Egyptian Court Sentences American Citizen Journalist to Life in Prison

[JonLP24]

Source: VICE

Mohamed Soltan had just graduated from Ohio State University when his mother was diagnosed with cancer in her home country of Egypt. After hearing the news, he flew straight to Cairo to care for her. The idealistic 25-year-old, an American citizen who spoke Arabic, began translating for foreign journalists as pro-democracy demonstrations swept through the nation. Within months of his 2013 arrival in Egypt, a sniper shot him in the arm at a rally. Authorities arrested Soltan.

Today, an Egyptian court sentenced Soltan, along with dozens of others, to life in prison for allegedly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned political party. Soltan was held in solitary confinement while he awaited his sentencing on terrorism charges.

"We've had a long time to process what's happening, but no matter how unjust it is it doesn't seem to be going away," Soltan's sister Hanaa Soltan told VICE News. "He never committed a crime… He was a citizen journalist, active on social media and helping journalists gather interviews and get information."

An Egyptian court charged Soltan, now 27, with membership in the "terrorist organization" the Muslim Brotherhood — a group not outlawed until after his August arrest — and with giving false information to media in efforts to destabilize the government. Soltan was never a Brotherhood member, and the charges are ludicrous, his sister said.

Read more: https://news.vice.com/article/egyptian-court-sentences-american-citizen-journalist-to-life-in-prison

[seveneyes]

1. translating for foreign journalists as pro-democracy demonstrations swept through the nation

That's about as far as one could get from the brotherhood and the other religious nonsense going on there.

[BlueJazz]

2. I smell > "What will you do for us if we let the Journalist free"

[JonLP24]

4. US already seems to give them what they want already

Obama Personally Tells the Egyptian Dictator that U.S. Will Again Send Weapons (and Cash) to his Regime

Yesterday, the Egyptian regime announced it was prosecuting witnesses who say they saw a police officer murder an unarmed poet and activist during a demonstration, the latest in a long line of brutal human rights abuses that includes imprisoning journalists, prosecuting LGBT citizens, and mass executions of protesters. Last June, Human Rights Watch said that Egyptian “security forces have carried out mass arrests and torture that harken back to the darkest days of former President Hosni Mubarak’s rule.”

Today, the White House announced that during a telephone call with Egyptian despot Abdelfattah al-Sisi, President Obama personally lifted the freeze on transferring weapons to the regime, and also affirmed that the $1.3 billion in military aid will continue unimpeded. Announced the White House:

President Obama spoke with Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi today regarding the U.S.-Egyptian military assistance relationship and regional developments, including in Libya and Yemen. President Obama informed President al-Sisi that he will lift executive holds that have been in place since October 2013 on the delivery of F-16 aircraft, Harpoon missiles, and M1A1 tank kits. The President also advised President al-Sisi that he will continue to request an annual $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt.

But for those who think the U.S. should not lavish vicious tyrants with arms and money, don’t worry! During the call, “President Obama also reiterated U.S. concerns about Egypt’s continued imprisonment of non-violent activists and mass trials,” and “encouraged increased respect for freedom of speech and assembly and emphasized that these issues remain a focus for the United States.” To read that is to feel the sincerity and potency of those presidential words.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/31/obama-lifts-freeze-weapons-transfer-egyptian-dictator/

[BlueJazz]

5. Well, THAT pissed me off. (not you JonLP24)

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. We have at least one poster here who will applaud this.

Because the Muslim Brotherhood is EVIL INCARNATE!