CAIRO: An activist from the 6 of April Movement was arrested late on Tuesday for graffiting a wall with an anti-military tribunal of civilians message in the Cairo district of Nasr City, rights activists said Wednesday. The activist, Ali al-Halaby is now being held for 7 days under investigation by the East Cairo prosecution office. He could be tried in front of a military court. He was accused of “vandalizing public property.” Members of the leading youth group voiced their concern for Halby and threatened to escalate the situation in case he is not freed soon. They said in a statement that they oppose military trials for civilians and dismissed the allegations that graffiti is vandalization. The ruling military council in Egypt has not been on good terms with the pro-democracy youth movement, especially after they accused the group of receiving foreign funds and getting military training abroad. The group denied and condemned the allegations by the council and said they only attend workshops abroad to help them organize better and said their funds comes from its members and invited the council to search through their financial documents. BM
