While Egypt is supposed to have overthrown its autocratic government, it seems that old habits die hard. The Egyptian Military Prosecution has charged a 26-year-old activist and blogger Asmaa Mahfouz for defaming the country’s ruling generals and calling for armed operations against the military and the judiciary.
Mahfouz, a prominent activist, used Facebook to call for the assassinations of Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) members and certain judges. Mahfouz wrote on Facebook that if the judiciary doesn’t give people their rights, nobody should be surprised if militant groups appear and conduct a series of assassinations because there is no law and there is no judiciary.
According to the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) he wrote that if justice is not achieved and the justice system fails , no-one should feel upset or surprised if armed gangs emerge to carry out assassinations Prosecutors briefly detained Mahfouz on Sunday for questioning, on charges of defaming the ruling SCAF. Mahfouz was released on $3,360 bail, a particularly high number. Prosecutors ordered Mahfouz to pay the fine or face 15 days in jail pending the setting of a date for her trial. If convicted, she could face up to three years in jail.
Asmaa told the Egyptian privately owned daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm that she had denied all the charges against her. She said that was only warning the military council that the absence of justice will lead to chaos.