Egyptian authorities have released three bloggers, including Karim El Beheiri, who were arrested and detained following their coverage of demonstrations to protest rising prices and low wages in the country in April.
El Beheiri and the two others were accused of “inciting unrest, damage to property and demonstrating” over their role during the protests, which left three dead and hundreds injured or detained.
El Beheiri used the social networking website, Facebook, to disseminate calls for support for what was supposed to have been a nationwide general strike against government’s inaction towards rising costs of living.
An employee of the government-owned Misr Spinning and Weaving company in Mahalla – the site of the demonstrations – El Beheiri was fired by the company’s management, who argued that he failed to show up for his work while he was imprisoned.
In comments to reporters after his release, El Beheiri accused police of “torture” during his detention.
“We were subjected to electric shocks, to beatings and there was no food and or drink for the first few days,” he said.
But the Ministry of Interior denied the activist had been maltreat while in detention, in an interview.
The detention had attracted condemnations from international rights groups, among others. Panapress .
