In his article Walking off the Net, Martin Walker discusses internet censorship and the challenge the internet poses to our authorities. You may read the fascinating article here, where Walker also mentions Kareem, stating:
Governments target not only Web sites but also Internet cafes and individual bloggers like Egypt’s Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, who was imprisoned for four years in February for “insulting Islam” and defaming Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Unfortunately, someone gained access to our FTP, databases, and host panel and managed to take down all our websites, including this one. Everything was affected: files, plugins, backups, posts. Lalith our webmaster is still in the process of recovering our data. Please be patient with us if you note any problems with the site; we are aware of the issues and we are working on fixing it.
Update: Most things seem to be back to normal, but our RSS feeds, both for our posts and comments, are dysfunctional. We are working on it.
We would like to remind everyone that a few days ago we changed Kareem’s prison address on our “write to Kareem!” page.
Here’s the new mailing address if you wish to send a letter:
Arabic (must be included!)
عبدا لكريم نبيل سليمان
سجن برج العرب
الإسكندرية
عنبر 24 – غرفة 10
جمهورية مصر العربية
Jpeg version (for those whose computers don’t support Arabic):
English
Alexandria
Borg Al-Arab Prison
Room 10 Section 24
Prisoner Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman
The Arab Republic of Egypt
Please consider writing Kareem a letter expressing your support. It’s very important to let him know that he is not alone in his defense of free speech. Please reward his courage by sending him a letter to lift his spirits up.
Note: You can compose your letters in either English or Arabic.
This is the latest relevant press release we received from Congressman Trent Franks’ office.
May 25, 2007 – Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) launched the first Members’ briefing this week for the bi-partisan Task Force on Religious Freedom, which he co-chairs with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05). Testifying at the briefing were Harold Hongju Koh, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and labor, and Dean of International Law at Yale Law School, Ambassador John Hanford, U.S. State Department Office of International Religious Freedom, and Nina Shea, Vice-Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, among others. The briefing focused on recent religious freedom developments in Egypt, as well as implications and recommendations for U.S. foreign policy in light of Egypt’s poor human rights record and the worsening status of religious freedom.
Congressman Franks stated, “Religious freedom is the cornerstone of human liberty and the hallmark of a free society. I am honored to have had the privilege of hosting the first Members’ briefing of the year for the Task Force on International Religious Freedom, and to have been joined by Representative Aderholt and many other Congressional staff. Recognizing that an assault on religious freedom anywhere threatens the dignity and security of all human beings, we must never cease to be vigilant in guarding the most precious of our human liberties. This Task Force will be a vehicle that will allow us to do just that – to continue advocating policies and affirming the right of every member of the human family to freely worship and live according to the dictates of their own conscience.”
Among the things discussed in the briefing were the plight of the Baha’is, the Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Amer, who was imprisoned for criticizing President Mubarak and insulting Islam on a personal webblog, and the continuing difficulties of members of other religious communities such as the Coptic Christians who face increasingly harsh government regulation.
Click here to download the opening statement of Congressman Trent Franks.
Earlier last week, the Free Kareem Coalition received a scanned copy of Gloria Steinem‘s letter to President Hosni Mubarak, demanding Kareem Amer’s release. Steinem is one of America’s most influential journalists and feminists, and we thank her deeply for the necessary action she took for the sake of Kareem.
Below you will find both the content of the letter and a picture of its scanned copy.
President Hosni Mubarak
c/o Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Court, NW
Washington DC 20008May 7, 2007
Dear President Hosni Mubarak:
I have visited Egypt, worked with its women leaders, and come to believe in the sense of justice and compassion that resides in its people.
Therefore, I would like to bring an unjust and perhaps accidental decision by one judge to the level of your attention.
It is the conviction, sentencing to four years, and incarceration of Abdelkareem Nabil Soliman, a law student at Al-Azhar University, for writing his own opinions in his personal web log. For this only, with no accusation of any illegal or even challenged physical act, a judge in Alexandria convicted, sentenced and jailed Mr. Soliman.
I believe, as do many in Egypt and around the world, that a mistake has been made. Like so many others, I am concerned about the well-being of this young man, who has been held mostly in solitary confinement since November.
I appeal to you especially because his crime was writing that allegedly “insulted religions” and “defamed the President of Egypt.” Mr. Soliman wrote about what he had experienced as a lack of freedom on the campus of Al-Azhar and in Egyptian society. Yet I cannot imagine that you or the authority of your office would be threatened by the writings of a young blogger. In fact, his sentencing by the judge is far more damaging testimony to a lack of freedom than anything he wrote.
All courts make mistakes. In my country as well as in yours, one of the duties and pleasures of a chief of state is rectifying those mistakes. Therefore, I hope you will consider pardoning Mr. Soliman.
I thank you for your consideration. This letter is not one of criticism, but of faith that a mistake will be rectified.
Sincerely,
Gloria Steinem
Co-founder, Ms. Magazine
Board member, Women’s Media Center
Scanned copy [click for larger image]:
This is the Arabic translation for those who require it. Much thanks to Dalia Ziada for providing this translation [click for larger]
