Hoqook.com, a website that calls for human and civil rights, was hacked Friday night. Anonymous hackers took control, publishing news and photographs on its home page. They also hacked hoqook.com's Facebook fan page and published material on subscribers' pages.
Markaz Hoqooki (My Rights Center) announced that the incident happened after the site's announcement that the center is organizing training courses for activists participating in the upcoming 25 January protest, to teach them about their legal rights and the role of digital technology in social change. The center described the attack as a violation of international law and the Egyptian Constitution which ensure freedom of expression and the circulation of information.
The center said they could not take responsibility for the site's content until regaining full control, which they expected to be on Saturday at the latest.
Hoqooki.com's manager, Sameh Saeed, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the site's administrators and staff were surprised to find a scandalous image alongside a call for a gay rights protest on 25 January, both attributed to the center.
He accused Egyptian security of continuing to suppress freedom of expression and opinion, noting that he would ask the Management Information Systems department of the Interior Ministry to investigate the incident and clear the site of legal accountability for publishing pornographic images.
Al-Masry Al-Youm checked the authenticity of the news from the site itself. There was a statement attributed to the center: "Due to our belief in the economic and political rights of all Egyptians, before the 25 January protests demanding freedom and justice, Hoqook.com will start as of now publishing reports, news and images of homosexuals, who are considered to be a persecuted group in the Egyptian society… the site's management calls on all human rights activists to help liberate homosexuals in Egypt by establishing a new group called ' Homosexuals' Rights.'"
