Cairo - Akram Ali
The Egyptian activist Michael Nabil, who was released after being military trialled for several months, declared he was not subjected to any kind of torture, but said however that some others were. Nabil was accused of insulting the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and of spreading rumours about it. In an interview with ‘Arabstoday’ after the pardon decree issued by the SCAF leader, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Nabil said that he was sentenced to two years of imprisonment on the above mentioned charges, adding that he decided to go on hunger strike. He described the Military Prosecution as ‘comic’ and denied the accusation of being an agent to Israel, considering his communications with Israeli channels as normal. He added that it is the third time that he got arrested for insulting the military institution. The first time was for establishing a movement named ‘No to Conscription,’ which called for the abolition of the compulsory military service. On the charges against him, he wondered: "If the sentence was for insulting the military establishment, why don't they penalize those who insult and humiliate prisoners as well?" Regarding the SCAF role in the Egyptian revolution, Nabil said SCAF aborted the revolution, and did not safeguard the homeland. On the contrary, they protected the former regime. He then denied the accusation of being recruited by Israel, after a number of activists have accused him of this as he had conducted some phone communication with Israeli TV channels before and after the revolution. Nabil added that he wished he was judged not guilty rather than receiving a pardon in such a manner that basically reaffirms the accusations against him. As for his experience inside the prison, he said he was subjected to different kinds of psychological influence such as being detained in a one-square-metre cell with a light switched on every minute, pointing that, as he was later informed by psychiatrists, it can cause hysteria. Moreover, the guards tried to give him drugs to affect his mental abilities as well as splashing sprays to influence his psychological state, also by adding drugs to food. He added that they used to get worried every time I refused to eat. Nabil highlighted the necessity of monitoring the interiors of prisons by cameras, and of letting the Human Rights entities conduct inspections, as well as of providing care to those who underwent tortures. Finally, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the pardon decree issued by Field Marshal Tantawi, and added, according to his words, that he has not committed any crimes to be punished for.