Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Catalyst of Alaa's Detention

See also Egypt Letter: Returning to Mubarak's Prisons (Alaa)
Libya Special: Creating Armies out of Militias (Sheridan)
Libya Special: National Transitional Council Struggles to Remain the "Good Guys" (Malone)
Syria Special: Should We Treat Calls for a No-Fly Zone Seriously? (Zenko)

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2015 GMT: Egypt's military leaders have announced plans to free 334 people detained since the fall of the Mubarak regime in February.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, giving no details of who would be pardoned or when, said the releases would support "continued communication with the great Egyptian people and the youth of the revolution".

Human rights groups estimate that more than 12,000 civilians have been processed by military tribunals this year. This week brought international attention to the detentions with the military court's order to hold blogger and activist Alaa Abd-El Fattah (see separate entry).

1945 GMT: Claimed footage from Al Dair in Bahrain this evening, as protesters chant, "The martyr said, 'I sacrificed my soul to my country'" and "We will sacrifice our blood and souls to the martyrs":

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A New Dialogue?

1850 GMT: According to a source in Bahrain, when detained teacher Jalila Al Salman was released from prison, she immediately joined a protest, organized by Al Wefaq, that was designed to press for her release. A photo gallery of the event can be found here.

1826 GMT: We have received this video, reportedly showing Syrian soldiers firing guns and rockets into the city of Hama. The video appears to be leaked, and it is very unclear when it was taken. As such, it's very hard to cross-verify this video with eyewitness reports, though there have been plenty of reports of violence over the last few weeks in Hama.

The LCCS had these reports from Hama today, though because this video is leaked, and undated, we don't know when the video was actually taken:

Hama: security forces are heavily spread in the Al-Amiriyeh neighborhood amid widespread detention campaign. Of the detainees is Amir Salha

Hama: Hayaleen: security forces raided the village in a major security force to arrest Sheikh Ammar Khaled Al-Mansour, Imam of Al-Kabeer mosque, and to terrorize the people

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Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Spark of Detention

2008 GMT: Now Lebanon is now raising the death toll in Syria to 13, citing Al Arabiya.

1915 GMT: The LCCS posts this video, evening protests in Qalat Madeq in Hama:

1908 GMT: A large protest this evening in Daraa province:

Another in Deir Balbeh, Homs:

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Egypt Feature: Activists' Statement on Detention of Alaa Abd-El Fattah

We demand that Alaa Abd El Fattah be freed immediately, that military trials of civilians be stopped and all those sentenced thus far be released or at least retried before civilian courts. We support all of those who similarly refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the military prosecution.

This is not the new Egypt we have fought and died for.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Spying on the Opposition

See also Egypt Feature: Activists' Statement on Detention of Alaa Abd-El Fattah
Syria Special: The Assad Regime's PR Campaign with British Journalists
Bahrain 1st-Hand: Saturday's Opposition Rally in Al Hajar for the "Arab Uprisings"
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Deaths Return to Hama

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2220 GMT: Three Saudi filmmakers, detained earlier this month after posting a YouTube video showing poverty in the kingdom, were released today.

Firas Baqna, Khalid al-Rasheed, and Hussam al-Darwish were arrested on 19 October 19 after their documentary was shown by the London-based opposition TV channel Al-Islah.

The series is entitled "Malub Aleina (We Are Being Cheated".

2120 GMT: Yemen's international airport outside the capital Sana'a has been shut after the explosions that shook the nearby al-Daylami airbase tonight.

Flights have been diverted to Aden in the south of the country.

2110 GMT: The next hearing in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, his two sons, and his Ministers and aides has been delayed to 28 December. The postponement occurred after lawyers for alleged victims of Mubarak petitioned the court demanding that Judge Ahmed Refaat be replaced.

2000 GMT: We are overrun with footage of Syrian protests tonight --- a demonstration in Ma'arat Numan in the northwest:

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