During the time I was researching burqas, islamic traditions and feminism in the Middle East for Don't hate her because she's beautiful ... and wears a burqa, I had stumbled upon Alaa Abd El-Fatah through the Drupal developer's e-list and had a peek at his incredible labor of love, Manalaaa.net, a community site dedicated to civil rights, free culture, citizen journalism and open source technology.

Alaa was arrested with 49 other people during a demonstration in support for an independent Egyptian judiciary and against the extension of the Emergency Law that has turned Egypt into a police state.

[via Egyptians in the states protest demanding release of jailed egyptians | Manal and Alaa's bit bucket]:

Dozens of opponents of Egypt's authoritarian government were assaulted and arrested after riot police attacked a demonstration in support of reformist judges who are challenging election fraud. Journalists covering the protests have been attacked and threatened by police, and in a separate incident, the chief of the Al Jazeera TV bureau has also been arrested.

The largest protests took place April 27 as two judges, Hesham al-Bastawissi and Mahmoud Mekky, were due to be brought before a disciplinary panel after they accused the government of fraud in parliamentary elections late last year�and charged fellow judges with complicity. President Hosni Mubarak's government put a massive number of cops on the street in Cairo�estimated at 10,000 by the New York Times, much larger than the force deployed in the Sinai after three bombing attacks earlier in the week.

One of the judges' supporters, Mohammed Sayed Said, told Al Jazeera, "This display of force is a return to the policies of oppression and to a police state. But all this will not succeed in reimposing a culture of fear. The people have already defeated it and they are ready to pay with their blood for democratic change," At least 50 activists were jailed and are expected to be held for 15 days, according to reports.