Egypt pardons jailed blogger as generals brace for anniversary protestsHigh time. He should not have been arrested in the first place. But maybe the new Egyptian Government is finally catching on that the world is watching.
Maikel Nabil Sanad among almost 2,000 prisoners convicted by military tribunals over the past year who are set to be released
Jack Shenker in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 January 2012 11.57 GMT
An Egyptian blogger jailed by the military junta for insulting the army has been officially pardoned, as the country's ruling generals attempt to bolster public support before protests planned for the Wednesday's anniversary of the uprising.
Maikel Nabil Sanad, a 26-year-old Coptic Christian who became a cause celebre for activists opposed to the post-Mubarak military government, was among almost 2,000 prisoners convicted by military tribunals over the past year who are set to be released after an announcement by Egypt's de facto leader, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
Sanad was imprisoned in March over a blogpost titled "The army and the people were never one hand", inverting a popular Egyptian chant in support of the military.
He refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the army court that convicted him and staged a high-profile hunger strike behind bars that saw him come close to death several times. He resisted efforts by the authorities to certify him insane and have him transferred to a secure psychiatric unit, and was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
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Background here.