Democracy Activist (and Blogger, Drupal contributor) Alaa Abd El-Fatah arrested in Egypt

Alaa Abd El-Fatah is a renowned Egyptian blogger. He's been campaining in Egypt for Free software, Free Speech, Human Rights and political reform.

His blog, manalaa.net has won special reporters without borders award from the 2005 Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards.

Alaa, together with a group of activist, have been calling for political and judiciary reforms. At stake, in particular, is a motion to ensure that the judiciary is independent and free from pressure from the government during elections. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/egypt/story/0,,1770311,00.html)

On the 7th of May, 2006, Alaa was participating in a peaceful protest when I was arrested for "insulting the president". He is still in jail today. Many bloggers around the world have already been calling for his release. Also, a new blog called freealaa has been created in support of Alaa Abd El-Fatah.

I'll make a follow up to this blog with more information on what actions you can take to help Alaa, and ensure he's released promptly.