CAIRO (AP) — Amnesty International called on Egyptian authorities Monday to drop charges against a prominent activist who criticized the country's ruling military council on social networking sites.
The London-based group said the charges appear aimed at limiting freedom of speech and halting criticism of the council of military generals that took control of the country after a popular uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February.
The activist, Asmaa Mahfouz, was charged before a military court Sunday with slander and inciting violence based on postings she made on Facebook and Twitter and a call to a private TV station. The charge was one of the most serious allegations against activists who have played a key role in mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Egyptians to the protests which forced President Hosni Mubarak to step down 18 days later.
In her Aug. 10 tweet, Mahfouz wrote: "Bottom line, if the judiciary doesn’t give us our rights, no one should get mad if armed groups show up and carry out a string of assassinations as long as there is no law, there is no judiciary," Mahfouz wrote in an Aug. 10 tweet.
She was released Sunday pending trial after more than four hours of interrogation and paying a $3,400 bail with money raised by other activists.
In a statement Monday, Malcolm Smart, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director, said the referral of Mahfouz’s case to a military court "seems intended to send a message to those critical of the authorities that dissent will not be tolerated."
The group also criticized civilian trials before military courts — a common practice since Mubarak’s ouster.
"These courts are fundamentally unfair and deprive defendants of some of the basic guarantees of fair trial, including the right to appeal," Smart said.
The incitement charges against Mahfouz could carry a sentence of more than 10 years. A trial date is up to the discretion of the military prosecutor.
