Civil Society and Democratization in the Arab World Contents Civil Society News From Around the Region ........... 1-2 A round-up of important developments in democratization and human rights in the Arab World. The Sociologist Vs. The State: Round II..............................3 Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim continues to provoke the ire of the Egyptian regime. What is the Grassroots Democracy Project?..........................5 An overview of an ongoing ICDS democratization project. The Trial of Free Press..................................................6 Matthew Husing examines the assault on press freedoms within AEgypt. Judicial Compromise...................................................7 Ivan Rosales covers the most recent development in the Saudi Arabian legal system. Reluctant Arab Political Reform.......................................8 Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim on the hesitant political reform process in the Arab world. A Bittersweet Release....................................................11 An in-depth interview with recently-released prisoner and ICDS employee Amr Tharwat. Al-Rewaq.........................................................................10 A summary of the October weekly forums held at ICDS. Can Any of you Name the Swiss President?................…...12 Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim recounts his recent travels to Switzerland. How Long can Egypt Endure Penury?..........................14 Hassan Elsawaf bemoans the stagnation and status quo of Egyptian Thepolitics Copts and of Egypt:society. Victims of Discrimination ...............15 Moheb Zaki outlines the legal and societal discrimination being waged against Egypt’s Christian minority. •BAHRAIN appeal with another judge. are optimistic a decision will be made Human rights activist and Ibn Khaldunby the end of Lahoud’s term on Recently, Bahraini authoritiesCenter have Founder Saad Eddin IbrahimNovember 24. The meeting is seen as banned access to several civicannounced that he fears an attempta reconciliation by between competing mobilization web pages, includingauthorities the to detain him without trialparties and politicians, and is largely HAQ homepage. Authorities justifyif he returns to Egypt. In viewed2001, as a positive step in Lebanon’s censorship on the grounds that suchIbrahim was sentenced to seven yearspolitical development. civic organizations are not registered in prison for defamation of Egypt’s• MOROCCO under either the national reputation.Civic His commitment to Organizations Law ratified in 1989democratization or in the region has made the Political Societies Law ratified in Residents of Bin Samim recently him a political target. Ibrahim believespeacefully protested for the protection 2005. Organizations not registeredauthorities are might murder him, making considered illegal and subject to of their right to water. Police the act appear as suicide. The activist’sresponded violently, making numerous prosecution. Opponents of theconvictions have still not been silenced mandate accuse the Bahraini arrests. Several human rights and he continues to critique Presidentorganizations, including the Attac government of degrading free Mubarak’sspeech regime. and of over-regulating political critique. Morocco, the Universal Decade for Water in Morocco, and the National The HAQ Movement for Liberties • JORDAN and Democracy is one of many Organization for Protecting Public Money formally announced the public popular associations demanding greaterParliamentary elections in the month Bahraini democratization. Censorship right to water as a basic necessity. They of October came under harsh criticism encouraged citizens to support those of this and other sites is carried inout Jordan. Civil society has demanded in accordance with Press Decree Code arrested and show solidarity towards greater transparency in the Binelection Samim residents. No. 47, ratified in 2002. process,Bahraini hoping international watchdog journalists continue to be prosecuted groups might be allowed to monitor• PALESTINE according to its precepts. the process. The Ministry of Interiors •EGYPT maintains that 2003 election laws do not provide for election monitoring, Huwaida Taha’s appeal case hasand been will not provide watchdog groups dropped by Judge Mahmoud Hamza. with information. Taha, sentenced in May 2007, contends she was convicted after an unfair• LEBANONtrial. She spent six months in jail and paid a 20,000 pound fine, with Parliamentarybail set at majority leader MP Saad 10,000 pounds. Authorities accusedHariri met with MP Michel Auon, head the Al-Jazeera journalist of producingof the opposition Free Patriotic Movement. As the presidential election a documentary that promulgated Israel has announced that it will begin falsities defaming Egypt.nears, The both are looking to reach consensus on a candidate to assumecutting Gaza’s electricity supply. Israeli documentary focused on claims of Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai torture in the country. After sentencing,incumbent Emile Lahoud’s seat. The Christian bloc is looking to securestated an that public structures like her laptop, cellular phone, and tapes hospitals will not be subject to these were seized. Taha will continueagreed-upon her candidate by the constitutional deadline. Party memberscuts. Power constraints come in response to continued shelling insewed thehis mouth to protest of Tunisia’s region. Yet many fear this willmedia further censorship policies. complicate strained relations between Israel and Palestine, as well as• OMANbetween the Fatah and Hamas parties. Palestinian President Mahmoud AbbasOmani voters were set to go to the considers this latest action of Israelipolls on Oct. 27 to vote for members authorities as “sabotage” againstof an advisory council for Sultan continued efforts for peace andQaboos’s government. In 2003, the sovereignty. Omani government decided to allow citizens over the age of 21 to select members of the 84-member Majlis as- Shura, or Consultative Assembly, which • IRAQ advises the Sultan on economic and Turkish aircraft have been bombingsocial issues. The Assembly cannot, the Iraqi border in what is termedhowever, deal with issues of defense, “counterterrorism” efforts. The internal security or foreign policy. Turkish military has been shellingAccording the to the Gulf Times, 732 separatist region considered candidatesa were poised to vie for seats stronghold of the Kurdistan Workers’in the consultative body, among them Party (PKK). Claims that militant20 PKK women. For this first time, members have been launching bordercandidates in this year’s campaign were attacks on military personnel and civilians caused Turkish parliament to pass a resolution of armed incursion into Iraq; a mass invasion has been stalled while waiting for international consensus or a diplomatic answer. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki promised to crack down on PKK activity while Iraqi Kurdish urged the PKK to adhere to a ceasefire. Iraqi authorities fear any incursion would question regional sovereignty and further cleave the conflicted state. • Tunisia allowed to make use of billboards, newspaper advertisements and slogans, although these forms of publicity are subject to limitations in size and quantity. Although the government expanded the freedom to advertise this year, none of the candidates have presented Tunisian political activist and majorjournalist opposition to current Mohammed Abbou was prevented by government policy or made promises state forces from embarking on foran wide-scale reform. The candidates international flight at Tunishave Airport in general expressed loyalty to on Oct. 23. Abbou was allegedlythe person and rule of Sultan Qaboos, intended to travel to Cairo to show Al-Destour ruling since 1970, whom many have solidarity for Editor-in-Chiefpraised for “putting Oman on the path Ibrahim Eissa. Abbou reportedlytoward modernization and wished to attend Eissa’s upcoming trialdemocracy”. for publishing rumors and misleading the Egyptian public. The TunisianOmani official were hoping that the dissident gained notoriety for sewingnew advertising policies would result his mouth shut in jail while servingin ana increase in voter turnout, which three and a half year term for reachedwriting 70% of Oman’s nearly 389,000 an article published on a Tunisianregistered news voters in 2003. website that criticized state-led torture and compared it to torture reports at the Iraqi prison of Abu Ghaib. Abbou nce again Prof. Saad Eddin Ibrahim has hasincurred ever called for such a linkage between foreign aid and the wrath of President Hosni Mubarak.liberal reforms. As expected, this raised a hysterical hue O and cry in the pro-government media, the anti-Western, Ibrahim was charged in June 2000 of havingparticularly damaged the left-leaning, circles, and elicited criticism Egypt's reputation abroad, thereby indirectlyfrom harming some independent its commentators. "Traitor", "taking economy. After a series of trials over the followingfood from three the mouth of the poor, and "endangering national years he was finally acquitted on March 18, security"2003, byand the similar accusations in the same vein filled Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest tribunal, butnumerous not before editorials that castigated Saad Eddin Ibrahim he had spent some 14 months behind bars, which causedfor daring to make such a proposal to President Bush when him serious permanent health damage. the latter met with prominent dissidents from all over the world in Prague last June. Now he is once more the target of nine new investigations,