We encourage all our supporters in London to participate in the Free Kareem rally there!
An entry about this rally has been posted by Andrew Gimber, the rally’s organizer, at the Oxford Libertarian Society blog. If you have any questions concerning this rally please contact him: andrew[dot]gimber[at]balliol[dot]ac[dot]uk, or simply use our contact form.
In an effort to spread as much awareness as possible about Kareem, students at Roger Williams University will be holding a peaceful rally for him on November 6th at Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island. It will be at 6 or 7PM.
For our dear readers in Romania, please note that there is a Facebook event concerning the rally.
Pe 22 februarie 2007 Kareem Amer, un tânar egiptean a fost condamnat la 4 ani de închisoare pentru “incitare la ură faţă de musulmani”, “defăimarea Preşedintelui Republicii” şi “insulte aduse Islamului”. Toate aceste „crime” au fost comise de Kareem pe blogul personal. Constituţiile majorităţii statelor lumii, inclusiv cea a Egiptului, garantează dreptul la libera exprimare. Cu toate astea, guvernul Egiptului refuză sa respecte drepturile lui Kareem şi să retragă acuzaţiile. De aceea, pe 6 noiembrie, data la care Kareem a fost arestat, se organizează mişcări de protest şi demonstraţii de solidaritate cu tanarul egiptean în toate marile oraşe ale lumii, inclusiv Bucureşti. Vino pe 6 noiembrie în faţa ambasadei Egiptului la Bucureşti la un protest pentru Kareem şi împotriva încălcării dreptului la liberă exprimare.
There is also a new blog for Kareem in Romanian!
The organizers are doing a great job and it’s great to see so many people around the world united and committed to Kareem’s cause.
New York has just been added as a confirmed location in the worldwide demonstrations for Kareem.
The rally will be taking place at the Egyptian Mission to the UN, at the following address:
304 East 44th St. (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
From Noon until 1:30PM!
We encourage everyone in or near New York to participate in this important rally!
For more information about the rally please contact the organizer Anna Kushner, a director at PEN, of which Kareem is an honorary member of through anna[at]pen.org (replace [at] with @) or simply use our contact form.
An article concerning November 6th’s worldwide demonstrations for Kareem has been published on Agoravox:
Il est dangereux d’être bloggeur en Egypte et de critiquer le gouvernement ou la religion. Un jeune étudiant en fait amèrement les frais et est emprisonné depuis deux ans. Un comité de soutien pour sa libération appelle à une manifestation dans différentes capitales et grandes villes dans le monde entier, le 6 novembre prochain.
Read the rest of the article in French here.
[If you are unaware about the worldwide Free Kareem rallies, you may read about it here and here.]
Paris, France: Confirmed
London, UK: Confirmed
Brussels, Belgium: Confirmed
Stockholm, Sweden: Confirmed
Berlin, Germany: Confirmed
Bucharest, Romania: Confirmed
Washington, DC, USA: Confirmed
New York, NY, USA: Confirmed
Rome, Italy: Confirmed
Berne, Switzerland: Confirmed
Rhode Island, USA: Confirmed
Prague, Czech Republic: Being considered
Moscow, Russia: Being considered
We need your help securing more locations! Please get in touch with us for more information.
On November 6th, demonstrators around the world will protest against the continued imprisonment of Egyptian blogger Abdelkareem Nabil Soliman, otherwise known as “Kareem Amer,” a 24-year-old student arrested two years ago for criticizing the Egyptian government on his personal website. Protests will take place in Washington DC, Moscow, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Bucharest, Stockholm, London, and a growing number of cities, in hopes of persuading Egyptian authorities to drop all charges against Mr. Soliman, who has reportedly been tortured in prison. November 6, 2008 marks the completion of Kareem’s second year in prison, and this is the fourth time that demonstrators around the world simultaneously protest in an effort to secure his immediate and unconditional release.
Based solely on his blogposts, Soliman is charged with the alleged crimes of “defaming Egypt’s President, incitement to hate Islam, and highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt.” But members of the Free Kareem Coalition argue that imprisoning Kareem has severely harmed Egypt’s international reputation, and has made millions of people around the world question the country’s supposed commitment to free speech and human rights.
Kareem, the first person prosecuted in Egypt for Internet-based journalism, has stated countless times throughout his writing that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. The Internet has made possible the dissemination of these ideals to a global audience. For that reason, Egyptian officials evidently feel threatened by Kareem and others who, like him, are not afraid to speak their minds.
Several Middle Eastern human rights organizations have expressed concern for his life. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, English PEN and Reporters Without Borders have all strongly condemned his arrest. The roster of government officials who have written the Egyptian government on behalf of justice for Kareem continues to grow.
Media may contact Esra’a Al Shafei, Director of the Free Kareem Coalition, by email at director@freekareem.org. More information can also be obtained at www.FreeKareem.org.
In less than a month, Kareem will have spent exactly 2 years in prison. During this time, he has been tortured, denied rights to visitors, had his books taken away from him, and is being generally harrassed by both fellow inmates and prison guards. He is losing his health, and apparently his patience.
Imprisoning him is truly a grave crime, one that the Egyptian government should never get away with easily. Your involvement in a Free Kareem rally will help us effectively convey this message to the ones responsible for unjustly putting Kareem behind bars.
If you are in any of these locations, please plan ahead so that you can attend! We really need you there. All rallies will be taking place either in front of Egyptian Embassies or Consulates. We will be publishing exact addresses and rally organizers’ information when the date nears, so please keep checking back for more information. In the meantime, please be aware of confirmed locations so far and ones that are still being considered.
Paris, France: Confirmed
London, UK: Confirmed
Brussels, Belgium: Confirmed
Stockholm, Sweden: Confirmed
Bucharest, Romania: Confirmed
Rome, Italy: Being considered
Prague, Czech Republic: Being considered
Washington, USA: Being considered
Berlin, Germany: Being considered
Moscow, Russia: Being considered
If your country/city is not yet listed here, PLEASE CONTACT US! We urgently need your assistance in organizing a local Free Kareem rally in front of your Egyptian Embassy or Consulate.
An Egyptian blogger noted yesterday in his blog post that a letter will be submitted to the People’s Assembly Representative, addressed to the president. One of their calls is to release Kareem and drop the charges against him. Hopefully this call for his release can finally be respected, after almost 2 years of Kareem’s wrongful imprisonment.
We will post more news as soon as we find more information regarding this and any possible outcome.
