We have written many times about Shahinaz, or “Wa7da Masrya”, an Egyptian blogger and human rights activist whose efforts are unmatchable.

Shahinaz has contributed greatly to the Free Kareem campaign, giving us reports on his trials and after his official sentence, she was mainly delivering to us letters that Kareem wrote to her. She also made a couple of visits to Kareem to see how he is and to assure him that the fight for his freedom will continue. You may read such posts here:

- Kareem’s trial today

- Fellow Egyptian blogger visits Kareem in prison

- Latest letter from Kareem in prison

- Visit to Kareem in prison

- Latest visit to Kareem in prison

Global Voices Online recently conducted an excellent podcast with Shahinaz, where Kareem’s case and her visits to Kareem were also mentioned. Please listen to it here:

Interview with Wahda Masrya – An Egyptian Girl

There’s also a recent interview with her in French here.

The Free Kareem Coalition is honored to work with Shahinaz, who helped us overcome some of the biggest challenges in the campaign and helped us build a stronger network of supportive individuals. Her support is noted and is much appreciated!

In a coverage about a recent incident that took place with YouTube suspending (and eventually restoring) the account of Egyptian blogger and anti-torture activist Wael Abbas, Kareem’s case is also highlighted:

It’s widely acknowledged that torture by government officials is widespread in Egypt. See also our coverage earlier this month of Egyptian blogger Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman’s first of four planned years in prison for the crime of “defaming the President of Egypt.” The country is one of the largest recipients of US foreign aid in the world.

Link to original article.

Since the beginning of this year, we have been collecting donations from supporters of Kareem worldwide. We are comfortable with the amount we have raised so far and are now in the process of sending this money to Kareem in a careful and gradual process, with the help of trusted friends and local sources.

Below you will find two scans of a receipt that shows the money has been sent to Kareem Amer in prison. We will be sending 550 L.E ($100) a month from now on, providing receipts for proof in case of misunderstandings or doubts.

If you require more information about this transaction, please do not hesitate to contact our team, and we will guide you through the exact procedure.

For those of you who speak French, NewsLab recently featured a blog post on Kareem:

Karim Amer 24 ans un blogueur Egyptien ne a Alexandrie ,un ex-étudiant d’Alazhar La plus grande université religieuse en Egypte .Karim a été virée de sa famille et de son université ,condamne de 4 ans en prison a cause de ce qu’il a écrit dans son blog. Inspiré par le blog d’une femme Egyptienne Le jeune homme a commence son blog en 2005.Amer très timide mais ses idées , ses mots forts ne donne pas l’impression d’une personnalité si timide que tu peux l’entend a peine en parlant .Le blogeuer avec son tres belle écriture en Arabe ,il a commence a écrire son point de vue sur plusieurs sujets .Il a critiqué le régime gouvernant en Egypte et son président ,il a critique Alazhar qui etait pour un prison avec des directeurs intolérants.

Un feminist qui a défendu les droits de la femme , et dans son blog il a mis le signe “stop violence against women” .Karim a ete arrête la première fois en octobre 2005 après avoir critique le comportement des musulmans dans un conflit violent entre les musulmans et les chrétiens a Alexandrie.Amer a reste en prison pour 1 mois a peu près dont il a rencontre beaucoup des prisonnier de politique .La deuxième fois le jeune blogeur a été arrête en novembre 2006 , et il reste 4 mois c’est le temps de son procès .en Février 2007 les juges ont trouve Amer coupable et il a été envoye a 4 ans en prison un ans pour insulter le président Egyptien et 3 ans our avoire insulte l’Islam.Amer est dans le prison de Borg Al Arab 20 Km hors D’Alexendrie .Avec les criminels il passé un temps très dure ,et en octobre dernier le jeune home a ete torture par un des officier mais Karim a réussi a envoye une lettre en racontant tous ce qu’il lui a arrive .Un enquête a été ouvert pour cette violation .www.freekareem.org

Following up on our previous article, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) just published a press release [Arabic] noting that blogger Hossam el-Hendy is freed.

Kareem, however, remains in prison and is undergoing torture. Please help by sending him a letter of support, and see our ‘what you can do’ page for more information on how you can help!