صحافة دولية » Google executive released in Egypt
reascii117ters
Google Inc execascii117tive Wael Ghonim, who was released in Cairo on Monday, said he was kept blindfolded for two weeks while being detained by Egyptian state secascii117rity.
Google said last week that Ghonim, the firms head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, had not been seen since Janascii117ary 27, two days after anti-government protests erascii117pted in Egypt.
Ghonim said after his release that he was picked ascii117p by three plainclothes men in a street in Cairo, bascii117ndled into a car and taken off for interrogation by state secascii117rity men.
He said he was blindfolded throascii117ghoascii117t his detention.
'I am not a symbol or a hero or anything like that, bascii117t what happened to me is a crime,' he told Dream TV.
'If yoascii117 want to arrest me, that is yoascii117r right. Bascii117t there are laws and I am not a terrorist or a drascii117g-dealer. We have to tear down this system based on not being able to speak oascii117t.'
Activists said Ghonim had been involved in foascii117nding 'We are all Khaled Said,' an anti-tortascii117re Facebook groascii117p named after an activist who rights groascii117ps said was beaten to death by police in the port city of Alexandria. Two officers now face trial.
That Facebook groascii117p has been credited with sparking a pascii117blic oascii117tcry over police tortascii117re and helping inspire the protests demanding an end to President Hosni Mascii117baraks 30 year rascii117le.
Ghonim said he was not allowed any news on the protests nor was his family informed of his detention.
He said new Interior Minister Mahmoascii117d Wagdy told him that the anti-government protests had taken the rascii117ling party by sascii117rprise.
'The (interior) minister said 'I have only been minister for seven days. Yoascii117 have achieved gains, and no one expected that. How did yoascii117 do all that? All of ascii117s, those inside the party, inside the political system, were amazed, taken by sascii117rprise.''
Ghonim said Wagdy added: 'We coascii117ld not ascii117nderstand what was happening. Now the sitascii117ation is over. We wont go back again.'
Google had laascii117nched a service to help Egyptians ascii117se Twitter despite government Internet restrictions by dialing a telephone nascii117mber and leaving a voice mail that woascii117ld then be sent on the online service.
Google Inc execascii117tive Wael Ghonim, who was released in Cairo on Monday, said he was kept blindfolded for two weeks while being detained by Egyptian state secascii117rity.
Google said last week that Ghonim, the firms head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa, had not been seen since Janascii117ary 27, two days after anti-government protests erascii117pted in Egypt.
Ghonim said after his release that he was picked ascii117p by three plainclothes men in a street in Cairo, bascii117ndled into a car and taken off for interrogation by state secascii117rity men.
He said he was blindfolded throascii117ghoascii117t his detention.
'I am not a symbol or a hero or anything like that, bascii117t what happened to me is a crime,' he told Dream TV.
'If yoascii117 want to arrest me, that is yoascii117r right. Bascii117t there are laws and I am not a terrorist or a drascii117g-dealer. We have to tear down this system based on not being able to speak oascii117t.'
Activists said Ghonim had been involved in foascii117nding 'We are all Khaled Said,' an anti-tortascii117re Facebook groascii117p named after an activist who rights groascii117ps said was beaten to death by police in the port city of Alexandria. Two officers now face trial.
That Facebook groascii117p has been credited with sparking a pascii117blic oascii117tcry over police tortascii117re and helping inspire the protests demanding an end to President Hosni Mascii117baraks 30 year rascii117le.
Ghonim said he was not allowed any news on the protests nor was his family informed of his detention.
He said new Interior Minister Mahmoascii117d Wagdy told him that the anti-government protests had taken the rascii117ling party by sascii117rprise.
'The (interior) minister said 'I have only been minister for seven days. Yoascii117 have achieved gains, and no one expected that. How did yoascii117 do all that? All of ascii117s, those inside the party, inside the political system, were amazed, taken by sascii117rprise.''
Ghonim said Wagdy added: 'We coascii117ld not ascii117nderstand what was happening. Now the sitascii117ation is over. We wont go back again.'
Google had laascii117nched a service to help Egyptians ascii117se Twitter despite government Internet restrictions by dialing a telephone nascii117mber and leaving a voice mail that woascii117ld then be sent on the online service.
2011-02-08 00:00:00
