Bureaucrash and other liberty activists in Washington, DC will be holding a Free Kareem rally from 12pm – 1pm, November 6th at the following location:
Egyptian Cultural & Educational Bureau
1303 New Hampshire Avenue NW
Washington DC 20036
Map:
Please join us to show your solidarity for individual liberty and free speech. If you would like to network with people attending the rally please view the following websites:
Thank you.
Lee Doren
Bureaucrash
As we reported earlier, the decision of September’s appeal was meant to be announced today. However, it has been postponed until the 22nd of December. In the meantime, Kareem will remain imprisoned despite his innocence.
We are extremely upset by this discouraging news, as his trials are consistently delayed, causing him to remain in prison for much more than he should be, even though he already completed 3/4th of his sentence.
Please tweet this news by using the #FreeKareem tag. Express your outrage at this gross human rights violation. Kareem must be freed!
The following is a translation of an article that appeared today in the Egyptian Daily Almasry Alyoum:
ANHRI Requests Kareem’s Immediate Release from President Mubarak for Having Spent 3/4 of His Sentence
Wael Ali wrote on 16 October 2009
Yesterday, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information raised a plea to President Mubarak to issue instructions to the Minister of Interior to release blogger Kareem Amer, especially since the Ministry of Interior released officer Islam Nabih who was found guilty on charges of torture. The officer was not only released before completing three quarters of his time but was also allowed to report back to his work at the said Ministry.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Network assured that the Ministry of Interior revealed its intentions of depriving Kareem Amer – who has been in the prison of Burj Al-Arab for the past three years- of his right to be released after having served three quarters of his time, which is a legal right for all prisoners.
The statement reported that some officers at the Egyptian Prison Administration, which is part of the Ministry of Interior, informed the attorney of the Network’s Legal Support Unit for Freedom of Expression that the plea to release Kareem Amer, which was filed by the Network will not be accepted by the state’s Security Apparatus, and that the release decision should be issued from a higher authority – meaning the President of the Republic – in order to be accepted.
The statement also pointed out that Kareem Amer is entitled to his right to be released on the 5th of next November, when he completes his three-year sentence in prison, as part of the penalty of his imprisonment for a period of four years following investigations and court hearings pertaining to issues that Kareem published on his blog and on the civilized dialogue website [الحوار المتمدن].
The statement also pointed out that despite the fact that the Egyptian court of cessation will issue its decision regarding the plea – filed by Kareem Amer’s attorneys at the Arab Network for Human Rights Information on the 20th of last October, which all attorneys working in the field of defending freedom of expression in Egypt and around the world anticipate that this decision will clear things in the correct manner and order another hearing for Kareem – Amer’s right to be released after completing three quarters of his sentence shall prevail despite the court’s decision.
It also pointed out that at the time when the Arab Network received more than 600 letters and postcards from citizens in Egypt and around the world in support of Kareem, the state security apparatus in Egypt continues to harass Kareem in prison and deprive him of visits since last March, where Kareem suffered for a state of “prison within a prison.” [Many letters were sent via our letter campaign and the "Flood the Jail with Mail" initiative.]
Recently, about a dozen of Swedish Parliament members sent a letter to the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Kareem.
The Parliament members stated that Kareem “is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression”. The signatories of the letter, who make up the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, also called for an investigation “into the allegations of ill-treatment” of Kareem in prison, and for the repeal of the provision in Egypt’s penal code that allow for punishment for publishing “offenses”.
We are reprinting this letter with permission:
As we noted a few weeks ago, today was Kareem’s final appeal. The decision of this appeal will be announced on the 20th of October. In the meantime Kareem will continue suffering in his jail cell while the Egyptian government visibily ignores all requests to release him.
This coming November, Kareem will have spent 80% of his sentence time and we are hoping that on the 20th of October they will officially announce his freedom. If not, it marks a new crime committed by the Egyptian government, which continues to abuse its powers at the expense of innocent individuals such as Kareem, whose only crime was practicing his right to freedom of speech on a personal blog.
Please contact your local Egyptian Embassies or Consulates and respectfully demand that Kareem’s release will be secured after years of intentional abuse.
