“I am a Muslim and I am proud of this. However, I will never agree with your shameful practices against my friend Kareem Amer. Clear?” – Dalia Ziada

Dalia Ziada is a human rights activist and translator based in Cairo. She has been one of the most supportive of Kareem’s friends during his difficult times.

Dalia has recently learnt that a poem she wrote in support of Kareem has caught the attention of Egypt’s State Security Service. Consequently, her blog is currently among the 50 Web sites Kareem Amer’s appeals judge wants to be banned from Internet users in Egypt. (Learn more about this from HRINFO).

Despite being a devout Muslim, Dalia is being accused of contempting religion because of her poetry. So far, it seems they are only interested in blocking her blog. However, if the claim is transferred to a criminal court, she may be handed a minimum sentence of three years. The judge is also trying to have her Tharwa_Egypt Web site down because of a published article she co-wrote in support of Kareem.

Quite frankly, this campaign would have progressed little were it not for her efforts. In fact, it was Dalia arranged for Kareem Amer to have a lawyer accompany him to the prosecutor’s office last year. It was Dalia who helped us get in touch with Kareem’s lawyers. It’s Dalia who publicly expressed support for Kareem several times (for example, here, here, and here), and she verified our translations of his writings for the world to read.

It is due to this poem that Kareem’s appeals judge is getting her into trouble – she did nothing libelous or defamatory and was simply trying to assuage a friend while he was in prison.

Dalia: If something happens to you, the entire world is going to rebel against it, and we are willing to do everything in our power to ensure this fact. Our main mission would be to help you and Kareem.

Because Kareem was jailed without the authorities facing any consequences, they clearly feel they have the power to now silence more people they disagree with. This is why we need Kareem freed. He is a symbol for our liberty. As the saying goes, the only way evil will prevail is if good people do nothing. If the world remains silent, it will cost us dearly. Our silence would be a peaceful consent to the Egyptian government’s actions.

If you wish to express support for Dalia, please leave a comment on her blog. Let’s show the judge that we’re not going to allow anything to happen to our friend!

For further information on why Dalia is supporting Kareem, read an interview we conducted with her here.