Today, I'm going to break two of my unwritten rules - firstly, I'm going to write about something that's happening outside Saudi Arabia. Secondly, I try not to comment on things that have been extensively covered in other blogs, however, I'm going to make an exception for this.
The reason for breaking my own rules is the sad demise of the "Sandmonkey" blog which I have linked to on the right-hand side. There seems to be a crack-down going on in Egypt on bloggers who are critical of the government. Sandmonkey himself has covered the arrest and imprisonment of other bloggers and activists eg. here, here and here.
The main reason for the cessation of his blogging is, in his own words:-
One of the chief reasons is the fact that there has been too much heat around me lately. I no longer believe that my anonymity is kept, especially with State Secuirty agents lurking around my street and asking questions about me since that day. I ignore that, the same way I ignored all the clicking noises that my phones started to exhibit all of a sudden, or the law suit filed by Judge Mourad on my friends, and instead grew bolder and more reckless at a time where everybody else started being more cautious. It took me a while to take note of the fear that has been gripping our little blogsphere and comprehend what it really means. The prospects for improvment, to put it slightly, look pretty grim. I was the model of caution, and believing in my invincipility by managing not to get arrested for the past 2 and a half years, I've grown reckless. Stupid Monkey. Stupid!
I have enjoyed reading Sandmonkey's rantings very much. I found his blog both enjoyable and informative. A sad day indeed.
