An updated timeline of Kareem’s case: anything from this campaign’s activities to media coverage to Kareem’s personal letter, you will find within this timeline!

26 October 2005 – Kareem arrested for the “inflammatory” post, entitled “The naked truth about Islam as I saw it in Maharram Beh.” He is released after 3 weeks.

November 6th, 2006 – Kareem Amer arrested by Egyptian authorities.

November 6th, 2006 – HAMSA launches petition to secure the release of Kareem. The petition is eventually signed by 3,497 individuals.

November 7th, 2006 – The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information publish the first regional press release on Kareem’s case and organize to get him lawyers.

November 7th, 2006 - Kareem gets featured for the first time on Reuters.

November 8, 2006 - One of the first articles published on Kareem’s most recent arrest in the Arab press by Al Quds Al Arabi.

November 9, 2006 - Global Voices Online covers Kareem’s case for the first time and gathers thoughts/opinions from the blogosphere.

November 10th, 2006 – Elaph, a leading Arab liberal Web site that has more than 300,000 readers per day, covers Kareem’s arrest in Arabic.

November 10th, 2006 – Kareem’s case gets picked up by Reporters Without Borders

November 11th, 2006 – Egyptian and Bahraini Human Rights Organizations Condemn the Ongoing Detention of Kareem

November 12th, 2006 – Kareem’s first letter from prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

November 13th, 2006 – Students for Global Democracy issue a statement of support for Kareem.

November 14th, 2006 – Amnesty International reports on Kareem’s case.

November 14th, 2006 – Kareem’s second letter from prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

November 14th, 2006 – The Guardian publishes extensive coverage of Kareem’s case.

November 20th, 2006 – Kareem’s case gets an exclusive feature on the BBC.

November 22nd, 2006 – Students of Columbia University publish an opinion piece on Kareem on the Columbia Spectator.

November 27, 2006 – Kareem’s 3rd letter from prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

November 28, 2006 – IRIN News publishes press release on Kareem.

December 7th, 2006 – Three lawyers represented Kareem before the prosecution; Kareem’s detention was renewed for 15 days and access to his lawyers was denied.

December 8th, 2006 – HRINFO publishes second press release on Kareem, stating that charges against him are false.

December 11th, 2006 - Dailia Ziada and Jesse Sage publish an opinion piece about on TCS Daily.

December 20th, 2006 – After referring his case to the State Security Prosecution, Kareem Amer is sentenced to an additional 45 days in custody. HRINFO condemns the act in its 3rd press release for Kareem.

December 30th, 2006 – The first protest for Kareem takes place in Manama, Bahrain by Kareem’s friends.

January 10th, 2007 – Rally for Kareem in Bahrain inspires another rally in DC.

January 11th, 2007 - The DC Coalition for Blog Freedom organize rally for Kareem in front of the Egyptian Embassy.

January 12th, 2007 – Le Monde picks up on Kareem’s case and publishes extensive article.

January 16th, 2007 - Kareem receives notification that his next investigation will take place on the 31st of January.

January 17th, 2007 – Protesters outside the Egyptian embassy in Washington, DC get interviewed by international media and their efforts were featured on the Daily Star Egypt.

January 18th, 2007 – Kareem’s trial gets further postponed, upon the demand of the defense lawyers for reviewing his files. He is prevented from seeing his family and is allowed one meal per two days.

January 18th, 2007 - News breaks out that Kareem may face up to 9 years in prison.

January 19th, 2007 - Kareem’s trial gets featured on the Guardian.

January 19th, 2007 - Bloggers and protesters launch video for Kareem.

January 19th, 2007 – Kareem gets more coverage from international news services, including extensive mentions on the Associated Press, CNews, and the New York Times.

January 24th, 2007 – Director of the Free Kareem Coalition gets opinion piece published on Pajamas Media.

January 24th, 2007 – Bloggers and supporters use MySpace to spread awareness on Kareem’s case.

January 24th, 2007 - Congressmen Trent Franks and Barney Frank, one a very conservative Republican and the other a very liberal Democrat, have co-signed a letter to Nabil Fahmy, Egypt’s Ambassador to the US, demanding Kareem’s release.

January 24th, 2007 – Interfaith Blogger Network calls for the release of Kareem in a press release.

January 25th, 2007 – US Congressmen’s pressure on Egyptian authorities to release Kareem gets publicized in the Daily Star Egypt.

January 25th, 2007 – Kareem’s trial gets local and international attention, with the AP publishing exclusive photos of Kareem being sent back to prison. The Egyptian court refused to release Kareem on bail.

January 27th, 2007 – Kareem gets case pushed by Human Rights Watch.

January 28th, 2007 – A second independent petition for Kareem gets published and eventually receives over 6,500 signatures.

January 31, 2007 – An informal group of New York City residents joined together in solidarity for a peaceful protest for Kareem. The protest was held in front of the Egyptian Consulate in New York. Press release was launched regarding the rally by the Free Kareem Coalition entitled “Enough Talk, it is Time to Walk.” Rally gets local and international attention.

February 1st, 2007 – Kareem’s case is featured in the Christian Science Monitor, condemning the injustice of having Kareem in jail for months while awaiting trial for bizarre charges, including insulting the president of Egypt on a blog.

February 1st, 2007 – Kareem gets featured in the Swedish news.

February 1st, 2007 – Pictures of the New York rally gets featured on FreeKareem.org, with a personal letter from the organizer.

February 1st, 2007 – Kareem’s trial was adjourned yet again to the 22nd of February. Extremist lawyer who filed a claim against Kareem gets support from other Islamic lawyers.

February 1st, 2007 – Kareem gets featured in RSF’s Egypt annual report.

February 3rd, 2007 – The London Coordinator of the Free Kareem Coalition starts organizing a rally in London.

February 6th, 2007 – Supporters use YouTube to spread the word on Kareem.

February 8th, 2007 – First worldwide demonstration for Kareem gets organized by the Free Kareem coalition.

February 10th, 2007 – Three Italian MPs have written letters to the Egyptian Ambassador demanding the release of Kareem.

February 11th, 2007 – Rallies for the worldwide demonstration have been confirmed in NYC, Washington, Chicago, London, Ottawa, Rome, and Bucharest.

February 12th, 2007 – Free Kareem Coalition publishes 2nd press release: Worldwide Demonstration in Support of Jailed Egyptian Blogger.

February 13th, 2007 – Kareem gets massive support in Italy after having been featured on the La Repubblica Newspaper.

February 16th, 2007 – RenŽ Wadlow, Main Representative, and David G. Littman, Representative, of the Association for World Education to the United Nations Office in Geneva, have sent a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, calling her to speak out for Kareem’s freedom.

February 17th, 2007 – David Smith from The Observer, a UK Sunday newspaper, writes about Kareem Amer’s case.

February 18th, 2007 – Kareem’s family disowns him; father wants him killed if he does not “repent.” The issue gets reported by Al Masree Al Yawm (The Egyptian Today) with an English translation by FreeKareem.org found here.

February 19th, 2007 – LibertŽ ChŽrie, a libertarian federation of associations based in France, reported the on the success of their Paris rally on Free Kareem Day with pictures and a statement published on FreeKareem.org

February 19th, 2007 - Protest in support for Kareem to be held in Stockholm.

February 19th, 2007 – The London coordinator for the Free Kareem Coalition reports on the success of Free Kareem Day on FreeKareem.org; similar reports are published in New York, DC (here and here), Rome, and Sweden.

February 20th, 2007 – Kareem’s father talks to Al-Masree Al-Yawm (‘The Egyptian Today’) on Kareem’s past, and accuses a feminist writer and a leader of the expatriate Copts of leading his son to his “heresy.” FreeKareem.org has a translation of the article.

February 21, 2007 – The Washington Post, a leading daily American newspaper and the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C., has published an article on Kareem Amer’s unjust imprisonment: The ‘Crime’ Of Blogging In Egypt.

February 21st, 2007 – As his final trial approaches, Kareem has reportedly received death threats from strangers as well as member of his own family.

February 22nd, 2007 – Kareem is officially sentenced to four years in prison; three years for contempting religion, and one year for defaming the president of Egypt. Lawyers immediately attempt an appeal, hoping that it will shorten the sentence, but are unsuccessful.

February 22nd, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition immediately publish a press release concerning Kareem’s sentence.

February 22nd, 2007 – Seconds after he was loaded into the truck and the door closed, an Associated Press reporter heard the sound of a slap from inside the vehicle and a shriek of pain from Nabil.

February 22nd, 2007 – Kareem gets selected as a nominee for one of the 7th Annual Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards, which are intended to honor the world’s champions of freedom of expression.

February 22nd, 2007 – Kareem gets worldwide attention has the world becomes aware of his sentence. FreeKareem.og features them all here.

February 24th, 2007 – Cairo-based blogger Yasmin Amin provides an excellent analysis of Kareem Amer’s entire blog, concluding that his blog posts were anything but harmful, in her post entitled “The Crime of obeying God.”

February 24th, 2007 – Index on Censorship condemn Kareem’s sentence.

February 24th, 2007 – The CATO Institute publish first podcast on Kareem’s case.

February 26th, 2007 – Kareem’s appeal court hearing set for March 12.

February 27th, 2007 – Bridget Johnson, a nation/world news columnist at the Daily News of Los Angeles, calls on support for Kareem, stating: Unless the global community takes a stand, Kareem’s imprisonment will not be the last. She also includes suggestions on helping Kareem and provides a sample letter of her letter to Egyptian ambassador, encouraging others to do the same. Bridget gets included in the Free Kareem Coalition as a media consultant.

February 27th, 2007 – Kareem’s case gets featured on BlowOut, radio talk show, with an interview with FreeKareem.org members.

February 28th, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition begins providing constant translations of Kareem’s essays, with the first one being published here.

February 28, 2007 – Kareem’s case gets an exclusive feature for the 2nd time on the Washington Post.

February 28, 2007 – British television station Channel 4 reports on Kareem Amer’s imprisonment, and discusses the struggle between Arab bloggers and their leaders in the Middle East.

February 28, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition releases videos and pictures of Kareem leaving court and getting hit after his sentence. An extensive report was published here.

March 2, 2007 – The French newspaper Le Monde has published an editorial on Kareem Amer in its latest weekend supplement. A full-scale scan can be found here.

March 2, 2007 – Kareem shortlisted for the prestigious Index on Censorship/Hugo Young Award for Journalism 2007

March 3, 2007 – Syrian bloggers express solidarity with Kareem, stating: We, as a community of Syrian bloggers, condemn the arrest and sentencing of Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman for the peaceful expression of his dissenting views.

March 3, 2007 - Along with the Syrian blogosphere, bloggers in the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania) stand against the injustice Kareem is facing: Maghreb bloggers condemn the imprisonment of an Egyptian blogger.

March 3, 2007 – The Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest national daily newspaper, weighs in: Young blogger jailed in Egypt; chill envelops online dissent.

March 3, 2007 – The editor-in-chief of Alt.Muslim, an online Muslim news community, discussed the actions governments in the Middle East are taking against bloggers, the complex position the United States would be in if they were to fully support these bloggers, and what Muslim bloggers need to do to support each other.

March 3, 2007 – Muslim blogger Yasmin Amin writes a brilliant sequel to her first contribution to the Free Kareem campaign.

March 3, 2007 – In support of Kareem, Modern Discussion has set up an online petition campaign titled, “There Is No Sanctity but the Human Being and His Freedom: A Solidarity Campaign for Liberal Writer Abdul Kareem Suleiman.”

March 4, 2007 – Award-winning New York-based journalist and commentator Mona ElTahawy shreds the legitimacy of Kareem’s imprisonment, and gives a stern reminder to President Mubarak.

March 4, 2007 – Asharq Alawsat, a major pan-Arabic daily newspaper printed on four continents, covers Kareem’s case.

March 4, 2007 – Al Jazeera’s “Listening Post” looks at the case of Kareem.

March 5, 2007 - The presse attachŽ of the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to The Washington Post editor. Mr. Haggag defended Kareem’s imprisonment, claimed that Kareem was sentenced under an impartial judicial process, and went on to insist that that criticism of the government by the media has been ‘liberalized.’

March 6, 2007 – Metro Holland publishes an article on the case of Kareem and on the fact that now, for Egyptians and many others throughout the Arab world, the internet is not the free marketplace of ideas as it once was. Metro Holland has a daily production of over 500,000 copies, reaching around one million readers. A scan was provided by FreeKareem.org here.

March 6, 2007 – Reuters places Kareem’s situation in the larger context of the crackdown on bloggers in Egypt.

March 6, 2007 – Die Zeit, the most widely read German weekly newspaper, publishes a series of articles on Kareem’s case and our campaign on its Web site.

March 7, 2007 – U.S State Department expresses concern over Kareem’s sentencing.

March 7, 2007 – FreeKareem.org provides an English translation of the final entry Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman (alias: Kareem Amer) published on his blog on October 28, 2006, prior to his arrest.

March 8, 2007 – The Foreign Minister of Egypt told the world that he rejects criticism of Kareem’s imprisonment. Mr. Abul-Gheit starts wondering why the outside world seems to be so concerned about the judicial branch of sovereign Egypt. [Full coverage.]

March 9, 2007 – Elaph, a leading Arab liberal Web site that has more than 300,000 readers per day, states that eliminating opinions is futile unless faced by disagreeing opinions. The author extensively quote and analyzed Kareem’s final blog post prior to his arrest. [Full coverage.]

March 9, 2007 – Egypt’s Foreign Minister is “angry” that the U.S State Department’s 2006 human rights report mentions the “poor” respect the Egyptian government has for human rights. [Full coverage.]

March 9, 2007 – Muslim Brotherhood Journalist, Abdul-Mon’em Mahmoud, states on his blog: I disagree with Kareem, but punishing him is unjust. [Full coverage.]

March 10, 2007 – Congressman Trent Franks eloquently responds to the Egyptian Embassy’s letter to the Washington Post: Free This Egyptian Blogger. [Full coverage.]

March 10th, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition responds to the Egyptian Embassy in the Washington Post. A scanned image of the letter was published on FreeKareem.org

March 27, 2007 – FreeKareem.org starts a YouTube collection for Kareem.

April 3, 2007 - Kareem’s case gets highlighted at the UN Human Rights Council

April 4, 2007 – A controversial article by Kareem written on November 11, 2004 gets translated into English and publicized by the Free Kareem Coalition.

April 13, 2007 - Kareem’s video interview with Copts United gets translated into English for the first time by the Free Kareem Coalition.

April 15, 2007 – Reporters Without Borders call on French President Jacques Chirac to lobby President Mubarak to expand press freedom and release Kareem from prison.

April 15, 2007 – Prosecutors obstruct appeal of Kareem’s conviction.

April 18, 2007 – Kareem’s case gets featured on The Economist.

April 22, 2007 – Free Kareem finalizes its organization for a worldwide rally. Rallies were officially confirmed in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United Sates of America (New York and Washington DC.) The rally is set for the 27th of April.

April 26, 2007 – Worldwide rallies receive local media attention in Al Masree Al Yawm (The Egyptian Today.) [Full coverage.]

April 27, 2007 – The second set of worldwide rallies are held for Kareem in 14 capital cities.

May 3, 2007 – Bridget Johnson, FreeKareem.org’s media consultant, serves as a moderator on World Press Freedom Day (May 3) on a panel concerning Internet journalism, where she also discussed Kareem’s case.

May 7, 2007 – Gloria Steinem, one of America’s most influential journalists and feminists, writes to Hosni Mubarak; requests Kareem’s release. Signed copy of the letter may be found here.

May 12, 2007 - Kareem’s pro bono lawyers submit a cassation file for him: Revocation of Karim Amer’s verdict – Last chance for justice.

May 14, 2007 – The United Nations refused to approve the distribution of a flier where Kareem’s case is highlighted in order to avoid offending the Egyptian government.

May 20, 2007 – FreeKareem.org launches eCard system.

May 20, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition sends a personal letter to the UN, strongly objecting the election of Egypt to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council on May 17, with 168 votes out of the 192-member General Assembly. A coalition of human-rights groups opposed the election of Egypt, as well as Angola and Qatar (who won appointments) and Belarus (which lost).

May 22, 2007 – FreeKareem.org launches video on why Egypt should not be a member of the UN Human Rights Council. Video may be watched on YouTube here.

May 24, 2007 – Elaph, a leading Arab liberal news site, publishes an open letter to President Mubarak: A Call for President Mubarak to Free Abdul Kareem.

June 5, 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). Among the things discussed in the briefing was Kareem.

June 6, 2007 - FreeKareem.org gets hacked, the front page being replaced with a Quranic verse for 21 hours until the website was up and running again after a quick backup was performed by the site’s administrator.

June 7, 2007 – Amnesty expresses concern for Kareem in a report about global internet censorship. The report gets featured in the UK’s Telegraph.

June 14, 2007 - The Free Kareem Coalition organize a worldwide event for Kareem’s 23rd birthday. Supporters were asked to mail clothes, writing materials, letters, blankets, postcards, and books to Kareem’s prison address.

June 17, 2007 – FreeKareem.org features a video for Kareem’s birthday.

June 17, 2007 – Kareem’s friend and fellow blogger, Shahinaz, visits Kareem in prison to wish him a happy birthday. She notes in a blog entry that Kareem is being mistreated by prison guards.

June 25, 2007 – FreeKareem.org sponsors a Chinese campaign to secure the release of 4 young cyber dissidents in China. It is the first documented Arab and Chinese collaboration online.

July 3, 2007 – FreeKareem.org publishes Kareem’s 4th letter from prison.

July 5, 2007 - FreeKareem.org announces letter campaign for Kareem, encouraging people to send him letters of friendship and support.

July 13, 2007 - Kareem gets featured in the Lebanon-based regional Daily Star’s commentary.

July 15, 2007 – Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, an Egyptian-Canadian writer/film producer best known for his book, Baghdad Bound: An Interpreter’s Chronicles of the Iraq War, publishes an extensive 15-page report on Kareem.

July 18, 2007 – Supporters in Romania write letters to the Egyptian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, demanding Kareem’s immediate and unconditional release.

July 21, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition starts planning for Kareem’s next worldwide rally, to take place on the 9th of November, in order to mark the anniversary of his arrest (November 6th.)

July 31, 2007 - Reporters Without Borders wrote to French President Nicolas Sarkozy asking him to intercede on behalf of Kareem when he receives a visit from Hosni Mubarak on the 2nd of August.

August 5, 2007 – Congressman Trent Franks calls on President Mubarak to address growing deterioration of religious freedom, citing Kareem as a prime example: “Kareem’s case is one example of the deterioration in Egypt’s stated respect for human rights and religious freedom over the past year.”

August 7, 2007 – Al Jazeera English publish a follow up on Kareem’s case in the Listening Post.

August 10, 2007 – High school students in New Zealand support Kareem and free speech: “The school’s challenge aims to free Chinese journalist Shi Tao and Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer who are in jail for simple internet activities.” [Full coverage.]

August 18, 2007 – Kareem’s 5th letter from prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

August 26, 2007 – FreeKareem.org creates a Twitter account for people to keep up with the campaign’s activities.

September 1, 2007 – FreeKareem.org sponsors the Committee to Protect Bloggers. [Full coverage.]

September 3rd, 2007 – Suzan Mubarak explores peace with Arab youth in Egypt. The Free Kareem Coalition reacts to her opening statement: “Listening is a great start, but acting upon what you hear is more important,” stating that accepting this advice leads young people like Kareem to prison when practiced in Egypt.

September 9, 2007 – Kareem’s 6th letter gets published on FreeKareem.org

September 15, 2007 – FreeKareem.org and its voluntary staff members dismiss claims that the campaign receives funding or sponsorship from any foreign organizations. It is an independent project led independently by his personal friends.

September 16, 2007 – Shahinaz, mutual friend and blogger, visits Kareem in prison, stating that the guards continue to shout and use wooden sticks with prisoners “as if they are animals.” Kareem begins accepting money from the Free Kareem campaign.

October 3, 2007 - The Committee to Protect Bloggers help organize a Twitter day for Kareem, to take place on the 6th of November.

October 12, 2007 - The Free Kareem Coalition continues organizing a worldwide rally for Kareem, publishing sample fliers for people to use.

October 16, 2007 - Kareem’s friend Shahinaz informs FreeKareem.org that he is gladly receiving many international letters of support, making the FreeKareem.org’s letter campaign a success.

October 16, 2007 – The Daily Star Egypt publishes a story on FreeKareem.org’s worldwide protests which would mark the anniversary of Kareem’s imprisonment.

October 17, 2007 – Kareem gets featured in Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, an annual documentation by Reporters Without Borders.

October 23, 2007 - The Free Kareem Coalition confirms rallies in at least 15 cities worldwide, including Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro.

October 25, 2007 – Amnesty International New Zealand takes action for Kareem, e-mailing a petition with over 800 signatures to the Interior Minister as well as the diplomatic representative of Egypt accredited to New Zealand.

November 6, 2007 - Twitter day for Kareem, co-organized with the Committee to Protect Bloggers, takes place.

November 6, 2007 – Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard sends a message of support to Kareem to mark the first anniversary of his arrest.

November 6, 2007 – Free Kareem’s worldwide rally details and information finalized and published on FreeKareem.org

November 9, 2007 – Free Kareem worldwide rallies are held in over 15 capital cities around the world.

November 12, 2007 – Kareem’s lawyers receive a letter of complaint from Kareem, which stated that he was being physically tortured in prison. HRINFO publishes an immediate press release demanding that the Egyptian Prosecutor-General investigates the case.

November 13, 2007 – Kareem’s torture allegations get picked up by the international media including the Associated Post, The Jerusalem Post, IFEX, Reuters, and the Daily Star Egypt.

November 15, 2007 - International PEN Writers in Prison Day. PEN publicizes its profile of Kareem.

November 16, 2007 – FreeKareem.org celebrates what the UN considers the “International Day of Tolerance” by calling on Egypt to tolerate its critics by releasing innocent individuals like Kareem and his ilk.

November 26, 2007 – Menassat, a website focusing on media events in the MENA region, features Kareem’s case in a video.

December 1st, 2007 – FreeKareem.org publishes receipt that shows that the money raised through the website is gradually being sent to Kareem in prison.

December 4, 2007 - Shahinaz, Kareem’s personal friend and fellow blogger, gets featured in a podcast on Global Voices Online and requests for people to send letters of support to Kareem, as well as join the campaign to help free him. [Full coverage.]

December 6, 2007 - Reporters Without Borders awards Kareem in the cyber-dissident category. [Full coverage.]

December 8, 2007 – Journalist Magdy Samaan tells Kareem’s story in the Daily Star Egypt.

December 25, 2007 – Olof Jönsson, a Swedish journalist, writes about Kareem at Amnesty Press.

December 28, 2007 - Kareem confirms that he received some of the donation money raised by the Free Kareem campaign.

January 6, 2008 - Kareem gets featured in the Arab Times Online.

January 11, 2008 – Bush and Sarkozy urged by Reporters Without Borders to raise freedom of expression during Middle East tours.

January 19, 2008 - A volunteer launches a French version of the Free Kareem campaign.

January 29, 2008 – Kareem’s case gets featured on a Danish radio show.

January 29, 2008 - FreeKareem.org gets banned for several days in Yemen, after expressing solidarity with Yemeni journalists and bloggers.

February 13, 2008 – Reporters Without Borders publishes an action alert concerning the blocking of Yemeni websites in Yemen, as well as the FreeKareem.org site.

February 15, 2008 – The Free Kareem Coalition organizes a worldwide op-ed day for Kareem, as well as rallies in several capital cities, to mark the date when Kareem was officially sentenced by the Egyptian courts to 4 years in prison.

February 22, 2008 – FreeKareem.org sponsors a large rally in New York.

February 23, 2008 – Kareem’s case gets featured in BBC’s “The World’s Podcast.”

February 25, 2008 – Students and friends from the London School of publish words of support to Kareem on their widely circulated student paper.

February 27, 2008 – Amnesty International publishes a press release demanding Kareem’s unconditional release after having spent over one year in prison for expressing his views online.

March 3, 2008 - Swedish journalist Alexandra Sandles publishes article on Kareem in Menassat, documenting FreeKareem.org’s ongoing efforts in keeping Kareem in people’s thoughts. [Full coverage.]

March 5, 2008 – Shahinaz, an Egyptian blogger, Rawda, Kareem’s lawyer, and Doa’a Sultan, a journalist, drove from Cairo to Borg el Arab prison in order to visit Kareem. [Full coverage.]

March 6, 2008 – HRINFO publish press release proving Kareem’s innocence.

March 19, 2008 - The Flood the Jail with Mail campaign is announced by FreeKareem.org and the Committee to Protect Bloggers. [Full coverage.] Campaign gets attention from worldwide blogs, as well as BBC’s “The World’s” technology podcast.

May 17, 2008 – As President Bush prepares to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this weekend, U.S. Reps. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) sent a letter with 13 of their colleagues to President Bush urging him to call for the release of Kareem. [Read letter.]

June 1st, 2008 – 7th letter from Kareem in prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

June 24, 2008 – FreeKareem.org organizes event for Kareem for his 600th day spent in prison. Supporters and friends requested to dedicate a day on their sites and blogs in order to write about Kareem and condemn his imprisonment, further spreading awareness about Egypt’s grave mistake of imprisoning him.

July 18, 2008 – Jimmy Wales, ounder of Wikipedia states that Kareem has been a “cause around the world.” Read more.

July 26, 2008 – Kareem featured in Townhall article. Read it here.

August 15th, 2008 – News revealed that Kareem is banned from seeing most of his visitors.

August 24, 2008 – Alaa Al Aswany, renowned Egyptian author cites Kareem as an example of Egypt’s lack of free speech. Read more.

August 31st, 2008 – Kareem’s lawyers reveal that Kareem is being harrassed in prison. Read more.

September 12, 2008 – Al Jazeera’s Listening Post releases special report on Kareem.

September 13, 2008 – English PEN, an organization in support of free speech with a record of working on behalf of persecuted writers around the world, releases letter expressing serious concern for Kareem.

September 26, 2008 – Human Rights First has launched a letter campaign for you to request the release of 3 detained bloggers/activists, including Kareem.

September 26th, 2008 – Kareem’s letter from prison is sent to his friend Shahinaz, and summarized here.

October 20th, 2008 – Free Kareem Campaign releases press release: Worldwide demonstrations in support of jailed Egyptian blogger.

November 6 & 7, 2008 – Free Kareem rallies take place in Berlin, Bern, Stockholm, Washington, London, San Francisco, Brussels, Rome, Bucharest, Rhode Island, and Paris.

November 9, 2008 – Kareem featured on The National Geographic.

November 18, 2008 – Free Kareem Podcast with Bureaucrash, a non-profit organization that facilitates freedom-oriented activism. Listen to it here.

December 10, 2008 – More coverage of Kareem on Al Jazeera.

December 24, 2008 – Daily News Egypt highlights Kareem’s case as a prominent example of Egypt’s increasing intolerance for freedom of speech.

January 1, 2009 – Free Kareem WordPress Plugin is launched.

January 31, 2009 - Kareem’s latest letter from prison.

February 16, 2009 – Another letter from Kareem.

May 24th, 2009 – More visitors to Kareem are denied entry and barred from visiting him.

May 27th, 2009 – U.S Representatives send letter to President Obama requesting that he press Mubarak to free Kareem.

July 28th, 2009 – Kareem mentioned in Le Petit Journal.

August 18th, 2009 – Kareem’s final appeal postponed until September 15.

September 15th, 2009 – Kareem’s final appeal postponed until the 20th of October.

September 29, 2009 – Swedish Parliament Members Call for Kareem’s Release in a Letter to Mubarak.

October 20th, 2009 – Kareem’s final appeal postponed until the 22nd of December.

November 6th, 2009 – Free Kareem Rally in Washington, DC. Watch video. Rally in Bern took place on the same day and photos may be found here.

December 21st, 2009 – Kareem’s latest letter from prison.

December 22nd, 2009 – Kareem’s final appeal rejected.

December 27th, 2009 – Meklit Hadero, an Ethiopian-born musician and 2009 TEDGlobal Fellow, sings a very moving song in support of Kareem. Listen to it here.

26 October 2005 – Kareem arrested for the “inflammatory” post, entitled “The naked truth about Islam as I saw it in Maharram Beh.” He is released after 3 weeks.

November 6th, 2006 – Kareem Amer arrested by Egyptian authorities.

November 6th, 2006 – HAMSA launches petition to secure the release of Kareem. The petition is eventually signed by 3,497 individuals.

November 7th, 2006 – The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information publish the first regional press release on Kareem’s case and organize to get him lawyers.

November 7th, 2006 - Kareem gets featured for the first time on Reuters.

November 8, 2006 - One of the first articles published on Kareem’s most recent arrest in the Arab press by Al Quds Al Arabi.

November 9, 2006 - Global Voices Online covers Kareem’s case for the first time and gathers thoughts/opinions from the blogosphere.

November 10th, 2006 – Elaph, a leading Arab liberal Web site that has more than 300,000 readers per day, covers Kareem’s arrest in Arabic.

November 10th, 2006 – Kareem’s case gets picked up by Reporters Without Borders

November 11th, 2006 – Egyptian and Bahraini Human Rights Organizations Condemn the Ongoing Detention of Kareem

November 12th, 2006 – Kareem’s first letter from prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

November 13th, 2006 – Students for Global Democracy issue a statement of support for Kareem.

November 14th, 2006 – Amnesty International reports on Kareem’s case.

November 14th, 2006 – Kareem’s second letter from prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

November 14th, 2006 – The Guardian publishes extensive coverage of Kareem’s case.

November 20th, 2006 – Kareem’s case gets an exclusive feature on the BBC.

November 22nd, 2006 – Students of Columbia University publish an opinion piece on Kareem on the Columbia Spectator.

November 27, 2006 – Kareem’s 3rd letter from prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

November 28, 2006 – IRIN News publishes press release on Kareem.

December 7th, 2006 – Three lawyers represented Kareem before the prosecution; Kareem’s detention was renewed for 15 days and access to his lawyers was denied.

December 8th, 2006 – HRINFO publishes second press release on Kareem, stating that charges against him are false.

December 11th, 2006 - Dailia Ziada and Jesse Sage publish an opinion piece about on TCS Daily.

December 20th, 2006 – After referring his case to the State Security Prosecution, Kareem Amer is sentenced to an additional 45 days in custody. HRINFO condemns the act in its 3rd press release for Kareem.

December 30th, 2006 – The first protest for Kareem takes place in Manama, Bahrain by Kareem’s friends.

January 10th, 2007 – Rally for Kareem in Bahrain inspires another rally in DC.

January 11th, 2007 - The DC Coalition for Blog Freedom organize rally for Kareem in front of the Egyptian Embassy.

January 12th, 2007 – Le Monde picks up on Kareem’s case and publishes extensive article.

January 16th, 2007 - Kareem receives notification that his next investigation will take place on the 31st of January.

January 17th, 2007 – Protesters outside the Egyptian embassy in Washington, DC get interviewed by international media and their efforts were featured on the Daily Star Egypt.

January 18th, 2007 – Kareem’s trial gets further postponed, upon the demand of the defense lawyers for reviewing his files. He is prevented from seeing his family and is allowed one meal per two days.

January 18th, 2007 - News breaks out that Kareem may face up to 9 years in prison.

January 19th, 2007 - Kareem’s trial gets featured on the Guardian.

January 19th, 2007 - Bloggers and protesters launch video for Kareem.

January 19th, 2007 – Kareem gets more coverage from international news services, including extensive mentions on the Associated Press, CNews, and the New York Times.

January 24th, 2007 – Director of the Free Kareem Coalition gets opinion piece published on Pajamas Media.

January 24th, 2007 – Bloggers and supporters use MySpace to spread awareness on Kareem’s case.

January 24th, 2007 - Congressmen Trent Franks and Barney Frank, one a very conservative Republican and the other a very liberal Democrat, have co-signed a letter to Nabil Fahmy, Egypt’s Ambassador to the US, demanding Kareem’s release.

January 24th, 2007 – Interfaith Blogger Network calls for the release of Kareem in a press release.

January 25th, 2007 – US Congressmen’s pressure on Egyptian authorities to release Kareem gets publicized in the Daily Star Egypt.

January 25th, 2007 – Kareem’s trial gets local and international attention, with the AP publishing exclusive photos of Kareem being sent back to prison. The Egyptian court refused to release Kareem on bail.

January 27th, 2007 – Kareem gets case pushed by Human Rights Watch.

January 28th, 2007 – A second independent petition for Kareem gets published and eventually receives over 6,500 signatures.

January 31, 2007 – An informal group of New York City residents joined together in solidarity for a peaceful protest for Kareem. The protest was held in front of the Egyptian Consulate in New York. Press release was launched regarding the rally by the Free Kareem Coalition entitled “Enough Talk, it is Time to Walk.” Rally gets local and international attention.

February 1st, 2007 – Kareem’s case is featured in the Christian Science Monitor, condemning the injustice of having Kareem in jail for months while awaiting trial for bizarre charges, including insulting the president of Egypt on a blog.

February 1st, 2007 – Kareem gets featured in the Swedish news.

February 1st, 2007 – Pictures of the New York rally gets featured on FreeKareem.org, with a personal letter from the organizer.

February 1st, 2007 – Kareem’s trial was adjourned yet again to the 22nd of February. Extremist lawyer who filed a claim against Kareem gets support from other Islamic lawyers.

February 1st, 2007 – Kareem gets featured in RSF’s Egypt annual report.

February 3rd, 2007 – The London Coordinator of the Free Kareem Coalition starts organizing a rally in London.

February 6th, 2007 – Supporters use YouTube to spread the word on Kareem.

February 8th, 2007 – First worldwide demonstration for Kareem gets organized by the Free Kareem coalition.

February 10th, 2007 – Three Italian MPs have written letters to the Egyptian Ambassador demanding the release of Kareem.

February 11th, 2007 – Rallies for the worldwide demonstration have been confirmed in NYC, Washington, Chicago, London, Ottawa, Rome, and Bucharest.

February 12th, 2007 – Free Kareem Coalition publishes 2nd press release: Worldwide Demonstration in Support of Jailed Egyptian Blogger.

February 13th, 2007 – Kareem gets massive support in Italy after having been featured on the La Repubblica Newspaper.

February 16th, 2007 – RenŽ Wadlow, Main Representative, and David G. Littman, Representative, of the Association for World Education to the United Nations Office in Geneva, have sent a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, calling her to speak out for Kareem’s freedom.

February 17th, 2007 – David Smith from The Observer, a UK Sunday newspaper, writes about Kareem Amer’s case.

February 18th, 2007 – Kareem’s family disowns him; father wants him killed if he does not “repent.” The issue gets reported by Al Masree Al Yawm (The Egyptian Today) with an English translation by FreeKareem.org found here.

February 19th, 2007 – LibertŽ ChŽrie, a libertarian federation of associations based in France, reported the on the success of their Paris rally on Free Kareem Day with pictures and a statement published on FreeKareem.org

February 19th, 2007 - Protest in support for Kareem to be held in Stockholm.

February 19th, 2007 – The London coordinator for the Free Kareem Coalition reports on the success of Free Kareem Day on FreeKareem.org; similar reports are published in New York, DC (here and here), Rome, and Sweden.

February 20th, 2007 – Kareem’s father talks to Al-Masree Al-Yawm (‘The Egyptian Today’) on Kareem’s past, and accuses a feminist writer and a leader of the expatriate Copts of leading his son to his “heresy.” FreeKareem.org has a translation of the article.

February 21, 2007 – The Washington Post, a leading daily American newspaper and the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C., has published an article on Kareem Amer’s unjust imprisonment: The ‘Crime’ Of Blogging In Egypt.

February 21st, 2007 – As his final trial approaches, Kareem has reportedly received death threats from strangers as well as member of his own family.

February 22nd, 2007 – Kareem is officially sentenced to four years in prison; three years for contempting religion, and one year for defaming the president of Egypt. Lawyers immediately attempt an appeal, hoping that it will shorten the sentence, but are unsuccessful.

February 22nd, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition immediately publish a press release concerning Kareem’s sentence.

February 22nd, 2007 – Seconds after he was loaded into the truck and the door closed, an Associated Press reporter heard the sound of a slap from inside the vehicle and a shriek of pain from Nabil.

February 22nd, 2007 – Kareem gets selected as a nominee for one of the 7th Annual Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards, which are intended to honor the world’s champions of freedom of expression.

February 22nd, 2007 – Kareem gets worldwide attention has the world becomes aware of his sentence. FreeKareem.og features them all here.

February 24th, 2007 – Cairo-based blogger Yasmin Amin provides an excellent analysis of Kareem Amer’s entire blog, concluding that his blog posts were anything but harmful, in her post entitled “The Crime of obeying God.”

February 24th, 2007 – Index on Censorship condemn Kareem’s sentence.

February 24th, 2007 – The CATO Institute publish first podcast on Kareem’s case.

February 26th, 2007 – Kareem’s appeal court hearing set for March 12.

February 27th, 2007 – Bridget Johnson, a nation/world news columnist at the Daily News of Los Angeles, calls on support for Kareem, stating: Unless the global community takes a stand, Kareem’s imprisonment will not be the last. She also includes suggestions on helping Kareem and provides a sample letter of her letter to Egyptian ambassador, encouraging others to do the same. Bridget gets included in the Free Kareem Coalition as a media consultant.

February 27th, 2007 – Kareem’s case gets featured on BlowOut, radio talk show, with an interview with FreeKareem.org members.

February 28th, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition begins providing constant translations of Kareem’s essays, with the first one being published here.

February 28, 2007 – Kareem’s case gets an exclusive feature for the 2nd time on the Washington Post.

February 28, 2007 – British television station Channel 4 reports on Kareem Amer’s imprisonment, and discusses the struggle between Arab bloggers and their leaders in the Middle East.

February 28, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition releases videos and pictures of Kareem leaving court and getting hit after his sentence. An extensive report was published here.

March 2, 2007 – The French newspaper Le Monde has published an editorial on Kareem Amer in its latest weekend supplement. A full-scale scan can be found here.

March 2, 2007 – Kareem shortlisted for the prestigious Index on Censorship/Hugo Young Award for Journalism 2007

March 3, 2007 – Syrian bloggers express solidarity with Kareem, stating: We, as a community of Syrian bloggers, condemn the arrest and sentencing of Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman for the peaceful expression of his dissenting views.

March 3, 2007 - Along with the Syrian blogosphere, bloggers in the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania) stand against the injustice Kareem is facing: Maghreb bloggers condemn the imprisonment of an Egyptian blogger.

March 3, 2007 – The Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest national daily newspaper, weighs in: Young blogger jailed in Egypt; chill envelops online dissent.

March 3, 2007 – The editor-in-chief of Alt.Muslim, an online Muslim news community, discussed the actions governments in the Middle East are taking against bloggers, the complex position the United States would be in if they were to fully support these bloggers, and what Muslim bloggers need to do to support each other.

March 3, 2007 – Muslim blogger Yasmin Amin writes a brilliant sequel to her first contribution to the Free Kareem campaign.

March 3, 2007 – In support of Kareem, Modern Discussion has set up an online petition campaign titled, “There Is No Sanctity but the Human Being and His Freedom: A Solidarity Campaign for Liberal Writer Abdul Kareem Suleiman.”

March 4, 2007 – Award-winning New York-based journalist and commentator Mona ElTahawy shreds the legitimacy of Kareem’s imprisonment, and gives a stern reminder to President Mubarak.

March 4, 2007 – Asharq Alawsat, a major pan-Arabic daily newspaper printed on four continents, covers Kareem’s case.

March 4, 2007 – Al Jazeera’s “Listening Post” looks at the case of Kareem.

March 5, 2007 - The presse attachŽ of the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to The Washington Post editor. Mr. Haggag defended Kareem’s imprisonment, claimed that Kareem was sentenced under an impartial judicial process, and went on to insist that that criticism of the government by the media has been ‘liberalized.’

March 6, 2007 – Metro Holland publishes an article on the case of Kareem and on the fact that now, for Egyptians and many others throughout the Arab world, the internet is not the free marketplace of ideas as it once was. Metro Holland has a daily production of over 500,000 copies, reaching around one million readers. A scan was provided by FreeKareem.org here.

March 6, 2007 – Reuters places Kareem’s situation in the larger context of the crackdown on bloggers in Egypt.

March 6, 2007 – Die Zeit, the most widely read German weekly newspaper, publishes a series of articles on Kareem’s case and our campaign on its Web site.

March 7, 2007 – U.S State Department expresses concern over Kareem’s sentencing.

March 7, 2007 – FreeKareem.org provides an English translation of the final entry Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman (alias: Kareem Amer) published on his blog on October 28, 2006, prior to his arrest.

March 8, 2007 – The Foreign Minister of Egypt told the world that he rejects criticism of Kareem’s imprisonment. Mr. Abul-Gheit starts wondering why the outside world seems to be so concerned about the judicial branch of sovereign Egypt. [Full coverage.]

March 9, 2007 – Elaph, a leading Arab liberal Web site that has more than 300,000 readers per day, states that eliminating opinions is futile unless faced by disagreeing opinions. The author extensively quote and analyzed Kareem’s final blog post prior to his arrest. [Full coverage.]

March 9, 2007 – Egypt’s Foreign Minister is “angry” that the U.S State Department’s 2006 human rights report mentions the “poor” respect the Egyptian government has for human rights. [Full coverage.]

March 9, 2007 – Muslim Brotherhood Journalist, Abdul-Mon’em Mahmoud, states on his blog: I disagree with Kareem, but punishing him is unjust. [Full coverage.]

March 10, 2007 – Congressman Trent Franks eloquently responds to the Egyptian Embassy’s letter to the Washington Post: Free This Egyptian Blogger. [Full coverage.]

March 10th, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition responds to the Egyptian Embassy in the Washington Post. A scanned image of the letter was published on FreeKareem.org

March 27, 2007 – FreeKareem.org starts a YouTube collection for Kareem.

April 3, 2007 - Kareem’s case gets highlighted at the UN Human Rights Council

April 4, 2007 – A controversial article by Kareem written on November 11, 2004 gets translated into English and publicized by the Free Kareem Coalition.

April 13, 2007 - Kareem’s video interview with Copts United gets translated into English for the first time by the Free Kareem Coalition.

April 15, 2007 – Reporters Without Borders call on French President Jacques Chirac to lobby President Mubarak to expand press freedom and release Kareem from prison.

April 15, 2007 – Prosecutors obstruct appeal of Kareem’s conviction.

April 18, 2007 – Kareem’s case gets featured on The Economist.

April 22, 2007 – Free Kareem finalizes its organization for a worldwide rally. Rallies were officially confirmed in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United Sates of America (New York and Washington DC.) The rally is set for the 27th of April.

April 26, 2007 – Worldwide rallies receive local media attention in Al Masree Al Yawm (The Egyptian Today.) [Full coverage.]

April 27, 2007 – The second set of worldwide rallies are held for Kareem in 14 capital cities.

May 3, 2007 – Bridget Johnson, FreeKareem.org’s media consultant, serves as a moderator on World Press Freedom Day (May 3) on a panel concerning Internet journalism, where she also discussed Kareem’s case.

May 7, 2007 – Gloria Steinem, one of America’s most influential journalists and feminists, writes to Hosni Mubarak; requests Kareem’s release. Signed copy of the letter may be found here.

May 12, 2007 - Kareem’s pro bono lawyers submit a cassation file for him: Revocation of Karim Amer’s verdict – Last chance for justice.

May 14, 2007 – The United Nations refused to approve the distribution of a flier where Kareem’s case is highlighted in order to avoid offending the Egyptian government.

May 20, 2007 – FreeKareem.org launches eCard system.

May 20, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition sends a personal letter to the UN, strongly objecting the election of Egypt to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council on May 17, with 168 votes out of the 192-member General Assembly. A coalition of human-rights groups opposed the election of Egypt, as well as Angola and Qatar (who won appointments) and Belarus (which lost).

May 22, 2007 – FreeKareem.org launches video on why Egypt should not be a member of the UN Human Rights Council. Video may be watched on YouTube here.

May 24, 2007 – Elaph, a leading Arab liberal news site, publishes an open letter to President Mubarak: A Call for President Mubarak to Free Abdul Kareem.

June 5, 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). Among the things discussed in the briefing was Kareem.

June 6, 2007 - FreeKareem.org gets hacked, the front page being replaced with a Quranic verse for 21 hours until the website was up and running again after a quick backup was performed by the site’s administrator.

June 7, 2007 – Amnesty expresses concern for Kareem in a report about global internet censorship. The report gets featured in the UK’s Telegraph.

June 14, 2007 - The Free Kareem Coalition organize a worldwide event for Kareem’s 23rd birthday. Supporters were asked to mail clothes, writing materials, letters, blankets, postcards, and books to Kareem’s prison address.

June 17, 2007 – FreeKareem.org features a video for Kareem’s birthday.

June 17, 2007 – Kareem’s friend and fellow blogger, Shahinaz, visits Kareem in prison to wish him a happy birthday. She notes in a blog entry that Kareem is being mistreated by prison guards.

June 25, 2007 – FreeKareem.org sponsors a Chinese campaign to secure the release of 4 young cyber dissidents in China. It is the first documented Arab and Chinese collaboration online.

July 3, 2007 – FreeKareem.org publishes Kareem’s 4th letter from prison.

July 5, 2007 - FreeKareem.org announces letter campaign for Kareem, encouraging people to send him letters of friendship and support.

July 13, 2007 - Kareem gets featured in the Lebanon-based regional Daily Star’s commentary.

July 15, 2007 – Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, an Egyptian-Canadian writer/film producer best known for his book, Baghdad Bound: An Interpreter’s Chronicles of the Iraq War, publishes an extensive 15-page report on Kareem.

July 18, 2007 – Supporters in Romania write letters to the Egyptian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, demanding Kareem’s immediate and unconditional release.

July 21, 2007 – The Free Kareem Coalition starts planning for Kareem’s next worldwide rally, to take place on the 9th of November, in order to mark the anniversary of his arrest (November 6th.)

July 31, 2007 - Reporters Without Borders wrote to French President Nicolas Sarkozy asking him to intercede on behalf of Kareem when he receives a visit from Hosni Mubarak on the 2nd of August.

August 5, 2007 – Congressman Trent Franks calls on President Mubarak to address growing deterioration of religious freedom, citing Kareem as a prime example: “Kareem’s case is one example of the deterioration in Egypt’s stated respect for human rights and religious freedom over the past year.”

August 7, 2007 – Al Jazeera English publish a follow up on Kareem’s case in the Listening Post.

August 10, 2007 – High school students in New Zealand support Kareem and free speech: “The school’s challenge aims to free Chinese journalist Shi Tao and Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer who are in jail for simple internet activities.” [Full coverage.]

August 18, 2007 – Kareem’s 5th letter from prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

August 26, 2007 – FreeKareem.org creates a Twitter account for people to keep up with the campaign’s activities.

September 1, 2007 – FreeKareem.org sponsors the Committee to Protect Bloggers. [Full coverage.]

September 3rd, 2007 – Suzan Mubarak explores peace with Arab youth in Egypt. The Free Kareem Coalition reacts to her opening statement: “Listening is a great start, but acting upon what you hear is more important,” stating that accepting this advice leads young people like Kareem to prison when practiced in Egypt.

September 9, 2007 – Kareem’s 6th letter gets published on FreeKareem.org

September 15, 2007 – FreeKareem.org and its voluntary staff members dismiss claims that the campaign receives funding or sponsorship from any foreign organizations. It is an independent project led independently by his personal friends.

September 16, 2007 – Shahinaz, mutual friend and blogger, visits Kareem in prison, stating that the guards continue to shout and use wooden sticks with prisoners “as if they are animals.” Kareem begins accepting money from the Free Kareem campaign.

October 3, 2007 - The Committee to Protect Bloggers help organize a Twitter day for Kareem, to take place on the 6th of November.

October 12, 2007 - The Free Kareem Coalition continues organizing a worldwide rally for Kareem, publishing sample fliers for people to use.

October 16, 2007 - Kareem’s friend Shahinaz informs FreeKareem.org that he is gladly receiving many international letters of support, making the FreeKareem.org’s letter campaign a success.

October 16, 2007 – The Daily Star Egypt publishes a story on FreeKareem.org’s worldwide protests which would mark the anniversary of Kareem’s imprisonment.

October 17, 2007 – Kareem gets featured in Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, an annual documentation by Reporters Without Borders.

October 23, 2007 - The Free Kareem Coalition confirms rallies in at least 15 cities worldwide, including Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro.

October 25, 2007 – Amnesty International New Zealand takes action for Kareem, e-mailing a petition with over 800 signatures to the Interior Minister as well as the diplomatic representative of Egypt accredited to New Zealand.

November 6, 2007 - Twitter day for Kareem, co-organized with the Committee to Protect Bloggers, takes place.

November 6, 2007 – Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard sends a message of support to Kareem to mark the first anniversary of his arrest.

November 6, 2007 – Free Kareem’s worldwide rally details and information finalized and published on FreeKareem.org

November 9, 2007 – Free Kareem worldwide rallies are held in over 15 capital cities around the world.

November 12, 2007 – Kareem’s lawyers receive a letter of complaint from Kareem, which stated that he was being physically tortured in prison. HRINFO publishes an immediate press release demanding that the Egyptian Prosecutor-General investigates the case.

November 13, 2007 – Kareem’s torture allegations get picked up by the international media including the Associated Post, The Jerusalem Post, IFEX, Reuters, and the Daily Star Egypt.

November 15, 2007 - International PEN Writers in Prison Day. PEN publicizes its profile of Kareem.

November 16, 2007 – FreeKareem.org celebrates what the UN considers the “International Day of Tolerance” by calling on Egypt to tolerate its critics by releasing innocent individuals like Kareem and his ilk.

November 26, 2007 – Menassat, a website focusing on media events in the MENA region, features Kareem’s case in a video.

December 1st, 2007 – FreeKareem.org publishes receipt that shows that the money raised through the website is gradually being sent to Kareem in prison.

December 4, 2007 - Shahinaz, Kareem’s personal friend and fellow blogger, gets featured in a podcast on Global Voices Online and requests for people to send letters of support to Kareem, as well as join the campaign to help free him. [Full coverage.]

December 6, 2007 - Reporters Without Borders awards Kareem in the cyber-dissident category. [Full coverage.]

December 8, 2007 – Journalist Magdy Samaan tells Kareem’s story in the Daily Star Egypt.

December 25, 2007 – Olof Jönsson, a Swedish journalist, writes about Kareem at Amnesty Press.

December 28, 2007 - Kareem confirms that he received some of the donation money raised by the Free Kareem campaign.

January 6, 2008 - Kareem gets featured in the Arab Times Online.

January 11, 2008 – Bush and Sarkozy urged by Reporters Without Borders to raise freedom of expression during Middle East tours.

January 19, 2008 - A volunteer launches a French version of the Free Kareem campaign.

January 29, 2008 – Kareem’s case gets featured on a Danish radio show.

January 29, 2008 - FreeKareem.org gets banned for several days in Yemen, after expressing solidarity with Yemeni journalists and bloggers.

February 13, 2008 – Reporters Without Borders publishes an action alert concerning the blocking of Yemeni websites in Yemen, as well as the FreeKareem.org site.

February 15, 2008 – The Free Kareem Coalition organizes a worldwide op-ed day for Kareem, as well as rallies in several capital cities, to mark the date when Kareem was officially sentenced by the Egyptian courts to 4 years in prison.

February 22, 2008 – FreeKareem.org sponsors a large rally in New York.

February 23, 2008 – Kareem’s case gets featured in BBC’s “The World’s Podcast.”

February 25, 2008 – Students and friends from the London School of publish words of support to Kareem on their widely circulated student paper.

February 27, 2008 – Amnesty International publishes a press release demanding Kareem’s unconditional release after having spent over one year in prison for expressing his views online.

March 3, 2008 - Swedish journalist Alexandra Sandles publishes article on Kareem in Menassat, documenting FreeKareem.org’s ongoing efforts in keeping Kareem in people’s thoughts. [Full coverage.]

March 5, 2008 – Shahinaz, an Egyptian blogger, Rawda, Kareem’s lawyer, and Doa’a Sultan, a journalist, drove from Cairo to Borg el Arab prison in order to visit Kareem. [Full coverage.]

March 6, 2008 – HRINFO publish press release proving Kareem’s innocence.

March 19, 2008 - The Flood the Jail with Mail campaign is announced by FreeKareem.org and the Committee to Protect Bloggers. [Full coverage.] Campaign gets attention from worldwide blogs, as well as BBC’s “The World’s” technology podcast.

May 17, 2008 – As President Bush prepares to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this weekend, U.S. Reps. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) sent a letter with 13 of their colleagues to President Bush urging him to call for the release of Kareem. [Read letter.]

June 1st, 2008 – 7th letter from Kareem in prison gets published on FreeKareem.org

June 24, 2008 – FreeKareem.org organizes event for Kareem for his 600th day spent in prison. Supporters and friends requested to dedicate a day on their sites and blogs in order to write about Kareem and condemn his imprisonment, further spreading awareness about Egypt’s grave mistake of imprisoning him.

CAIRO, Nov 20 (Reuters) – An Egyptian blogger serving a 4-year jail term for insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak has been beaten in prison and sent to an isolation cell, rights groups said on Tuesday.

Abdel Karim Suleiman, a former law student convicted in connection with eight articles he wrote since 2004, was the first blogger to stand trial in Egypt for Internet writings.

The February verdict was widely condemned by human rights groups and bloggers as a dangerous precedent that could limit online freedom in the most populous Arab country.

Reporters without Borders said Suleiman, in letters sent from prison, had complained of being handcuffed and beaten then put into an isolation cell where he received very little food or water.

“I have been subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” the Paris-based media watchdog quoted Suleiman as saying. The group urged Egypt to release Suleiman, who also goes by the name Kareem Amer. He is being held in Borg el-Arab prison near the northern port city of Alexandria.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, which represents Suleiman, said in a statement that a prison guard and another prisoner beat him while a prison official looked on. The beating caused one of his teeth to be broken.

Later, the group said, Suleiman was sent to a “disciplinary cell” where he was put in handcuffs and leg shackles and beaten again. The group said the beatings resulted from Suleiman “uncovering an act of corruption in the prison” but gave no further details.

An Interior Ministry spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment. The government says it opposes torture and prosecutes abusers if it has evidence of wrongdoing.

The Internet has emerged as a major forum for critics of the Egyptian government to express their views in a country where the state runs large newspapers and main television stations.

Suleiman, a secular-minded Muslim, has not denied writing the articles for which he was convicted, but said they merely represented his own views.

One of Suleiman’s articles said al-Azhar in Cairo, one of the most prominent seats of Sunni Muslim learning, was promoting extreme ideas. Suleiman has also described some of the companions of the Muslim prophet Mohammad as “terrorists” and likened Mubarak to dictatorial pharaohs who ruled ancient Egypt. (Reporting by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Link to original article.

A. Second Round of Worldwide Rallies: We Need YOUR Help!
The Free Kareem Coalition has been contacting individuals around the world who have expressed interest in holding rallies in April at Egyptian Embassies and Consulates in their country of residence.

Any form of support from you, be it your presence in the rally, promoting it, or organizing one in your area, would be a great boost to our cause to free Kareem Amer. If you can help in any way, please let us know!

Read our open letter here.

B. PRESS RELEASE: International Coalition Calls on Dr. Rice to Discuss Release of Jailed Blogger with President Hosni Mubarak

Adobe PDF version here.

NEW YORK—US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will arrive today in Egypt in the midst of international furor over continuing human rights abuses occurring in the close US ally. During her visit, she will be meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Aswan for face-to-face talks on regional issues.

The Free Kareem Coalition calls on Secretary Rice to use this opportunity to officially insist on the release of blogger Abdul Kareem Nabil Soliman. Soliman, better known by his Internet handle ‘Kareem Amer’, was sentenced just one month ago to four years in prison for writings on his blog, in which he promoted women’s rights and criticized extremism in Islam.

Kareem, a 22-year-old law student, was expelled by the religious Al-Azhar University over his writings, and was then arrested last November on charges of “insulting the president of Egypt” and “disdain of Islam”. While Kareem is the first Egyptian to be prosecuted for Internet-based journalism, his imprisonment sets a dangerous precedent. Amnesty International has called his case “a further erosion of free expression in Egypt,” and Human Rights Watch has also called for his immediate release.

Soliman’s sentence has generated international condemnation. To honor his integrity in protecting free speech, Index on Censorship recently awarded Kareem their 2007 Hugo Young Award for Journalism, and English PEN has granted him honorary membership. The US State Department has previously issued statements expressing concern about Kareem’s conviction and sentence. Additionally, US Congressmen Barney Frank and Trent Franks have issued a bipartisan letter strongly encouraging the Egyptian government to set Kareem Amer free. European parliamentarians have also called for Abdul Kareem’s unconditional release. However, no action is being taken by the Egyptian government to correct the Alexandria court’s mistake.

With his appeal denied, Amer’s only hope is a pardon from President Hosni Mubarak. “We have worked on raising awareness around the world about Kareem’s imprisonment. Secretary Rice is in a unique position to help secure his release, if only she will act,” said Andrew Perraut, London Coordinator of the Free Kareem Coalition.

The US State Department has not announced plans for Rice to discuss human rights during her trip. “We implore the Secretary to ask President Mubarak to correct the mistake made by the prosecutor and court, and to pardon Kareem Amer. Egypt must live up to its own promise to respect the basic rights of its own citizens,” Perraut added.

# # #

Media may contact Constantino Diaz-Duran, New York Coordinator of the Free Kareem Coalition, by email at constantino@freekareem.org, or on +1 (202) 288-3328. More information can also be obtained at www.FreeKareem.org.

C. Write to Kareem!

Write to Kareem! Main Page

Sending Kareem messages and postcards by snail-mail is very important, not only because it will assuage his pains, but to also tell the government and prison that we are still watching.

The Free Kareem Coalition is working hard to provide an address through which people can send him mail and postcards, and we expect to be able to get in contact with him soon.

Meanwhile, if you wish to send a message via e-mail, please send it to the Editor with “Dear Kareem” in the subject line, and it will be relayed to him as soon as possible. In your e-mail message, please indicate:

1. Your name;
2. Your country of residence;
3. Your personal message to Kareem; and
4. Whether you would like your letter to be published here. Personal information will be withheld upon request, and the Editor reserves the right to correct spelling errors in your letter, as well as significant grammatical and structural mistakes.

Kareem only understands English and Arabic, but if you cannot write in either language, please do write in your mother tongue, and we shall do our utmost to have someone translate it for Kareem to read.

We thank you for your continued solidarity with Kareem. Please rest assured that all your letters, whether you want them to be posted on the site or not, will reach Kareem Amer. All letters will remain confidential.

D. Press & Media Coverage

- Al-Jazeera reported on Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) surprise demonstrations at the world tourism trade fair in Paris, in which they targeted Cuba, Tunisia, and Egypt. Egypt was targeted for being an ‘enemy of the Internet’, and they specifically chanted for Kareem’s freedom.

More videos and pictures on the demonstration at the Egyptian stand here: Reporters Without Borders, French Bloggers: Opération Kareem Amer!

And for those interested, below is an additional video taken on RSF, just before the demonstrations. The lady in the video is concerned about the lack of free speech in certain countries, namely Tunisia and Egypt, where the press is being heavily moderated. She talks about blogs being censored, focusing on Kareem Amer’s prison sentence. The other person later in the video is saying how this is so wrong, and how if they keep this up they will stop a society from thinking.

Rsf – Kareem AMER
Uploaded by petre

- The Wall Street Journal: On The Wall Street Journal, two fellows at the Council on Foreign Relations discuss the attacks on Internet freedom by United States allies worldwide, including Egypt’s jailing of Kareem Amer: Tangled Web.

Excerpt:

The past few weeks have seen a chilling crackdown on Internet freedom by American allies. An Egyptian appeals court upheld a four-year prison term for Abdel Kareem Soliman, a blogger who outraged religious authorities, while a Turkish judge ordered that Internet companies block YouTube, citing videos that disparage the memory of Turkey’s founder, Ataturk.

- The Jerusalem Report: Deleting Dissent

A thorough, magnificent three-page report dedicated to Kareem Amer’s case. Read it all.

The newsmagazine is print-only, but the reporter has kindly granted the Free Kareem Coalition permission to have the article available as a PDF file for Kareem’s supporters: Deleting Dissent. (Or click on the image below.)

Excerpts:

In a blog about the sacred fasting month of Ramadan posted in October, Soliman argued that many Egyptians fast because of social pressure, not because they want to, and called it the “month of hypocrisy.” He described how when he and a friend ordered meals and began eating them in a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Cairo shortly before the end of one fasting day, families waiting for the end of the fast looked at them “as if we came from another planet.” This caused the meal to become “an unbearable torture because of the staring of those around us,” Soliman writes.

The Egyptian army is another object of Soliman’s broadsides. He calls for abolition of the draft, which he says is a form of “slavery” papered over with slogans such as “national duty,” “national service” and “defending the land of the ancestors.” To prove his point that the draft threatens the lives of those drafted, he posted a picture of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier being held in Gaza, on his blog and writes that armies have no right to expose their soldiers to harm “like the Egyptian soldiers who lost their lives on the border with Israel and Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas and Hezbollah.” He accused Egypt’s military of “inhuman treatment” of conscripts.

But Soliman’s fateful, and thus far losing, battle is with al-Azhar, the state religious institution whose role in Islamic jurisprudence extends beyond Egypt’s borders into the wider Sunni Muslim world. Al-Azhar says on its website that the standing of its sheikh, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, is equivalent to that of the prime minister of Egypt. Faced with Soliman’s youthful irreverence, Al-Azhar crushes with the weight of history. It has been around for 1,035 years.

Al-Azhar termed Naguib Mahfouz’s allegorical novel “Children Of Our Neighborhood” blasphemous when it was serialized in al-Ahram newspaper in 1959. Unlike Soliman, who heaps scorn on al-Azhar and vowed on his last blog, before going to jail, that he would not change a word of his writings, the cautious Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Literature Prize in 1988 and died last year, was deferential to al-Azhar and agreed that “Children Of Our Neighborhood” would not be published in book form in Egypt during his lifetime. A 2004 study by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights documented the activity of al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Council in thwarting the distribution of literary and artistic works deemed objectionable, including confiscating books from Cairo’s main book fair.

With the Soliman case, al-Azhar’s censorship has penetrated cyberspace.

[…]

Asked to comment on Soliman’s imprisonment, Stewart Tuttle spokesman of the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, said the United States is “concerned about the conviction and sentence meted out to someone for his opinion. The State Department does not follow this blog. It is important to respect all religions, including Islam, but freedom of expression is criticial to a democratic and prosperous society.” Officials at Egypt’s embassies in Tel Aviv and Washington, D.C. did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this article.

Al Shafei, the Bahraini blogger, says she is “deeply disappointed” by what she views as a lack of American response to Soliman’s plight. “We at the Free Kareem Coalition believe that if we had the American government’s support in this case, that would be much more meaningful than trying to spread democracy through military intervention like we have seen in Iraq. This is the kind of support we need and we would find it very worrying if this case was easily dismissed or ignored.”

Al Shafei is also greatly disappointed by Arabs and Muslims who refused to sign the coalition’s on-line petition because they do not agree with Soliman’s opinions. “If we aren’t able to express ourselves, that’s a huge issue for Arab youth,” she wrote. “How are we expected to grow as a civilization if we aren’t allowed to question and criticize without risking our lives for it?”

- Reuters: Islamist Lawyer to Kareem’s Defense Team: “You Are an Infidel”

- New York Post: Free Egypt’s Blogger, by our New York Coordinator, Constantino Diaz-Duran

Excerpt:

Depriving a student of his freedom and robbing him of his youth merely for posting his opinions on a Web site is a horrible step back for Egypt. It certainly makes a mockery of the claims by Karim Haggag, press attache at the Egyptian embassy in Washington, that “freedom of speech is safeguarded in Egypt’s Constitution and its legal framework.”
The United States claims to be Egypt’s friend and ally. But friends call each other on their mistakes, and urge correction. Franks has pointed out that “Congress is concerned with Egypt’s stifling of basic human rights” and called on Mubarak to “immediately pardon” Soliman.
When Rice meets with Mubarak this weekend, she should transmit the same message.

- National Public Radio Airs Segment on Kareem On the six-minute segment, reporter Xeni Jarden interviewed:

i. Our New York Coordinator, Constantino Diaz-Duran;
ii. Egypt’s Ambassador to the US, Nabil Fahmy;
iii. Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El-Fattah; and
iv. Lawrence Wright, a writer for The New Yorker magazine and author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.

NPR warns: “This report contains some graphic audio, which some listeners may find disturbing.”
Click here to download the NPR podcast.

You can also read Xeni’s report at the NPR Web site: Supporters Work to Free Egyptian Blogger. (Visit that page to also access the segment using streaming audio on RealPlayer or Windows Media Player).

- The Middle East Media Research Institute: Arrest of Reformist Blogger Sparks Criticism in Egyptian Press.

- Daily Star Egypt: In the wake of Kareem’s prison sentence, a discussion on freedom of expression in Egypt, entitled Bloggers Are Also In Jails, was held last Sunday at Cairo’s Center of Socialist Studies. The main speakers consisted of two Egyptian bloggers and one of Kareem’s defence lawyers: Censorship Is a Lost Cause, Says Egyptian Blogger.

- Ponto Electrônico: Libertem Kareem!

E. Translations: What Kareem Said

We have updated the What Kareem Said section with a translation of an article he published one day after the 2005 Alexandria riots that occurred in Moharram Bek: Kareem Amer: The Naked Truth about Islam As I Saw It In Maharram Beh.
This translation was produced by J. Ahmed Salib.

DISCLAIMER: The creators of the Free Kareem campaign would like to stress the fact that they do not agree with the contents of this article.

F. Blogosphere
With excerpts:

- Julio Rey: Kareem’s Last Blog

A word about personal liberty to my fellow Christians who may have issues with Kareem’s anti-religious views: it’s our job [and our choice] to convince the unbeliever that what we believe is the right thing. And it’s the government’s job to make sure that a) we can do it without getting incarcerated b) the unbeliever can make his own choice and not get incarcerated either. That’s what Kareem is standing for.

- Harry’s Place: Egyptian Blogger Kareem Loses His Appeal

Before anyone declare him [Kareem Amer] a chimp, it might be worth remembering Kareem decided to stop posting at Copts United as he felt they limited his criticism of religion solely to muslims and not copts as well.

That anyone should face a stretch in jail for criticising religion or their head of state in the 21st Century is an absolute disgrace, let alone someone in a country to which the US gives a good billion dollars a year in aid and has offered to host the United Nations’ Internet Governance Forum in 2009.

I’d be interested to hear just how Kareem’s writings have “harmed” anyone.

- Shiraz Socialist: Demonstration for Kareem Amer

Amongst these “incitements”, incidentally, were a pledge to defend Muslim women against discrimination, criticisms of Al-Azhar University, and the description of Mubarak as a “symbol of Tyranny”. But to be honest, it doesn’t matter specifically what he said. No matter what he wrote on those subjects, he should have the right to say it without fear of imprisonment.

- Not Bad For An Ex-Slave: Free Abdel Kareem Nabil!

I personally think this is hideous and a disgrace to the nation of Egypt itself. Maybe even Africa…

Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t this violate Abdel’s right to freedom of expression? Or are blogs not covered by such ‘rights’? Regardless, in today’s day and age this should not be happening. Clear cut harassment.

- fabriziocuttin.it: Blogger imbavagliati

- Carpe Diem: ¿Y qué pasó con Kareem?

Excerpt (English translation):

A coworker asked me yesterday what has happened with Kareem. So, well… here go the bad news:

On March 12, an Egyptian court confirmed the four-year sentence against the young blogger. Now it’s in the hands of President Hosni Mubarak to undo the horrible injustice done to Kareem.

In spite of everything, Kareem’s friends around the world haven’t abandoned him. This picture, published by Tom Palmer, is the clever projection done over the Egyptian Embassy in London, showing Kareem as he was taken into prison.

Also yesterday, Constantino Diaz-Duran participated on a show about the case on National Public Radio. You can read about the case, and listen to the segment here. Constantino, who was an editorialist and columnist at the Guatemalan newspaper Siglo Veintiuno, also wrote about Kareem in the New York Post.

From Reuters: Egyptian court rejects blogger’s appeal.

Excerpts:

Abdel-Karim Suleiman, 22, last month became the first Egyptian to be jailed for his writing on the Internet in what human rights groups and bloggers described as a dangerous precedent that could limit online freedom in the country.

“This was not a verdict issued on a legal basis,” said Gamal Eid, a human rights activist and one of Suleiman’s lawyers.

“This is a religious verdict similar to those of the Inquisition,” he told Reuters.

[...]

“You are an infidel,” one of the Islamist lawyers shouted at a member of Suleiman’s defense team after the trial, sparking a shouting match between the groups.

[...]

Many in the religiously conservative Arab nation reject Suleiman’s views on religion.

Suleiman stood at the defendant’s pen on Monday wearing a blue prison uniform. He did not deny writing the articles but said they merely represented his views.

Ahmed Seif al-Islam, one of his lawyers, said the defense team planned to take the case to the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest appeals court.

[...]

“The problem in these kind of cases is that the people who distinguish between their religious feelings and the law are few,” [Seif al-Islam] said.

Highlights:
A. Breaking, March 12: Appeal Court Upholds Four-Year Sentence; Coalition Issues Press Release (Quick link)
B. Web Site Enhancements: HOW YOU CAN HELP KAREEM! (Quick link)
C. Press & Media Coverage (Quick link)
D. Translation: What Kareem Said (Quick link)
E. Helping Kareem (Quick link)
F. Podcast (Quick link)
G. Arab & Muslim Voices for Kareem (Quick link)
H. Blogosphere (Quick link)

A. Breaking, March 12: Appeal Court Upholds Four-Year Sentence
The Alexandria Appeal Court has upheld the four-year prison sentence against Kareem Amer. Furthermore, the judge approved a civil claim filed by the eleven lawyers who want to fine Kareem for ‘insulting Islam’. Kareem’s lawyers will apply for the Court of Cassation (third degree).

Press release: Interfaith Coalition Condemns Egyptian Court for Denying Arrested Blogger’s Appeal

B. Web Site Enhancements: HOW YOU CAN HELP KAREEM!

- Here’s What You Can Do To Help Kareem! We have compiled a comprehensive list of ways you can help Kareem Amer. The list includes a letter writing campaign, with addresses of the Egyptian President, Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, and Ambassadors from more than 50 countries worldwide! We are also providing sample letters and a press kit over the next few days.

- Check out our YouTube Video Collection!

- See also our photo gallery on our Facebook group (requires free registration), and make use of them as you wish.

C. Press & Media Coverage

- U.S. State Department: ”Very concerned” over sentencing of Egyptian blogger

- Egypt’s Foreign Minister: We reject criticism of Kareem’s case from anyone, “whoever he may be”

- The Washington Post: The Egyptian Embassy in Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to The Washington Post defending Kareem’s imprisonment, claiming that Kareem was sentenced under an impartial judicial process. U.S. Congressman Trent Franks and the Free Kareem Coalition both had their responses to the Embassy published.

-BBC News: Egypt anger over US rights report

- Metro Holland: Blogging is a Crime in Egypt
Metro Holland has a daily production of over 500,000 copies, reaching around one million readers.

A screen shot: (click here for full-scale image)

English translation here.

- Reuters: Egypt’s bloggers test state media control.

- Elaph: Attempting to eliminate opinions is futile unless faced by disagreeing opinions.
Elaph is a leading Arab liberal Web site that has more than 300,000 readers per day.

- Die Zeit, the most widely read German weekly newspaper, has been publishing a Series of articles on Kareem’s case.

- A recent article on Al-Ahram Weekly contains inaccurate information regarding Kareem’s case. The Free Kareem Coalition points them out: Correcting Al-Ahram Weekly.

D. Translations: What Kareem Said

- We have updated the What Kareem Said section, most notably with a translation of his final post, two days before his interrogation: Your Blessings, O Azhar!

Excerpt:

I hereby declare that I do not acknowledge the legitimacy of my summons to investigate a matter like this, which is within the realm of my freedom to express my opinions. This freedom was stipulated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Egypt has supposedly signed. Moreover, setting this declaration aside, and even if it did not exist, and even if Egypt did not sign it, human rights are very self-evident matters that do not require legislations or laws to regulate them or to define their essence.

To every gloating and spiteful person among those who envision that the likes of these primitive measures might change my positions, affect me, or force me to stray from walking in the path that I have set for myself, I say: Die in your rage and hide in your burrows. I shall not recant, not even by an inch, from any word I have written. These restrictions will not preclude my dream of obtaining my freedom, for that has been my wish ever since I was a child, and it will continue to run in my imagination in endlessness.

E. Helping Kareem

Here’s What You Can Do To Help Kareem!

F. Podcast

- PJM Podcast Talks about Kareem, Freedom of Speech in Middle East.
An interesting discussion on the plight of Kareem Amer, and what jailing him can mean for the future of Internet freedom, as well as freedom of speech in general, in the Middle East.

Fast-forward to 16:50 to listen to their nine-minute discussion on Kareem:

Download MP3 (or visit PJM’s Blog Week In Review to just listen).

G. Arab & Muslim Voices for Kareem

- Muslim Brotherhood journalist: I disagree with Kareem, but punishing him is unjust

- Freedom for Egyptians: Egyptian Blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman Did Not Blow Himself Up in a Train Station.

- Munshie (Arabic).

H. Blogosphere

- Blogosfere.it:

Kareem Amer: ecco cosa ha scritto il blogger in carcere

Il blogger egiziano in carcere: ce ne siamo già dimenticati?

Excerpts:

Earlier this month, Abdel-Karim Suleiman, a 22-year-old former law student at al-Azhar Islamic university, became the first Egyptian jailed for his blogging when he was handed a four-year prison sentence.

“Despite their small number, the bloggers have established themselves as an alternative media outlet,” said Ehab el-Zalaky, a senior editor at the independent weekly newspaper al-Dustor, who has written extensively on bloggers.

Blogs also provide a platform for religious and social minorities whose issues rarely find space in traditional media.

Anti-Christian discrimination in Egypt is documented in one. Blogs by lesbians discussing their desires and feelings are new outlets for self-expression.

“In a society too conservative to accept these relationships, it was the first time for such explicit bold talk to appear in an Egyptian media outlet,” said Zalaky.

[…]

Bloggers and human rights organisations have condemned the conviction of Suleiman. They fear it sets a dangerous precedent for Internet censorship in Egypt, home to some 5,000 blogs across a population of more than 70 million people.

The Foreign Ministry has criticised the reactions to the verdict and said it was an internal matter and up to the judiciary to decide on.

Writing on his blog (http://karam903.blogspot.com) shortly before his detention in November, Suleiman was defiant.

“I am not scared at all … I will not back away one inch from what I wrote and handcuffs will not prevent me from dreaming of my freedom,” he blogged.

Since Suleiman’s arrest, said fellow blogger Wael Abbas, 32, Egypt’s blogosphere has changed. “I cannot say I am not afraid,” he told Reuters. “With this government one has to expect the worst.”

[…]

INTERNET BLACK HOLES

Botros, 42, says she was also persecuted by security authorities for reporting on a number of sectarian clashes between Muslims and the Christian minority in southern Egypt.

“They beat up my father at night on the street and told him: ‘This is a gift from your daughter’,” she said. “I was summoned to the police during the night and they treated me roughly. I was kept in solitary confinement for hours.”

UPDATE: It’s on The Washington Post!

UPDATE #2: It’s also on The Sydney Morning Herald .

The video is 16 seconds long. Kareem’s face flashes by during the first few seconds. As he is being escorted toward the prisoners’ truck, you can hear people shouting out in Arabic, “Allahu akbar wa li Allah al-hamd!” (English: “Allah is the greatest, and to Allah we praise!”.

This chorus was lead by extremist prosecuting lawyer Mohamed Dawoud, who in a previous court session told The Associated Press: “I am on a jihad here … If we leave the likes of him [Kareem] without punishment, it will be like a fire that consumes everything.” (A ‘fire’ like this one, I suppose).

At 00:09, Kareem disappears into the truck and gets out of sight, and you can then hear him getting hit, which is followed by a painful scream (as was previously confirmed by The Associated Press).

Ana 7orr also confirms noticing that, as Kareem left the court, his face was red with beating marks. [EDIT: Cannot be verified]

Please contact the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and inform them about this violation of human rights. Use the Human Rights Commission address reserved for urgent matters to e-mail them this video: tb-petitions@ohchr.org.

Ana 7orr gives other details and pictures on another blog post: remarks made by Kareem’s father (according to a neighbor of Kareem’s), accusations made against Kareem, and what people outside the court generally thought of the case. Below is a summary of the relevant portions of his post:

The man in the above picture is prosecuting lawyer Mohamed Dawoud, who called for waging jihad against ‘the likes of Kareem’ and lead the cheering chorus when Kareem was entering the prisoners’ vehicle.

The media seemed focused on the man pictured above, Yasser Metwalli, who said he was Kareem’s neighbor. He stated that he engaged in a 45-minute discussion with Kareem, but failed to convince Kareem to abandon his views.

Yasser accused Kareem of being “funded” by people outside the country, and that human rights organizations contributed to his “corruption”.

Yasser also said that Kareem’s father asked security forces to be harsh on him so he can back out of his thoughts. His father also accused human rights organizations that stood by Kareem of corrupting him. He told Yasser that Europeans are sympathizing with Kareem only because he insulted Islam, and that if what Kareem said were pro-Islamic, no one would have sympathized with him, referring to Wafa Constantine as an example of that.

Kareem’s father also proposed to solve such “problems” of “corruption” by blocking Internet Web sites as Saudi Arabia does.


There were people outside the court who said that Kareem committed a crime and that he deserved to face a criminal court, whereas others argued that Kareem’s case is an ideological one, and that the courtroom is not the appropriate place to handle it. This was the opinion of many of Kareem’s sympathizers. However, many of his former sympathizers turned back on supporting him after they read some of his articles on Islam.

Bloggers being interviewed by the media outside the court.

Members of the public engaging in fierce discussions over Kareem Amer and the verdict. Some extremists insisted that Islam has only one interpretation, and some even went as far as calling for executing and stoning Kareem.
(Photo/camera date set incorrectly)

Security officials wait for Kareem to be lead outside the courtroom after having the verdict read out to him.

A couple of other pictures found elsewhere shows Kareem being lead out of the courtroom:

Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil in a shirt reading in Arabic: ‘prisoner investigation’ is escorted from court in Alexandria. Photograph: Nasser Nasser/AP

Escorted from court in Alexandria (Reuters)

Again, please contact the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Use the Human Rights Commission address reserved for urgent matters to e-mail them this video: tb-petitions@ohchr.org.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” – Edmund Burke

CAIRO, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Egyptian security forces have arrested a student blogger whose writing was critical of Islam and the government, security sources and rights activists said on Tuesday.

Arabic blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, a 22-year-old aspiring human rights lawyer, was arrested in the coastal city of Alexandria on Monday.

His detention was the latest crackdown on political opposition by Egyptian authorities following arrests and beatings at street protests earlier this year, despite calls from Egypt’s U.S. ally for political reform.

“The accusations directed against him are that he published opinions aimed at disturbing public order, insulted the head of state and defamed Islam,” said Sally Sami, programme officer at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo), which is representing him.

“It is becoming more and more obvious that the government is not keen to reform or allow true democracy where differing opinions can be voiced.”

Security sources did not detail exactly which comments prompted authorities to hold Suleiman, who his lawyers said was expelled this year from al-Azhar University, Egypt’s most prestigious seat of Islamic learning.

Suleiman has criticised al-Azhar’s dominance in religious thought and said Muslim clerics were partly responsible for sectarian strife that followed a knife attack on Christian worshippers in Alexandria in April, according to Gamal Eid, executive director of HRInfo.

INTERNET FREEDOM

Suleiman was the latest of several bloggers to be arrested in Egypt, where news of his detention came shortly after rights group Reporters Without Borders added Egypt to a list of worst suppressors of freedom of expression on the Internet.

Egypt joins 12 other countries on the list including Cuba, Myanmar, Iran and Turkmenistan. RSF said it was also concerned at an Egyptian court ruling that an Internet site could be shut down if it posed a threat to national security.

Suleiman was due to appear before prosecutors on Wednesday.

His arrest was unusual in that he was arrested solely because of comments made on the Internet, activists said. Other bloggers were mostly picked up during anti-government protests earlier in the year.Several have spent weeks or months in jail.

Separately on Tuesday, security forces arrested two more members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition group, in a widening clampdown on the Islamist movement, security sources and the Brotherhood said.

The two members had sought to run in trade union elections. On Sunday, Egypt had detained 29 people, all but seven of them Muslim Brotherhood members involved in contesting trade and student union elections.

The arrests followed protests by Brotherhood members and sympathisers last week inside Egyptian universities against decisions by university administrations to block Islamist candidates from running for student union seats.

Click here for the link.

Click here for the article.