Let Alaa Return To Manal

"I didn't check the Egyptian blogsphere for a few days; and when I did, I found that Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abdel Fatah has been detained for protesting peacefully. It's something we take for granted in the U.S.; but not in a country like Egypt.

Human Rights Watch issued the following press release:

Egypt: Award-Winning Blogger Among New Arrests

(New York, May 10, 2006) – Egyptian security officials arrested 11 more political reform activists, including an award-winning blogger, Alaa Ahmed Seif al-Islam, Human Rights Watch said today. This brings to more than 100 the number of people detained over the past two weeks for exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression.
[...]
According to a statement published on an activist Web site, activists detained between April 24 and 27 have begun a hunger strike to protest prison conditions, including threats of torture and ill-treatment.

Fayrouz in Beaumont