Hany Nazeer, an Egyptian blogger, has been detained without charge since October 2008 under the country's emergency law. This week, the interior ministry renewed his detention order for the sixth time – allegedly for his own protection.

Human Rights Watch explains:

"A high school social worker known for his critical views of established religion, Nazeer published a blog called 'Karz El Hob' (Preacher of Love), which included a link to a novel with a cover photo that some in his village considered insulting to Islam. When rumors that Nazeer had cited this book on his blog spread in the village, angry crowds gathered outside his house and Nazeer left the village, fearing for his safety.

"Rather than providing protection, state security officials tried to arrest him. When they failed to find him, they arrested and detained his brothers for three days as hostages and threatened to arrest his sisters. In response, on October 3, 2008, Nazeer turned himself in. He has been held ever since at Borg El Arab prison in Alexandria."

According to a Christian website, the book that Nazeer linked to was an online copy of 'Azazil’s Goat in Mecca', a novel written under the pseudonym "Father Utah". The book is a response to 'Azazil', a novel by Yusuf Zidane which is critical of Christianity and popular in Egypt.

"The right way to protect Nazeer is not by imprisoning him, but by prosecuting those threatening his security," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at HRW. "The [Egyptian] government does nothing to foster an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for the views of others when it jails those who have controversial views."

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 24 April 2010.