Egypt: Pro-Democracy Blogger Deported; Torture Victims Released

Imad Bazzi, a Lebanese pro-democracy blogger, was detained in Cairo International Airport because his name appeared on the Egyptian intelligence blacklist. Bazzi was considered a “security concern” due to his support for jailed Egyptian activist, Mikael Nabil Sanad, who stood trial for insulting the Egyptian armed forces.

Bazzi, the co-founder of CyberACT, a non-profit organization committed to empowering Internet activists to help bring about peaceful and democratic change, was not permitted to enter the country because he allegedly planned to attend a meeting with another Egyptian blogger regarding a forthcoming documentary on Egypt’s January uprising.

An Egyptian blogger, Mohamed ElGohary, confirmed the reports, and Bazzi was forced to return to Beirut hours later. ElGohary expressed surprise because Bazzi works in Cairo and frequently travels between countries.

Freedom House asserted that the arrest and interrogation of Bazi is part of a larger crackdown on public debate in Egypt, which includes the reinstatement of the Ministry of Information, “a ministry that does not exist in most democracies and is viewed as unnecessary and likely restrictive by many activists.”

Meanwhile, reports emerged that detail the torture and incarceration of dozens of Egyptians at the hands of Gadhafi loyalists. One former prisoner said that loyalists forced the Egyptians to confess that they had triggered the Libyan revolt, though they were eventually freed by revolutionary fighters.