and human rights activist . He blogs on Misr Digital and has published two books. Its main areas of concern include corruption , abuse of police force and human rights violations . He posted several videos online showing brutal behavior by police forces. As a result, several police officers could be sentenced for torture . However, there were regular attacks against him by the Egyptian government . His online accounts on YouTube , Yahoo and Facebook were blocked and only partially restored. On May 23, 2018, he was arrested by forces of the Egyptian State Security at his home in New Cairo .

Closed online accounts

Abbas' YouTube account was blocked in September 2007 . All of the videos that he had uploaded up until then were no longer available. The videos showed police brutality, election irregularities and protests against the Mubarak government. 12 or 13 of them showed torture in police stations.

According to information from human rights groups, YouTube thus deleted a helpful source of information about state abuse cases in Egypt , which coincides with intensified action by the Egyptian government against independent and opposition journalists. From September to November 2007, 12 Egyptian journalists were arrested. It is believed that YouTube has bowed to government pressure.

YouTube initially restored its account, but not the videos. The reason given for the blockage was that Abbas did not provide enough context about the violence shown. 187 of his videos have been gradually restored.

Yahoo closed two of its email accounts on the grounds that he was a spammer , and his account was later restored.

In December 2017, Twitter suspended its account for violating the usage rules without specifying which rules were involved and whether the suspension was temporary or permanent.

In May 2018, two days after his surprise arrest, his Facebook account was deleted.

Honourings and prices

  • Egyptians Against Corruption Award 2005/2006
  • BBC Most Influential People of 2006
  • CNN Middle East Person of the Year 2007
  • Human Rights Watch's Hellman / Hammett Award 2008
  • Winner of the Journalism Award of the International Center for Journalists 2007

Arrested in 2018

During Ramadan , on May 23, 2018 at around 4 a.m., state security forces stormed his family's home in New Cairo. Abbas was blindfolded and initially taken to an undisclosed location. The security forces confiscated his cell phone, laptop, some of his books and his external memory, among other things. Shortly after Abbas posted "I'm being arrested" on Facebook, his account was blocked. Within a few hours, several international media outlets reported Abbas's disappearance, including CNN , BBC , Al Jazeera , Reuters and Die Zeit . International journalists' associations also demanded that the whereabouts be disclosed within 24 hours.

His whereabouts were announced on the evening of the following day. Abbas is in the Torah prison in Maadi . He is alleged to have spread 'false news' and to support the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. As these allegations are considered untenable by many of his readers, awareness campaigns were placed on social media under the following hashtags :

  • #FreeWaelAbbas
  • #free_wael_abbas
  • #wael_abbas
  • #WaelAbbas
  • #FreeWael
  • # الحرية_لوائل_عباس
  • # وائل_عباس
  • # وايل_عباس

The international signature campaign "free arrested journalist Wael Abbas" achieved more than 500 signatures worldwide on the first day. Further information is continuously being added to the Facebook page "Free Wael Abbas".

Abbas' arrest is believed to be related to the arrest of other opposition activists in Egypt. Shadi El Ghazali Harb (liberal political activist), Haytham Mohamadin (left wing political activist), Shadi Abu Zaid (comedian) and Amal Fathy (women's rights activist) were also arrested within ten days .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b YouTube shuts down Egyptian anti-torture activist's account - CNN.com. Retrieved May 26, 2018 (English).
  2. ↑ الوعي المصري. Retrieved May 26, 2018 (Arabic).
  3. ↑ a b Cynthia Johnston: YouTube stops account of Egypt anti-torture activist . In: US ( reuters.com [accessed May 26, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Cynthia Johnston: YouTube restores account of Egypt anti-torture blogger . In: US ( reuters.com [accessed May 26, 2018]).
  5. ↑ - The Washington Post . In: Washington Post . ISSN  0190-8286 ( washingtonpost.com [accessed May 26, 2018]).
  6. ^ Twitter suspend the Egyptian Human Rights Defenders accounts. - شباب 6 ابريل April 6 Youth . In: شباب 6 ابريل April 6 Youth . December 15, 2017 ( 6april.org [accessed May 26, 2018]).
  7. ↑ a b Prominent Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas arrested - derStandard.at. Retrieved May 26, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Wael Abbas. Retrieved May 26, 2018 (English).
  9. ↑ ICFJ: Knight International Journalism Award Winners. Retrieved May 26, 2018 (English).
  10. ↑ Egypt: Prominent blogger Wael Abbas detained by authorities. Retrieved May 26, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Prominent Egyptian blogger 'arrested' . In: BBC News . May 23, 2018 ( bbc.com [accessed May 26, 2018]).
  12. ↑ Sarah El Sirgany, CNN: Well-known Egyptian blogger arrested . In: CNN . ( cnn.com [accessed May 26, 2018]).
  13. ↑ Reuters Editorial: Egypt state security orders prominent blogger Wael Abbas detained ... In: US ( reuters.com [accessed on May 26, 2018]).
  14. ^ Egypt: Lawyer: Prominent Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas arrested . In: ZEIT ONLINE . ( zeit.de [accessed on May 26, 2018]).
  15. ↑ Egyptian authorities detain blogger Wael Abbas. Retrieved May 26, 2018 (English).
  16. ^ Sign the petition. Retrieved May 26, 2018 (American English).
  17. ^ Prosecution opens probe into Shadi al-Ghazali's case - Egypt Today. Retrieved May 26, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Police Officer Killed, Security Official Injured in IED Explosion in Sinai. Retrieved May 26, 2018 (English).
  19. ↑ Satire Videos: Egyptian Blogger Arrested . In: The press . ( diepresse.com [accessed on May 26, 2018]).
  20. ^ Susannah Cullinane, CNN: Egyptian activist detained over social media post . In: CNN . ( cnn.com [accessed May 26, 2018]).
  21. ↑ Reuters Editorial: Egypt detains prominent blogger, latest in arrest series . In: US ( reuters.com [accessed May 26, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Abbas, Wael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Egyptian journalist, blogger and human rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Egypt