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| Court Rejects Appeal by Imprisoned Leaders of Egyptian Revolt | |
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| CAIRO — The prison sentences of three liberal leaders of the 2011 uprising in Egypt were upheld by an appeals court on Monday, as the families of two other detainees — an Egyptian journalist and an American citizen — released an exchange of letters about the hunger strike they were conducting. | CAIRO — The prison sentences of three liberal leaders of the 2011 uprising in Egypt were upheld by an appeals court on Monday, as the families of two other detainees — an Egyptian journalist and an American citizen — released an exchange of letters about the hunger strike they were conducting. |
| The appellate ruling was the clearest sign yet of the willingness of many Egyptian courts to stand by the military-backed government’s crackdown on dissent, even in the face of international opprobrium. In the nine months since the military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, a growing chorus of human rights groups has condemned the sweeping mass arrests, brutal police tactics and politicized criminal charges that the military-backed government has lodged against both liberal and Islamist opponents. | The appellate ruling was the clearest sign yet of the willingness of many Egyptian courts to stand by the military-backed government’s crackdown on dissent, even in the face of international opprobrium. In the nine months since the military’s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, a growing chorus of human rights groups has condemned the sweeping mass arrests, brutal police tactics and politicized criminal charges that the military-backed government has lodged against both liberal and Islamist opponents. |
| Few cases have attracted as much attention as the three prisoners whose appeal was rejected on Monday — Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Adel and Ahmed Douma. They were among the most widely known faces of the 2011 popular uprising and were lauded around the world as heroes after mass protests brought about the fall of the former president Hosni Mubarak. | Few cases have attracted as much attention as the three prisoners whose appeal was rejected on Monday — Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Adel and Ahmed Douma. They were among the most widely known faces of the 2011 popular uprising and were lauded around the world as heroes after mass protests brought about the fall of the former president Hosni Mubarak. |
| “The appeals court has failed to undo the worst excesses of the government’s campaign to crush dissent,” the independent group Human Rights Watch said in a statement, calling the ruling “one more nail in the coffin for Egypt’s revolution.” | “The appeals court has failed to undo the worst excesses of the government’s campaign to crush dissent,” the independent group Human Rights Watch said in a statement, calling the ruling “one more nail in the coffin for Egypt’s revolution.” |
| Mr. Maher is the coordinator of the liberal group known as April 6, and Mr. Adel is a co-founder of the group. Both men played formative roles in shaping the nonviolent tactics of the 2011 revolt. With their ally, Mr. Douma, both went on to lead protests against police abuses under Mr. Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who was elected president in 2012. | Mr. Maher is the coordinator of the liberal group known as April 6, and Mr. Adel is a co-founder of the group. Both men played formative roles in shaping the nonviolent tactics of the 2011 revolt. With their ally, Mr. Douma, both went on to lead protests against police abuses under Mr. Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who was elected president in 2012. |
| Last fall, after Mr. Morsi was ousted, the new military-backed government banned unauthorized street protests. Prosecutors quickly ordered the arrest of the three defendants on charges of organizing an illegal demonstration, and the police accused the three of assaulting security officers at a demonstration outside the courthouse where Mr. Maher was trying to turn himself in. | Last fall, after Mr. Morsi was ousted, the new military-backed government banned unauthorized street protests. Prosecutors quickly ordered the arrest of the three defendants on charges of organizing an illegal demonstration, and the police accused the three of assaulting security officers at a demonstration outside the courthouse where Mr. Maher was trying to turn himself in. |
| Each of the three men was sentenced to three years of hard labor and fined $7,000. The ruling on Monday upholding those penalties is subject to further appeal to Egypt’s highest courts, which could take years to resolve. | Each of the three men was sentenced to three years of hard labor and fined $7,000. The ruling on Monday upholding those penalties is subject to further appeal to Egypt’s highest courts, which could take years to resolve. |
| The conviction of the three men was “a political verdict,” said Gamal Eid, a human rights lawyer who represented them in their appeal. “It is another episode in a series exacting revenge against the youth of the revolution.” | The conviction of the three men was “a political verdict,” said Gamal Eid, a human rights lawyer who represented them in their appeal. “It is another episode in a series exacting revenge against the youth of the revolution.” |
| While Mr. Maher and Mr. Adel were defending themselves in one courtroom on Monday, lawyers for Mr. Mubarak’s security chief were attacking them in another. Mr. Mubarak and his security chief, Habib al-Adly, were being charged a second time with directing security forces to kill protesters in 2011; they were convicted in their first trial but the verdict was overturned on appeal. Mr. Adly’s lawyers argued in court that the killings were justified, in part because the April 6 group, they said, was a tool in a foreign plot to attack police stations and destabilize Egypt. | While Mr. Maher and Mr. Adel were defending themselves in one courtroom on Monday, lawyers for Mr. Mubarak’s security chief were attacking them in another. Mr. Mubarak and his security chief, Habib al-Adly, were being charged a second time with directing security forces to kill protesters in 2011; they were convicted in their first trial but the verdict was overturned on appeal. Mr. Adly’s lawyers argued in court that the killings were justified, in part because the April 6 group, they said, was a tool in a foreign plot to attack police stations and destabilize Egypt. |
| Mr. Maher and the April 6 group have denied the allegations, and it was unclear which foreign powers might have sought to destabilize Egypt. The two nations most often mentioned in such conspiracy theories — the United States and Israel — were among the most important supporters of the Mubarak government at the time. | Mr. Maher and the April 6 group have denied the allegations, and it was unclear which foreign powers might have sought to destabilize Egypt. The two nations most often mentioned in such conspiracy theories — the United States and Israel — were among the most important supporters of the Mubarak government at the time. |
| Meanwhile, relatives of another detainee, Mohamed Soltan, 26, an American citizen, gave The New York Times on Monday a collection of handwritten letters between Mr. Soltan and Abdullah Elshamy, 25, a journalist for Al Jazeera who has been held without charges. Both men have been held since August. | Meanwhile, relatives of another detainee, Mohamed Soltan, 26, an American citizen, gave The New York Times on Monday a collection of handwritten letters between Mr. Soltan and Abdullah Elshamy, 25, a journalist for Al Jazeera who has been held without charges. Both men have been held since August. |
| The letters, dated April 4 and written in English, were smuggled out of prison by a visitor. They appeared to detail a hunger strike the men have staged to protest their incarceration, and indicated that neither man had eaten in more than 80 days. | The letters, dated April 4 and written in English, were smuggled out of prison by a visitor. They appeared to detail a hunger strike the men have staged to protest their incarceration, and indicated that neither man had eaten in more than 80 days. |
| “I hope your health has not deteriorated as much as mine,” one of the prisoners, Mr. Soltan wrote to Mr. Elshamy from “Leiman prison hospital, Room 2, Bed 5.” “Yesterday I lost consciousness leaving the hospital bathroom,” he wrote. “The prison doctors showed up twenty hours later.” | “I hope your health has not deteriorated as much as mine,” one of the prisoners, Mr. Soltan wrote to Mr. Elshamy from “Leiman prison hospital, Room 2, Bed 5.” “Yesterday I lost consciousness leaving the hospital bathroom,” he wrote. “The prison doctors showed up twenty hours later.” |
| Mr. Soltan, the son of a prominent Muslim Brotherhood figure but not a member himself, wrote that the authorities “brought my father from maximum security prison to be with me to pressure me to break.” He added, “The thought of abandoning you was the second thing on my mind after freedom. I couldn’t do it.” | Mr. Soltan, the son of a prominent Muslim Brotherhood figure but not a member himself, wrote that the authorities “brought my father from maximum security prison to be with me to pressure me to break.” He added, “The thought of abandoning you was the second thing on my mind after freedom. I couldn’t do it.” |
| Mr. Elshamy replied that he, too, had been pressed to resume eating by his parents and by older prisoners, including the Muslim Brotherhood’s top spiritual leader, Mohamed Badie. | Mr. Elshamy replied that he, too, had been pressed to resume eating by his parents and by older prisoners, including the Muslim Brotherhood’s top spiritual leader, Mohamed Badie. |
| “I have even cut juice, and my bones ache me,” Mr. Elshamy wrote. “I can barely stand on my legs. Yet, I know that battles are not won by good wishes and hopes.” | “I have even cut juice, and my bones ache me,” Mr. Elshamy wrote. “I can barely stand on my legs. Yet, I know that battles are not won by good wishes and hopes.” |
| “We will get together again one day; maybe tomorrow, next week or month — I’m pretty confident about that,” he wrote, promising that the two would “hop along, cruise the Caribbean coral sea, and a lot of other places on the planet.” | “We will get together again one day; maybe tomorrow, next week or month — I’m pretty confident about that,” he wrote, promising that the two would “hop along, cruise the Caribbean coral sea, and a lot of other places on the planet.” |
| Mr. Elshamy is one of four Al Jazeera journalists now being held in Egypt. The other three: Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian; Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, a Canadian citizen; and Peter Greste, an Australian worked for Al Jazeera’s English-language network. Prosecutors have accused them of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood to broadcast false images of civil strife in Egypt. Monday was the 100th day of their incarceration. | Mr. Elshamy is one of four Al Jazeera journalists now being held in Egypt. The other three: Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian; Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, a Canadian citizen; and Peter Greste, an Australian worked for Al Jazeera’s English-language network. Prosecutors have accused them of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood to broadcast false images of civil strife in Egypt. Monday was the 100th day of their incarceration. |