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Online activists Avaaz appeal for funds after Egypt detention

Internet campaigning organisation Avaaz is calling for donations to help it establish a fund to provide legal and physical protection for its activists, following the deportation of one of its members from Egypt. Lebanon-born Wissam Tarif arrived in the country with plans to hand over a petition against the mass execution of 529 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, but was detained, interrogated and deported upon landing at Cairo airport.

“We don’t know if Wissam would be free now if we hadn’t had such broad legal, media and diplomatic pressure lined up,” Avaaz’ coordinating team said in a mail to member, “And [we] want to make sure we always have what we need to respond to emergencies like these.”

The mail also thanked international news organisations for their response, which helped to put pressure on Egyptian authorities. Over one and a half million people have signed the petition that Tarif carried, which had received prior permission from the authorities to deliver to the Grand Mufti Allam.

Avaaz currently has 35 million members signed up to receive its daily email. In the past, it has been criticised for promoting ‘clicktivism’ or ‘slacktivism’ – pejorative terms which suggests signing an online petition is an ineffectual way of making your voice heard and is more about making you think you’re doing good rather than actually doing anything. Avaaz, however, says that it has been the repeated target of cyber attacks by those who they campaign against and with threats now issued at its staff it needs funding to invest in better security in both the virtual and physical worlds.

The website highlights the fact that its campaigns are as much about raising awareness of issues among its members as it is delivering petitions to those in power. According to its stats, South Africa has the second highest number of users in Africa after Egypt, with a quarter of a million people on the books. Curiously, Brazil has the highest number of Avaaz users in the world, with nearly seven million signed up.

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