Part II: Challenges and opportunities 44 Egyptian bloggers: a civilian voice against torture By Dr Aida Seif El Dawla El Nadim Center for the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, Egypt Freedom of expression of the press has always been an essential need of Egyptian civil society organisations and political groups and parties alike. In a country continuously ruled by emergency legislation for the past 27 years and where mass media is heavily controlled by state authorities, there is a strong need for an alternative and independent channel of information. This would facilitate free information sharing between the different actors involved in monitoring developments in the country and analysing government policies and the general public in a mutually beneficial relationship. While satellite channels have provided a breakthrough mainly for regional and international news, an array of young alternative media is slowly being delivered on the Egyptian scene, covering news and providing information which has until now been deemed classified. Central to this alternative trend is the phenomenon of blogging. Dozens of young men and women in search of space for free expression have resorted to cyberspace to create their own “publishing firms”. Besides using their blogs as a space for spreading their reflections and ideas, their aspirations for their future and their criticism of the domestic state of affairs, several bloggers have dedicated their work to a thorough analysis of the human rights condition in the country. They publish statements and press releases by human rights organisations and develop their own comments and statements, and they organise their own initiatives and develop themselves as accountable and accurate references for information to national as well as international news agencies. Eventually, their passion for justice has taken them beyond mere documentation and towards an actual search for victims of human rights abuses, primarily victims of torture. These blogs have given voice to the stories of survivors and in some cases been pioneers in exposing crimes of torture taking place in the country.