Prominent Egyptian activist stays away from politics to avoid strife

Wednesday 08-01-2014 08:22 AM
Prominent Egyptian activist stays away from politics to avoid strife

Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim - Reuters

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CAIRO, Jan 7 (Aswat Masriya) - Egyptian renowned activist Wael Ghonim said on Tuesday that he has decided to stay away from politics after the military's ouster of President Mohamed Mursi to avoid being a part of political strife.

Ghonim, one of the admins of the "We are all Khaled Said" Facebook page that has played a major role in the uprising that toppled autocratic Hosni Mubarak in 2011, did not update it since Mursi was deposed on July 3 following mass protests against his rule. 

He said that he took this decision so as not to contribute to "a strife where the blood of Egyptians is spilled, after being engaged for more than two years in sincere attempts to push Egypt forwards," on his personal page.

Ghonim said he broke his silence after his family and close friends urged him to respond to rumors said about him, pointing to a television program that broadcasted alleged leaked phone calls between him and other activists.

“I heard the phone calls attributed to me on a satellite channel like others. These fabrications aim at tarnishing my reputation,” Ghonim said.

He added that “those who stand behind these fabrications used simple internet techniques to alter real conversations which had been recorded for me and other public figures.”

The "We are all Khaled Said" page campaigned against police brutality for around year prior to the uprising. It has around 3.5 million followers and it revealed details of the extent of torture in Egypt.

The internet activist was detained for 12 days during the uprising and released a few days before Mubarak was toppled upon pressure from Google Company, where he worked then as a marketing executive.

Shortly after the uprising, Ghonim published a book entitled "Revolution 2.0: The Power of the People is Greater than the People in Power: A Memoir".

He also founded a political movement called "Masrana" (Our Egypt) and “Nabadat”a non-governmental organisation for development.

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