Christian blogger detained in Egyptian prison
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) today condemned the continued detention of Christian blogger Hani Nazeer, who was arrested by State Security last October. His arrest was prompted by complaints from Muslims over material posted at his blog.
ANHRI also alleges that the arrest “occurred with the collaboration of the Church in [his hometown of] Naga Hammadi”.
The controversy began on October 1st 2008, when some young Muslims were browsing Hani’s blog and found a link to another site containing an electronic novel called “Azazil’s Goat in Mecca” which included an attack on Islam. This work was written by an anonymous author under the name of “Father Utah.” The novel came in response to Yusuf Zidane’s famous novel “Azazil,” which was considered by some conservatives as offensive to Christianity.
Some young people in Hani’s village became very angry and thought he was the author of the story. Security Forces took this opportunity to arrest Hani Nazeer in order to get rid of the problems raised by his blog because of his strong opposition to both Muslim and Christian hardliners.
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The crime against Hani was further agravated [sic] by Anba Cyrilus, Bishop of Naga Hammadi, when he asked the family to keep silent in order not to upset the state security.
Since Mr Nazeer’s arrest, “Father Utah” has continued to post at other Christian blogs. Nazeer’s own blog has been emptied of content.
Nazeer is an inmate at Burj Al Arab prison, where at least two other bloggers are currently imprisoned.