Sunday, October 19, 2008

Egyptian Internet activist arrested

Egyptian Internet activist and programmer Yousif Al-Ashmawi has been detained in Saudi Arabia for two months without trial or charge in Al Hayer Prison in Riyadh, according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI).

Al-Ashmawi was arrested when he was trying to obtain a driving license. Saudi officials may have detained him because they believe his was privy to state secrets while working for the foreign ministry.

"The Legal Aid Unit for the Freedom of Expression has filed official reports with the Egyptian prosecutor general, the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Egypt, the Egyptian embassy in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi foreign ministry. ANHRI has also informed two human rights associations in Saudi Arabia but none of these institutions have taken any interest in the case," according to the ANHRI press release.

ANHRI contends that the Egyptian government is cooperating with the Saudi government because it has ignored the case of Al-Ashmawi.

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