The effectiveness of facebook in mobilizing persons for the strike and protest that took place April 6th—the same protest Malek was arrested for—took the Egyptian government by surprise.
See the group called “6 April Strike”.
The Egyptian government often obstructs the freedom of press through violence, threats, and unjust arrests. In light of this climate the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies have written this letter to the CEO of facebook.
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Dear Mark Elliot Zuckerberg
FaceBook CEO
We are a group of Egyptian NGO’s working for the promotion of Human Rights and Democracy. We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that we have observed that Facebook has become a platform where Egyptians can freely discuss and promote values of Freedom of Speech and Religion.
We like to inform you that in Egypt the government regularly obstructs political activities of people working for Human Rights. Among their methods of repression are arrests and imprisonments of members of the opposition, political activists and journalists. The government also controls, or otherwise puts under heavy pressure, the channels of communication in Egypt. Examples of this are many: “European Parliament resolution on the situation in Egypt” and “Amnesty World Report” and “Reporters without Borders, Egypt – Annual Report 2006.” i
Facebook is therefore an important arena where activists and regular people can gather to discuss and promote Human Rights and Democracy outside the reach of the security forces. Not least was this shown when recently the group "6 April strike" gathered approximately 70,000 members in support for a manifestation against the current state of affairs. The success of this event took the government by surprise.
We therefore expect them to use the Privacy Policy of Facebook, and to put pressure on Facebook, to get information about opposition members and other political activists in the near future.
We are also concerned about the attempts by governments to block public access to Facebook. This is exemplified by the recent shut-down of Facebook in Syria. ii
We believe that activists will continue to use and expand their activities on Facebook in the future, especially considering its appeal to the next generation and its open lines of communication. In addition, we believe that this arena of civic engagement will continue to be vital to further the goals of Human Rights and Democracy in Egypt.
Best Regards
Signed by:
Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
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i “European Parliament resolution on the situation in Egypt”, “Amnesty World Report” and "Reporters without Borders, Egypt – Annual Report 2006”
ii "Syria blocks Facebook in Internet crackdown"
