This November, Kareem will have completed his 4 year prison sentence. He has been imprisoned since November 6, 2006, and officially sentenced on the 22nd of February, 2007, after months of being held without charge. His lawyers note that he would be released on the 5th of November, which will mark the completion of his term.

We have reasons to believe that Kareem may not be released on this date. We also fear that he might be tortured nearing the date of his release. We encourage you to keep writing to him and alerting others, namely journalists, about his situation.

Rallies will be planned in November, we will publish the details of this in a separate post. Please contact us if you are interested in holding a rally for Kareem in your city! There is no time better than now to help out, and your assistance will be highly appreciated.

Spread the word!

We have received notifications from over 400 individuals worldwide who have written letters and postcards in support of Kareem as a response to our latest letter campaign. We are waiting to hear back from Kareem on whether or not he received at least the majority of these letters.

Do know that Kareem is extremely appreciative of these efforts, thanks so much for taking the time to do this, and for those of you who haven’t had the chance yet, it’s never too late. Please send a letter and encourage your friends to do the same.

We are shocked and disturbed by the fact that Kareem is still in prison, and will never give up fighting for his freedom and human rights. Thank you for your support!

We have written about the latest abuses Kareem has been facing from prison guards and security officials, and believe it implies an urgent call for action: We must flood the jail with mail to Kareem. If they want to rip up his letters, let them. We’ll just keep sending more!

Flood the Jail with Mail

A few months ago the campaign was a success, with many letters being sent to Kareem on a daily basis for an entire month, but this is needed now more than ever! Kareem has expressed his support for this initiative. He needs the worldwide support and recognition for his own safety. Please consider taking part in this campaign, which you can read about here.

Here is Kareem’s address in prison:

Prisoner Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman
Borg Al-Arab Prison
Section 10, Room 22
Alexandria
The Arab Republic of Egypt

You must include the Arabic text in the letter as well:

Sending him 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.

This is not a requirement – but we suggest that you laminate your letters/cards for them not to be ripped up.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information released a statement today noting further deplorable violations of Kareem’s rights. Security officers of the Borj al Arab prison broke into his prison cell and took away his letters of support, which Kareem has been receiving from around the world.

They also confiscated his notebook, where he keeps his personal thoughts in an attempt to cope with his unjust imprisonment. They have done this for no apparent reason than to abuse a free speech advocate who remains imprisoned since November 6, 2006 merely for his blog posts.

This is not the first time it has happened. In August 2008, some of Kareem’s books and other reading materials were arbitrarily confiscated.

Kareem has completed more than 3/4 of his sentence, however he is still not being released.

Cinzia Polese, who is volunteering as country coordinator for Egypt at Amnesty UK, alerted us that her group is running a campaign to raise further awareness on Kareem. They’re requesting supporters to send a picture of themselves holding a keyboard, representing freedom of speech, with posters that say “Free Kareem” on it. Below are some photos:

Update: More photos!