As part of a crackdown against critics, Egypt's military-backed government has been jailing journalists and activists. But the government hasn't entirely silenced them.
Writing surreptitiously and risking additional punishment, several of those detained have managed to write letters that have been smuggled out of prison or released by the authorities.
"I am nervous as I write this," detained Al Jazeera English correspondent Peter Greste said in a letter published by his network.
Greste, an Australian who was detained in a Dec. 29 raid on his hotel, said he's afraid that his writing could prompt prison authorities to take away his "tiny joys" — a reference to the several books he has and the occasional time he's allowed to spend outdoors.
Greste decided to write because he thought that keeping silent would validate the jailing of him and his colleagues as well as "freedom of speech across Egypt."
"The prisons are overflowing with anyone who opposes or challenges the government," he wrote.
The public prosecutor has charged Greste with colluding with a terrorist organization. His Egyptian colleagues Mohammed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed stand accused of belonging to a terrorist group.
The charges stem from alleged contact they've had with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that dominated Egypt's elections and was running the country before being ousted by the military last July. The organization has now been declared a terrorist group.
United Nations officials and the Committee to Protect Journalists have strongly condemned the arrests of the Al Jazeera journalists and called for their release.
Alaa Abdel Fattah, a prominent blogger and activist, has been detained on charges relating to Egypt's controversial new protest law, which outlaws demonstrations that haven't been approved in advance by authorities.
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