Thanks to everyone who sent us links to media outlets.

Major Media Outlets

CNN: Egypt blogger jailed for insults

“I was hoping that he would get a harsher sentence because he presented to the world a bad image of Egypt. There are things that one should not talk about, like religion and politics. He should have got a 10-year sentence,” said lawyer Nizar Habib, who attended the trial as a member of the public.

BBC: Egypt blogger jailed for ‘insult’

During the five-minute court session the judge said Soliman was guilty and would serve three years for insulting Islam and inciting sedition, and one year for insulting Mr Mubarak.

TIME: The Blogger-Martyr of Egypt

In his blog, Kareem predicted that he would get into trouble with the law for his views. Still, he insisted on his right to freedom of expression and made no secret of his disgust for the laws that govern the system and restrict his liberties. He warned Al Azhar scholars and professors that they would end up in “the garbage of history.”

Associated Press: Egypt blogger gets 4 years in prison

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based media rights group, said Internet writers and editors are the fastest-growing segment of imprisoned journalists, with 49 behind bars as of December.

“With this verdict, Egypt has opened up a new front in its efforts to stifle media freedoms,” said Joel Campagna, the group’s senior Middle East program coordinator.

CBC: Arab governments wake up to threat of blogging

Blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil, 22, has been in detention since November on charges of insulting Islam and causing sectarian strife for writing that is critical of Islamic authorities.
His trial, which began in January in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, is the first trial of a blogger in Egypt.

[…]

There are now 26 million internet users in the Arab world and 40,000 Arabic blogs, according to a report by the Initiative for an Open Arab Internet.

Sawsen Zaidah, a Jordanian journalist who produces the program Eye on the Media, says blogging is appealing because it is not as heavily controlled as traditional media.

Al-Jazeera English: Egyptian blogger sentenced to jail

A blogger attending the trial who goes by the name “Sandmonkey” said: “It’s a dangerous precedent because it will impact the only free space available now, which is the internet. The charges were undefined and vague.”

Coverage of the trial has even reached Iceland and Denmark.

More media coverage from Google News.

Blogosphere Coverage

Amira Al-Husseini provides an excellent summary of the reaction of the blogosphere on Global Voices Online: Arabisc: Bloggers Rally to Kareem’s Support

When Kareem was first detained in early November for this writings, many bloggers in the Middle East tried to distance themselves from the case because they did they did not want to be associated with blasphemy against Islam. Today, while some condemn the sentence as an attack on freedom of expression, others believe the blogger got what he deserved for swimming against the tide.

[…]

Egyptian blogger Sharaqwi calls for a campaign to release Kareem and promote freedom of expression in his country.

الحكم مقلق وضد حماية حق الرأى والتعبير وممكن يبقى بداية لسجن النشطاء بتهمة أهانة الرئيس..
يسقط يسقط حسنى مبارك………
مش عاوزينة مش عاوزينه.. مهما يقولوا اننا بنهينه
مطلوب حملة تضامن مع كريم والدفاع عنه وعن حرية الرأى والتعبير،
وهنسيبنا من أى دعاوى اننا بنتضامن مع مدون كافر..
احنا بنتضامن مع مصرى منتهكة حقوقه.

“The sentence is alarming and against freedom of expression. This could also be the beginning of imprisoning activists for insulting the president. Down Down Hosni Mubarak.. We don’t want him.. we don’t want him.. however much they say we insult him..What is required now is a campaign to support Kareem and defend both him and freedom of speech. And let’s not argue about whether we are supporting an atheist blogger. We are supporting an Egyptian who is being denied his rights,” he explains.

[…]

American blogger and a supporter of Kareem Dr Tom Palmer insists that the sentence will not go unchallenged.

“This will not go unchallenged. His case is the case of every blogger, every dissident, every person who aspires to life as a free citizen. My sincere thanks and recognition to all who have helped the cause of free speech and the case of Abdelkareem. Please be ready to act again, respectfully and with dignity, in the hope that this grave miscarriage of justice will be corrected, perhaps in a way that will allow the Egyptian authorities to do the right thing and save face,” he writes.

Another American blogger Doug Mataconis wonders what his government’s reaction to the sentence would be.

Keep in mind. An American ally and supposed example of moderate Islam. And what has the Bush Administration had to say about this travesty ? So far, nothing:

The Bush administration has not commented on Nabil’s trial, despite its past criticism of the arrests of Egyptian rights activists.

We’re waiting Mr. President.

[…]

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif, who is himself facing a defamation case in a Bahraini court, was also quick to the defence of Kareem, describing today as a sad day for freedom of expression.

“And if Egypt leads, the Arab world are supposed to follow, right? So the arrest, detention and jailing of people for simply writing their thoughts is forging ahead unchecked in the Middle East… and there doesn’t seem to be any will whatsoever for anyone to stop it, even for a moment, to think of what that is going to do for this and future generations.

Yet another reason for one to maintain their anonymity at all times.
Big brother is not just watching, but is waiting to pounce at the slightest chance to silence critics in the full sight of the world and even they are not interested in doing anything about the situation,” writes a concerned Al Yousif.

More blogosphere coverage on Google Blog Search.

UPDATE: Der Spiegel, Europe’s biggest and Germany’s most influential weekly magazine, has published Kareem Amer’s case: Four years detention for Blogger in Egypt. (Hat tip: 404)

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