Security forces have actively discouraged advocacy on behalf of the defendants in the media and in other ways. One prominent individual was visited by an SSI officer who criticized an article that he had written about the case that was published in an Egyptian newspaper. In yet another case, a prominent figure told us that SSI attempted to pressure him through a third party. Human Rights Watch has withheld details about these incidents in order to protect the identities of the victims of SSI pressure and harassment. Perhaps due to such pressure, the military court trial and the Wasat Party case have not been the focus of in-depth media coverage and vigorous advocacy inside Egypt.
People speak privately, but publicly they are afraid.