VZCZCXYZ0011
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #1581 2100818
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 280818Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9939
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 001581 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC STAFF FOR PASCUAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT ARRESTS FACEBOOK ACTIVISTS 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 730 
     ¶B. CAIRO 930 
 
1.(SBU)  On July 23, Egyptian security forces in Alexandria 
arrested 26 members of a Facebook social networking group 
known as the "6th of April Youth."  Fourteen of the activists 
were briefly jailed and, according to the East Alexandria 
Attorney General, are under investigation on charges that 
they "caused a public disturbance" and "disrupted traffic in 
an attempt to stage street riots." Charges against them also 
include "possession of publications aiming to spread rumors 
and subversive ideas among Egyptians."  According to press 
reports, police arrested 14 of the detainees while they were 
walking on the streets of Alexandria "singing nationalist 
songs" in an ad hoc demonstration on the occasion of Egypt's 
1952 "revolution."  Police arrested the 12 others separately. 
 
2.(SBU)  According to press reports and our contacts, on July 
27 the Alexandria Appeals Court ordered the release of the 
fourteen jailed activists.  However, as of mid-morning on 
July 28, the fourteen detainees remain in custody.  The GoE 
could potentially appeal the release order or, if the 
activists are freed, re-arrest them under Egypt's Emergency 
Law. 
 
3.(SBU) The Facebook group first gained attention when it 
called for a national strike in April in support of striking 
textile workers in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla.  The call 
for the strike led to the April arrest of one of the group's 
leaders, Israa Abdel Fattah, who was released without charges 
after seventeen days in custody (ref A). The group also 
called for a May 4 strike to protest rising food prices (ref 
B).  Among those reportedly arrested on July 23 was Ahmed 
Maher Ibrahim, one of the founders of the group, whom 
Egyptian authorities briefly detained in May.  The Washington 
Post profiled Ibrahim in a May 18 article. 
 
4.(SBU)  On July 27, we raised the arrests and expressed our 
concern to the Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Human 
Rights, who said that although he was aware of the arrests, 
and had learned from Egypt's embassy in Washington of the 
extensive media attention the arrests are attracting, the 
Ministry was still gathering information and had no comment. 
He said he hoped the MFA would have a response to our inquiry 
later in the week. 
 
5.(SBU)  Comment:  The arrest and brief detention of the 
twenty-six activists is a worrisome indicator that the GoE's 
tolerance for political activities on websites such as 
Facebook apparently continues to diminish.  We will continue 
to track the status of the jailed activists who were ordered 
released. 
SCOBEY