Blog on

One of Egypt's pioneering online activists, who was a leading figure in the February protests that ended the rule of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, was released from detention on Sunday after being held for nearly two months.

Alaa Abdel-Fattah was detained at the end of October for refusing to take part in a military investigation into a protest rally he was a part of on October 9. The protests turned violent when security forces advanced on the crowd, and Abdel-Fattah and 27 others were accused - but never formally charged - of inciting the violence.

"We know from the beginning that I am not the one who killed people," Abdel-Fattah said outside of Cairo's police headquarters following his release, in remarks carried on news network Al-Jazeera. "We have not gone after the real criminals who killed people."

While greeting reporters, Abdel-Fattah also met his son Khaled, who was born while his father was in prison.

Military rulers

Abdel-Fattah's case is still open, but has been turned over to a civilian court, and he will not be allowed to leave the country as long as the investigation is ongoing.

His supporters maintain that Abdel-Fattah was targeted in an effort to silence a prominent critic and absolve the military for its role in the violence at protests that left 27 people dead. Some of the victims, according to activists, were killed when they were run over by military vehicles.

Activists like Abdel-Fattah are putting pressure on Egypt's new military rulers because they say little has changed since the generals took power following Mubarak's ouster.

Many accuse the military of violently crushing opposition and killing dozens of protesters.

Author: Matt Zuvela (AFP, Reuters, AP)
Editor: Ben Knight