Dr. Maikel Nabil Sanad

Dr. Maikel Nabil Sanad is a 26- year old blogger from Assiut, Egypt, and an early proponent of the Arab Spring. On March 28, 2011, Dr. Nabil was arrested for "insulting the military" and "disturbing public security" after posting comments on his blog that were critical of the military's role in the January 25th revolution. This arrest clearly violated Article 19 of the International Covenant on International and Political Rights.

I believe that if Egyptians freely express their views in Tahrir Square, they should have the freedom to express their views online. When Dr. Nabil was sentenced to 3 years in Egypt's General Prison for Military Forces on April 10, 2011, he became Egypt's first prisoner of conscience under the new government.

On August 23, 2011, Dr. Nabil began a hunger strike in jail in protest over his sentence in a military court. He was moved to a psychiatric hospital. Amnesty International declared Dr. Nabil a "prisoner of conscience" days later. In October, he was returned to prison and continued his hunger strikes. After 10 months in prison, Dr. Nabil was pardoned and released from prison on January 24, 2012.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Leader of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, pardoned Dr. Nabil as well as about 2,000 prisoners convicted by military tribunals. While this a step forward for human rights, there is more to do and we remain committed to the promotion of human rights in Egypt

Click here for a full timeline of Maikel's case.

Read the letter Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) and I wrote to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi on this case.