Wa'el ‘Abbas Sentenced to Six Months on Same Charge on Which he Was Acquitted?

Wa'el ‘Abbas, the Egyptian blogger/activist who was recently cleared by a court of seemingly trumped-up charges, has nevertheless reportedly been given a six-month sentence on essentially the same charge. Egypt's independent judiciary increasingly finds itself manipulated or outmaneuvered or its rulings simply ignored. Here's his own blog post on the subject, as well as his previous not guilty post. (The posts mix English and Arabic reports.)

The accusation is that he stole Internet access from a neighbor (huh? The whole thing has seemed strange all along) but if he wasn't a blogger this wouldn't happen. (And the courts found he was innocent anyway.)

Of course, "double jeopardy" doesn't translate well, I guess. Best of luck to him, his lawyers, and the courts that at least try to enforce their decisions.

Barring anything major, I'm off for the weekend.