Dr. Ibrahim made the following plea before the South Cairo Supreme Security Court on May 21, 2001, two hours before his sentencing.

In the Name of God, the compassionate and merciful; I want to start off by thanking this esteemed court for allowing me to address it after you have listened to more than 40 interventions over the past seven months by the prosecution, the defense, and numerous witnesses.

I begin, Honorable Chief Justice, with the hope that the court understands my request to address them. Over the last few months I have felt that I owe this to myself, my family, my colleagues in this cage, and also to international and Egyptian public opinion, to all who have followed this case closely. During the past week, some of the most prestigious international media, such as the Financial Times, Time Magazine and the New York Times, have reported on the case, not to mention numerous Arab and Egyptian newspapers.

I also ask the esteemed court to forgive me for having presented so much written material. Writing is my "stock in trade", and it is all we have at the Ibn Khaldun Center or HODA. The accused man who stands before you does not possess any other means of defense except scientific research, writing and publishing. This is his only weapon. So this is not a case about terrorism, where the weapons are guns and explosives. This is, as other colleagues have pointed out, a case about opinion.

Let me state first of all that the accused is proud of his Egyptian and Arab identity, on whose soil he was nurtured and to which he returned, even though opportunities abroad were open to him. This accused was less than 35 years old when he gained a professorship at a fine university abroad, but decided by his own free will to return to Egypt, to live here with his family and the people of Egypt, experiencing life with the good and the bitter. He never imagined that the bitter could reach the depths of what happened to him in the summer of the year 2000. This accused, whom the state had entrusted with addressing 20 million Egyptians every week during prime time on a national television program that was aired every Friday -- after the news on Channel 1 for 4 years, 48 segments in total -- was arrested and jailed as if he were an armed terrorist.

Esteemed judges, you asked what is civil society? This is the question that television program focused on, and through it I sought to spread the message of civil society. What is civil society? It stands for all the initiatives and organizations that emerge through the free will of their members for the sake of an issue of common concern, or mutual benefit, or principle that its advocates believe in. Free will is the core. It is from there that strong relations develop between civil society and other non-governmental organizations such as parties, syndicates, associations and clubs. These initiatives can only develop through the exercise of the free will of their participants.

This is the true fabric of democracy, the other face of individualism, and the alternative to terrorism and extremism. And this is precisely why I believe the State asked me, through one of our highest-ranking media officials, to present this television program, following the wishes of the political leadership in the country. Thus I accepted to undertake for four years the program "Away from the Spotlight", which some of you may have seen. Through this program we publicized local initiatives and advocated civil society as an alternative to terror and extremism. This program was aired from 1992-1995, a period during which Egypt was facing the most dangerous of internal challenges ...terrorism.

This same accused, whom the government entrusted with addressing on a weekly basis 20 million citizens every Friday evening, is now transformed into a traitor, a criminal, is turned into the head of a gang. Why? Did he smuggle funds outside the country; did he smuggle money in? Did he smuggle weapons? Did he ever even use a weapon? Or was he advocating peacefully for the institutionalization of civil society organizations in order to counter terrorism? This is what pains the accused most of all. This is what weighs heavily upon his heart.

These innermost thoughts are what I want to convey to your Honors and to my colleagues, who have shared this long journey and worked with me. For 12 years, the Ibn Khaldun Center was operating in an open manner, receiving funds, entering into agreements, doing what it did and saying all that it said with full transparency, and suddenly these activities turn into crimes and wrongdoings. The Ibn Khaldoun Center not only advocated the concept of civil society and sought to implement it, but also initiated the legal form that gives it space and the means to move and express
itself -- the civil company.

We took the calls for democratization by the political leadership very seriously. As one of my colleagues mentioned, perhaps the accused is colorblind, and took the concepts of "democracy" and "freedom" too seriously, too literally. Perhaps this was the mistake he made. What did the accused do? He is said to have spread rumors and lies about elections in Egypt and the situation of the Copts. But as other colleagues have assured you, there is in fact a report issued by an independent commission for the supervision of the 1995 elections, in which more than 50 public figures participated, including Professor Abdel Aziz Mohamed, the past head of our Lawyers' Association in Cairo. But this report is largely what I am being held accountable for, because though it was published in Arabic, it was later translated by numerous news agencies, like the ones present here right now, who will no doubt translate the proceedings of this court session. Is it my fault that what I say is listened to widely? Is it my fault that it gets translated and given world attention? Is it the fault of the accused that he has credibility? Does he get punished for having professional and scientific achievements, and for earning credibility?

Did he betray anyone? Did he run away? Did he stab anyone? Did he steal one cent from the public treasury? These questions preoccupied me while I was listening to all that was said against me, my honor, my family and my colleagues. This is what preoccupies me now, and leaves me feeling caught in a drama that rightfully belongs in a theatre of the absurd.

In order to console myself, and in order not to loose my faith in my people and
country -- which deserve much from me, having given me many things -- and therefore wanting to return some of what it bestowed upon me, I have searched through the heritage of Egyptian jurisprudence. My search was for cases similar to mine where individuals have been subjected to great injustice, and I found that they are numerous. I seek your indulgence not to bring up these cases now, as I do not want to take up any more of the court's time. I am presenting here a written memo on these cases for the court's consideration. These cases have given me some comfort, as I endured the mental torture of insults to my honor in front of my children, my students, and colleagues from the academic and scholarly community. Too many have been forced by these events to think twice before speaking out.

Many previous cases demonstrate that the Egyptian judiciary restored justice to the oppressed and provided redress, even when the president himself had refused to ratify some decisions or demanded re-trials. We can recall for example the case of Dr. El Samni, Undersecretary for Agriculture, the cases of Islamic militants and the Jihad.

During all these trials, the Egyptian judiciary stood proudly. This was my consolation, as was the fact that over the past seven months, the justice of this court has been apparent. This is also a source for my confidence and pride in Egypt. All that has befallen me can be compensated for, and is made easier by these last few words, which I wanted to express to open my heart to you and feel relief.

I thank you and I pray God to forgive me and you, the prosecution and the security forces, and all of us in His wisdom.