US Congressmen pressure Egyptian authorities to release jailed Alexandrian blogger Amer -

AIRO: Republican and Democratic representatives from the United States Congress have issued a bipartisan letter to the Egyptian government, calling for the immediate release of student blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman Amer who is currently standing trial for “defaming Islam” on his Internet blog.

Initiated by Congressman Trent Franks (R) and Congressman Barney Frank (D) and addressed to Egypt’s Ambassador Nabil Fahmy in Washington, the letter urges the government to “live up to its own stated values of democratic civil rights and to immediately release Mr. Amer from prison and drop all charges against him”.

Meanwhile, Amer, 22, appeared at the Moharram Beik Court in Alexandria on Thursday to stand for the first session of his trial which had been postponed from Jan. 17.

A former student of Al-Azhar University is currently detained in Al-Hadra prison in Alexandria for “spreading data and malicious rumors that disrupt public security”; “defaming the president of Egypt”; “incitement to overthrow the regime upon hatred and contempt”; and “incitement to hate ‘Islam’ “.

Accused of railing against Islam, he was expelled from the University in March 2006 and reportedly questioned by Al-Azhar professors before he was arrested by state authorities.

“Kareem was in very good spirits today due to the large number of supporters and media representatives who came to Alexandria to attend his trial,” Amer’s lawyer, Rawda Ahmed told The Daily Star Egypt.

However, journalists and photographers were reportedly prohibited by state security to enter the courtroom.

Upon request from the defense, the trial has been adjourned and will continue on Feb. 1.

In another development, an unidentified lawyer reportedly submitted a claim against Amer’s defense on Thursday, demanding they pay penalty fines for “defending a secularist who has insulted the Islamic faith”.

“The defense believes that state security might have pressured the lawyer to submit the claim or that the man might be a member of a radical religious group,” Dalia Ziada from the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information told The Daily Star Egypt.

If convicted, the former Al-Azhar University student could face up to nine years in prison.

“The fact that American authorities are showing such strong interest in Amer will be of great influence in this disturbing case. Our lawyers who represent Amer will bring translated copies of the letter to court today,” Gamal Eid, Executive Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, told The Daily Star Egypt.

Global rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) also welcomed the American initiative Wednesday.

“This is a good development … The charges on which Amer is held completely violate human rights law. Amer should be released immediately and the unconstitutional charges against him should be dropped,” Elijah Zarwan from HRW’s Middle East Division told The Daily Star Egypt.

The letter from the Congressmen also said Amer’s arrest indicated that respect for basic freedoms in Egypt were threatened.

According to Atef Ghamry, the former chief of Al-Ahram’s bureau in Washington and an expert in American affairs, the recent developments in the Amer case reinforce his belief that “calls for democracy in the Middle East are reemerging after a period when they were consistently downplayed.”

“The aim of introducing democracy in the Middle East was initially part of the Bush administration’s plan to change the Arab world internally. However, they had a change of heart after the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections. They did not want regimes coming into power in the Middle East that were not friendly to US interests,” Ghamry told The Daily Star Egypt.

Ghamry added, however, that there are signs from the US Congress that this will change.

“In the past two years, there have been many discussions, especially by liberals, over what really poses a threat to American national security,” he said.

In the meantime, Egypt’s growing community of bloggers maintain a positive attitude towards the American initiative, but still pose skepticism to whether or not Amer will be released.

“I am not too optimistic about this case. In my opinion, Amer should leave the country and try to seek asylum in either Europe or the US as soon as possible. He has no future in this country now. The authorities will destroy his life whether he is released from prison or not,” Hossam El-Hamalawy, blog moderator of www.arabawy.net told The Daily Star Egypt.

Wael Abbas, a blogger and photojournalist, said that while it helps to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities from outside, the real force must come from within.

“It is great that the American rival political parties are joining forces to show their support in this deeply flawed case, but there has to be more advocacy from within Egypt itself. Egyptian civil rights organizations must become more active in their outreach efforts,” Abbas said.

Hafez Abu Seada who is providing Amer with legal experts from his NGO the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), emphasized the need for the Egyptian authorities to act in accordance with international human rights law.

“Regardless of whether Amer’s writings contain disturbing content or not, Egypt must respect its commitment to freedom of expression for its citizens, as agreed upon in the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, of which Egypt is a signatory,” Abu Seada told The Daily Star Egypt.