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Alert

Writer detained and prevented from travelling

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemns the detention of writer Abd Al-Monem Monieb by state security officers at Cairo airport for 45 minutes, causing him to miss his flight to Lebanon. He was supposed to appear in a TV interview to discuss his book "A Map of the Islamic movements in Egypt" that was published by ANHRI.

During a telephone call with ANHRI, Abd Al-Monem said, "It all began with a call from Al-Alem channel in Beirut to organize for a TV review of my book.

"I called the state security officer in charge of my district to check whether I can leave country, to which he gave me a verbal clearance."

Abd Al-Monem added, "I actually arrived at Cairo airport, got the departure stamp on my passport. Then I was shocked when the airport state security officers escorted me to the state security office, where I was detained for 45 minutes and the officers just wrote-off the fresh departure stamp."

ANHRI strongly condemns such intimidation attempts and illegal pursuit of released political prisoners. The network also denounces the detention of the writer and the denial of his right to travel and mobility. Such measures and continuing pressures on the writer are a deliberate violation of the human rights of a citizen who spent 15 years in prison convicted of no charges at all, which is, again, a flagrant violation of basic human rights and citizenship.

In his book, Abd Al-Monem monitors the evolution and development of the Islamic movements in Egypt. Monem also writes articles about how the Egyptian security authorities deal with members of Islamic groups when in jail and after they have been released.