Free Kareem! - UN “experts” condemn detention of Egyptian blogger

Despite our efforts to gain their attention and support for Kareem in the past 2 years, the UN has been largely unresponsive. Two years later UN “experts” condemn Kareem’s imprisonment, but where was the UN 2 years ago when we needed them, and why did the UN continue to support and promote Egypt’s place in the Human Rights Council despite knowledge of Kareem’s arrest and other bloggers/activists like him?

From Amnesty:

Experts of the Human Rights Council have concluded that the Egyptian authorities have detained blogger Karim Amer arbitrarily for his online criticisms and for exercising his right to freedom of expression. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) communicated its decision to Amnesty International.

[...]

Karim Amer was sentence in 2007 to four years in prison for writing on his blog criticizing Egypt’s al-Azhar religious authorities and President Mubarak. Charges against him include “spreading information disruptive of public order and damaging to the country’s reputation”, “incitement to hate Islam” and “defaming the President of the Republic”.

Read full release.

This is the video we created two years ago opposing Egypt’s inclusion in the Human Rights Council:

COMMENTS

Posted In: Freedom of speech, Kareem, United Nations

http://www.merls-blog.de/2009/03/28/free-speech-on-the-net/ Merls Blog

Free Speech on the Net…

Wer erinnert sich noch an Kevin Mitnick? Mitnick war ein Hacker der mehrfach in die gesicherten System des Pentagon und der NSA eindrang. Zum dank für seinen Besuch wurde er 1995 von der US Regierung 2 Jahre ohne Gerichtsverhandlung und 4 Jahre ohne B…
http://o-les-vivants.over-blog.com/ mycr

I find the last two paragraphs of that communication important :

41 : In the light of the forgoing the Working Group expresses the following opinion :

The deprivation of liberty of Mr. Abdul Kareem Nabil Suliman Amer is arbitrary, being in contravention of articles 9, 10 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 10, 14 and 19 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and falls within category II of the categories applicable to the consideration of the cases submitted to the working Group.

42 : Consequent upon this Opinion, the Working Group requests the Government to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation in order to bring it into conformity with the provisions and principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
http://emspeace.blogspot.com/ lirun

tell me this is not hypocracy.. i guarantee you now if he was not middle eastern this would be all over the media every day..