Egyptian pro-democracy blogger freed

Alaa Abdel Fattah, left, hugs his recently born son, Khaled, his mother Laila Soueif, and his sister Ahdaf Soueif, left, after after he was released in Cairo. Photo / AP

A prominent Egyptian blogger accused of attacking soldiers during deadly clashes was released after nearly two months in detention, during which he became a symbol of the pro-democracy activists' struggle to end military rule in Egypt.

Alaa Abdel-Fattah's first stop after he was freed on Sunday was Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in February. The square continues to be the focus of the campaign against the military, which took power after Mubarak's ouster.

Abdel-Fattah was accused of inciting violence and other offenses during clashes that killed 27 people Oct. 9, but he was never formally charged. He was arrested Oct. 30.

The arrest raised tensions between the activists who engineered Mubarak's ouster and the generals led by Hussein Tantawi, the deposed leader's defense minister for some 20 years.

Relations have since steadily worsened, hitting a new low this month when soldiers brutally beat and stomped on protesters, including women, in Cairo clashes that left at least 18 people dead and dozens wounded. Clashes between protesters and security forces have killed more than 100 people since Mubarak's ouster.

"We need to end military rule," Abdel-Fattah said, moments after his release outside Cairo's police headquarters. "We cannot just celebrate my innocence. We know from the beginning I am not the one who killed peopleWe have not gone after the real criminals who killed people," he said in remarks carried on Al-Jazeera TV.

A small crowd of supporters behind him chanted, "The people want the fall of the Field Marshal" referring to Tantawi.

On Sunday evening, hundreds of people demonstrated against the military while waiting at Cairo International Airport to greet a protester, dentist Ahmed Harara, who was arriving from Paris. He flew there for medical treatment to try to save his vision. The treatment failed, according to activists.

Harara, 31, lost an eye in the bloodiest day of clashes with security forces Jan. 28. Then he was shot in his other eye in mid-November by security forces during clashes near Tahrir Square that killed over 40 people. He also went to Tahrir Square with his supporters after arriving to Cairo Sunday evening.

Members of an advisory council set up by the military say the generals were now prepared to look into proposals to bring forward the date of their transfer of power to a civilian administration. According to the military's timetable, the generals would step down after presidential elections are held before the end of June, 2012.

Outside police headquarters Sunday, Abdel-Fattah cradled his newborn son Khaled, named after Khaled Said, whose death at the hands of police officers helped inspire the uprising that toppled Mubarak. Abdel-Fattah's wife gave birth to the baby while her husband was in detention.

His detention brought international condemnation, and activists said it was evidence that the generals were following the same authoritarian policies as the deposed leader.

Activist members of his family noted that at least 12,000 Egyptians have been tried before military courts since late January.

The decision to release Abdel-Fattah but ban him from travel also applies to 27 others accused of taking part in violent clashes with security forces Oct. 9.

That violence began when groups of stone-throwers attacked a crowd of Coptic Christians protesting an attack on a church in southern Egypt. Video showed the military moving in with force, and some of the protesters were run over by army vehicles.

Abdel-Fattah and his supporters dismissed the accusations that he incited violence, saying the military was trying to silence a prominent critic and to deflect blame.

The investigation of Abdel-Fattah's case was transferred to a civilian judge, who ordered his release Sunday. No reasons were given,

Abdel-Fattah, a leader of the 18-day uprising that ousted Mubarak in February, was Egypt's first blogger activist, launching a blog years ago organizing opposition to Mubarak. He was detained for six weeks in 2006 under Mubarak.