ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I show in ethnographic detail how activists and journalists built relationships in the context of the campaign, No to Military Trials for Civilians. The campaign was initiated after the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took control of Egypt following protests in Tahrir Square and across the country in January–February 2011. The army has effectively ruled Egypt since the 1952 coup. Throughout this time, Egypt has experienced significant censorship. Journalists and activists have fought these attempts at monopolizing public conversation for generations. During the 2011–2013 uprising, the state’s attempts to control information was significantly influenced by the ongoing protests. In this context, No to Military Trials for Civilians succeeded in getting broad corporate media attention to the issue of military trials. Using the concept of communicative ecologies as an analytical lens, I argue that their ability to do so was dependent on their vast array of communicative practices. These included setting up tents in Tahrir Square during sit-ins, video recording testimonies, tweeting from battles, having a hotline, exchanging phone numbers in lines in front of military prisons in the desert, appearances on television, and much more. The chapter is based on ethnographic fieldwork in Egypt.
