Sharm: Key Suspects Arrested

The official version is out: with the latest three arrests, the key suspects of the Sharm El-Sheikh bomb attack are in the hands of the authorities. It is said that the arrested watchman-employee at the El-Arish farm owned by a Palestinian was struck by grief three years ago when his brother died and became a very devout Muslim. If that is true and not just a spin from a government that is fond of frightening its subject with the Muslim ghost, it is the last in a long series of blows to all Middle Eastern experts who are arguing that religion has nothing to do with terrorism and whatever hatred is preached in the mosques never had any bearings on the self-exploding culprits.

Yet, the story isn’t over because the government’s word is out. First of all, will we ever hear the stories of the three people now arrested? What they say about being connected to the three men who blew themselves and about 70 innocent victims? Will they be subjected to torture? What is their relation to the men who are supposed to be in court this month but will have to wait a little further because medical reports deciding whether they have been tortured are ‘delayed’?

Abdelghani El-Niklawi, the watchman, is 22, a business graduate, married with a two year old daughter. He has rights too.

If this was ‘a cell,’ what will we learn about its connections? Does this cell have any connections to any of the three groups that claimed responsibility for the attack? Did the investigation of those groups produce any leads at all that could be relevant for the future prevention of terrorist attacks?