The new Egyptian government isn't only cracking down on demonstrations - it's cracking down on even ordinary notions of free speech.
Blogger Maikel Nabil, 26, was taken from his home in Cairo by five military police officers early on March 28 and charged with insulting the military establishment and "spreading false information."
The 'false information' involved posting pictures and video clips on his blog of protesters he said had been beaten by military police during demonstrations in Tahrir Square and elsewhere.
Nabil's lawyers were informed the judge would rule today, April 12th, but later discovered he had already been sentenced to three years in prison in their absence the previous Sunday.
The fact that Nabil is a Coptic Christian and champions Israel on his blog for its rights and democratic freedoms probably didn't help him either.
Various human rights organizations suspect that anything from hundreds to thousands of Egyptians are being held and tried before military courts behind closed doors since President Hosni Mubarak's ousting on February 11.
"The methods used by the Egyptian military do not seem to have evolved since Hosni Mubarak's fall," said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-Francois Julliard.
"A civilian should not be tried by a military court. This is not the way things are done in the democratic society to which Egyptians aspire," he added.
Au contraire Msr. Julliard...what made you think most Egyptians aspire to a democratic society? I guarantee you,blasphemy laws against criticizing Islam will come next.
I have a feeling that some Egyptians may end up wishing Mubarak was back in power..
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