LET YOUR PEOPLE GO:

Justice Served in Egypt (NY Times, March 19, 2003)

Intellectually, Saad Eddin Ibrahim has always been one of Egypt's freest men. Now, after three years, three trials and 14 months of health-shattering imprisonment, Dr. Ibrahim, the country's most prominent democracy and human rights advocate, is legally free as well. Egypt's highest and most independent court, the Court of Cassation, affirmed yesterday what every honest observer of the Ibrahim case had known all along, that the charges against him were without foundation. The court's verdict is final; the Egyptian government cannot appeal.

Dr. Ibrahim, who holds American as well as Egyptian citizenship, was charged with damaging Egypt's reputation by reporting past instances of electoral fraud, as well as illegally accepting European Union research funds. The real damage to Egypt's reputation came from the politically motivated prosecution of Mr. Ibrahim, a 64-year-old sociologist who worked to encourage cleaner elections, wider political participation by women and better understanding between Egypt's Muslim majority and Coptic Christian minority, earning him an international reputation. Yesterday's verdict will restore some of Egypt's good name. [...]

To its considerable credit, last year the Bush administration froze additional aid to President Hosni Mubarak's government over Dr. Ibrahim's treatment. This pressure, and the efforts of human rights groups worldwide, helped persuade the government to back off and prosecute the case less aggressively. Lesser known activists continue to face legal persecution in Egypt and even greater dangers in other Arab countries, like Libya and Syria.

We've long been willing to countenance some pretty dubious actions from the Egyptians both as a reward for making peace with Israel and because we thought it in our best interest for the government to repress fundamentalism there. But it seems likely that all we've done is delay the inevitable. As an aid donor of mammoth proportions we should have some right to prod Mr. Mubarak towards reforming and liberalizing, even if that might mean releasing some pressure on groups and individuals that may not take a charitable view of us. It's time to get folks in the Arab world involved in improving their own lives, in the hopes that they'll be at least somewhat distracted from the various hatreds--of Israel, America, and the West in general--that have been used to manipulate their frustrations. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 19, 2003 7:48 AM