Death threats against Egyptian blogger’s family

[هانى الشرقاوى]

Egyptian State Security Investigation officers took writer-blogger Reda Abdel Rahman into custody last month and have detained him at an undisclosed location. His mother and two sister asked officials where they are keeping him, but the request was not well received.

The mother of Mr. Redda Abdel-Rahman Ali, and her two daughters (Azza, and Hebba), went to the center of the State Security forces and tried to meet the officer in charge, who attacked the mother and her daughters and insulted her with the most brutal and filthy language.

Mr Abdel Rahman belongs to a controversial religious sect called the Quranics, who believe that the Quran is the only source of faith. The International Quranic Center has issued a statement detailing his family’s ordeal at the hands of police.

He [the officer in charge] then ordered his troops to point their guns towards them and threatened them with death if they do not leave the place immediately, he himself drew his gun and pointed it at them with the same threats. He also threatened one of the daughters that he would arrest her and get her kicked out of her university. His troops followed his orders and pushed and shoved the mother and both her daughters out of the building, committing in the process some ***ual harassment to all of them,

Abdel Rahman wrote at his blog last July that he had been interrogated and intimidated about articles he had published online.

The International Quranic Center believes the arrest is part of an ongoing campaign to terrorise Egyptian Quranics.