Maikel Nabil is an Egyptian blogger and political activist who first began writing in 2006.
In April 2009, Nabil founded the No to Compulsory Military Service Movement and subsequently began a campaign demanding his right to exemption from military service as a conscientious objector. He was briefly arrested for his campaign, but was finally granted an exemption from military service in November 2010.
Nabil was an active participant and leader in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He was arrested and released on more than one occasion for his activism – a blog post of his deemed “insulting to the military” led to his arrest again in March 2011. A military tribunal then sentenced him to three years in prison, where he was kept in poor conditions and without adequate medical attention. In protest, Nabil went on hunger strike in August 2011. Political pressure and popular protests in support of Nabil finally forced the Military Ruling Council to pardon him in January 2012.
Nabil lives in exile in the United States and is a member of the Advisory Council of Asylum Network, an LGBT rights group.
