CAIRO, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- An Egyptian blogger has been released after a "cruel ordeal" at the hands of the interim military government, Amnesty International says.
Maikel Nabil was arrested March 28, 2011, and sentenced to three years the following month. In a news release Tuesday, Amnesty International said that he was denied heart medication when he went on hunger strike in August.
"The end of Maikel Nabil's cruel ordeal at the hands of the military council is a cause for real celebration," said Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa deputy director. "Yet 10 months of Maikal's life have been wasted. He should never have been arrested in the first place. His criminal record must now be expunged and he must be compensated for his ordeal."
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces admitted military courts had tried 12,000 civilians and sentenced 13 to death.
"It is shocking that more civilians have been tried before military courts under the SCAF in one year than under Mubarak's entire 30-year rule," Hadj-Sahraoui said.
