May, 17 2011, 04:00pm EDT
Egypt: Attacking Protesters and Military Convicting Over 5,000
AP is reporting: "Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will issue an apology to the Egyptian people on-air in a bid for amnesty."
Democracy Now this morning featured a report on Egypt about the "military court system, which has been used to convict and jail more than 5,000 civilians since January 25, the first day of massive protests at Cairo's Tahrir Square."
WASHINGTON
AP is reporting: "Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will issue an apology to the Egyptian people on-air in a bid for amnesty."
Democracy Now this morning featured a report on Egypt about the "military court system, which has been used to convict and jail more than 5,000 civilians since January 25, the first day of massive protests at Cairo's Tahrir Square."
The program also featured a report on "Egyptian police violently crush[ing] a Sunday protest ... at least 350 people were injured outside of the Israeli embassy in Cairo when police reportedly fired live ammunition, tear gas grenades ... at the crowd."
Dr. MOSTAFA HUSSEIN, mostafa at gmail.com, @moftasa
Hussein is a doctor at the Task Force Against Torture, which brings together non-profits, bloggers and activists highlighting the continuation of torture in post-Mubarak Egypt on the new webpage against-torture.net.
Hussein said today: "Mubarak should get a fair civilian trial -- and so should the thousands who are now getting unfair military trials and being sent to jail. Mubarak and others need to be held accountable, especially for the over 800 killed during the uprising.
"There's no evidence to the claim that protesters wanted to storm the building where the [Israeli] embassy is situated. The army was already geared up with gas masks and the building was protected with two APCs [armoured personnel carriers]. I reached the scene after the clashes broke out, hundreds of protesters where treated for tear gas injuries, tens where taken by ambulance to hospitals."
Hussein's video of the protest and government attack on it: youtube.com
He added: "We know that one protester is in a very critical condition. One-hundred and sixty-eight were detained at around 2:30 in the morning when the army ambushed them. Two activists and bloggers (@tarekshalaby [Tarek Shalaby] and @mosaaberizing [Mosa'ab Elshamy]) I know were detained and now are facing military trials. They joined the scene very late, Tarek managed to record and stream a very distressing video of his arrest." (Video very poor, audio is in Arabic, but other videos are also available on his page.)
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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A fragment of the munition found at the site of the attack was analyzed by an Amnesty International weapons expert and based upon its size, shape, and the scalloped edges of the heavy metal casing, identified as most likely a MK-80 series aerial bomb, which would mean it was at least a 500-pound bomb. The United States is the primary supplier of these types of munitions to Israel.
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