November 28, 2007
YouTube pulls plug on Egypt activist over brutal videos
The video-sharing website YouTube has suspended the account of a prominent Egyptian anti-torture activist who posted videos of brutal behaviour online. The Guardian reports.
"Wael Abbas said some 100 images he had uploaded to the site were no longer accessible to users due to "complaints about the content".
Abbas, who this year won international recognition for his work in opposing the use of torture, claims the clips depicted police brutality, voting irregularities and anti-government demonstrations.
Speaking to Reuters earlier today, Abbas said: "They closed it (the account) and they sent me an e-mail saying that it will be suspended because there were lots of complaints about the content, especially the content of torture."
The shocking imagery sparked uproar throughout Egypt, a country where human rights groups claim torture is commonplace. The tape also prompted an official investigation, which led to a rare conviction of two policemen who were sentenced to three years in prison for torture.
YouTube, and other video-sharing sites on the internet, has emerged as a powerful forum for critics of the Egyptian government.
Elijah Zarwan, a prominent blogger in Egypt, said he thought it unlikely that YouTube had come under official Egyptian pressure to suspend Abbas's page.
He claimed it was more plausible that the site was reacting to the graphic nature of the videos. "I suspect they are doing it not under pressure from the Egyptian government, but rather because it made American viewers squeamish," he said."
Related:
-- Egyptian Prisoner's torture sent to his friend's cell phones by police
-- Egypt's Torture Video Sparks Outrage
-- Video phones expose torture in Egypt
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