Egypt: State security police force Interne=?ISO-8859-1?Q?t_caf=E9_owners_to_r?=eport on customers visiting "political" websites

State security police force Internet café owners to report on customers
visiting "political" websites
<http://www.ifex.org/egypt/2009/06/11/internet_cafe_raided/>
11 June 2009

(ANHRI/IFEX) - On 10 June 2009, the Arabic Network for Human Rights
Information (ANHRI) reported that State Security Police are violating the
right to privacy by spying on Internet users in Egypt, searching for
individuals who exercise their right to express their political views online
peacefully.

After forcing Internet café owners to register the names and identity numbers
of those who visit the cafés frequently, State Security officers are now
asking owners to spy on their customers and monitor which websites they
browse, and to report to the police anyone who browses "political" websites.

"Yesterday, security forces raided an Internet cafe in Agouza district, and
asked for the visitors' registration book with details on visitors from the
beginning of the café's work on January 16, 2009, although the owners had
leased it on May 25 and opened the place for clients on June 5," ANHRI said.
The network added that when the owner of the café told police that there were
no books, they took his ID card and the license of the café. Moreover, they
confiscated Internet service equipment and took him to the Security
Directorate in Giza. There he was charged with "practicing an activity without
a license"

A number of lawyers from the Arabic Network attended the official
investigation and the prosecutor decided to release the Internet café owner
without bail. But when the lawyers submitted a request to have the confiscated
equipment returned, the prosecution said it would keep it in the warehouse of
the police station in connection with the case.

When the café owner and manager received their license and ID cards from the
State Security, an officer ordered them to write down the names, addresses and
ID numbers of each visitor and monitor any person browsing "terrorist" or
"political" websites. The officer gave them his personal phone number to
report immediately on any person they noticed browsing such sites. He also
threatened to close the café if they did not report on anyone during the
coming month. The officer told them: "it is impossible that no one from your
visitors will browse such websites for a whole month."

ANHRI strongly condemns the State Security practice of monitoring and
punishing any citizen who seeks to express his political views peacefully. At
the same time, the network condemns the threatening of Internet café owners
and forcing them to spy on their clients. As a result, the network is
demanding the Interior Minister issue orders to stop such practices, which
violate the right to privacy and the right of expression, as guaranteed by
Egyptian law and international human rights covenants. ANHRI also calls on the
minister to refrain from forcing the owners of Internet cafes to register the
names and ID card numbers of visitors and to stop treating the browsing of
political websites a punishable crime.