Egyptian fear in the blogosphere -

Egypt has once again been cracking down on freedoms of expression in cyberspace and recently arrested a 22-year-old law student blogger, Abdol Karim, for being critical of Islam in his posts.

Mr Karim, known in the blogosphere as Kareem Amer, was detained on November 6 in his home city of Alexandria. A website has been set up to campaign for his release.

Amnesty International has been campaigning against online censorship and the jailing of bloggers around the world. Reporters Without Borders has responded to Mr Karim’s case with scathing criticism, and, at the weekend, a string of Egyptian human rights organisations condemned his incarceration.

According to reports, Mr Karim has been charged with several offences, including defaming the president of Egypt, incitement to overthrow the regime and incitement to hate Islam.

Alaa Abd el-Fatah, another blogger detained by the Egyptian authorities earlier this year, and later freed, says that the jailing of Mr Karim is much more troubling because he has been targeted for his religious views.

Reporters Without Borders says that earlier this year Mr Karim was expelled from his university, the Islamic University of al-Azhar for criticising the Egyptian government’s “religious and authoritarian excesses”.

Campaigners for Mr Karim have said it is particularly worrying that the university was involved in trying to stop Mr Karim’s blogging.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew Sullivan for providing a link to our campaign and encouraging people to sign the petition. We really appreciate all the support we’re getting and hope all of our readers will help us increase awareness regarding Kareem’s case.

And thank you, Tom Palmer, for directing more attention towards this case as well.

If you are new to this website and don’t know the background behind Kareem’s case, be sure to read the press releases concerning this subject, especially this detailed article by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo).

This is the second post from Kareem, who writes about his imprisonment conditions and his aspirations for better results. Read it:

من الحجز المدنى بقسم شرطة محرم بك

Egypt: New concerns about freedom of expression

Amnesty International is concerned by the arrest and detention of blogger and former al-Azhar University student Abdel Karim Sulaiman Amer apparently because of his critical writings about Islam and Egypt’s al-Azhar religious authorities, and the recent imprisonment of Tal’at Sadat, a member of parliament, for “spreading false rumours and insulting the armed forces”. These cases represent a further erosion of freedom of expression in Egypt.

Abdel Karim Sulaiman Amer was summoned to appear before the office of the Public Prosecutor in Maharram Bek district of the city of Alexandria on 7 November following a complaint reportedly made against him by al-Azhar University. He was charged with an array of offences, including “spreading information disruptive of public order”, “incitement to hate Muslims” and “defaming the President of the Republic”. The Public Prosecutor ordered his detention for four days on 7 November, which was later reportedly extended for a further 15 days, to allow further time for investigation.

Abdel Karim Sulaiman Amer was dismissed from al-Azhar University in March 2006 after the university’s disciplinary board found him guilty of blaspheming Islam. The disciplinary measures were taken against him after he was detained by the Egyptian authorities for 12 days in October 2005 because of his writings about Islam and the sectarian riots which took place in the same month in Alexandria’s Maharram Bek district following reports that a play believed to be anti-Islam was being screened in a Coptic church in the district.

Tal’at Sadat, nephew of the assassinated former Egyptian President Mohamed Anwar Sadat, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment with labour and fined on 31 October after being convicted of defaming the armed forces. On 5 October, the Military Prosecutor General requested that Tal’at Sadat be stripped of his parliamentary immunity to be investigated for defaming the armed forces and for spreading false information. Several days earlier, Tal’at Sadat gave a series of media interviews on the anniversary of the former president’s assassination, and alleged that senior army officers had been implicated in the killing, which was carried out by Islamist soldiers on 6 October 1981. In these interviews he suggested that Egyptian President Husni Mubarak – then vice-president – was also involved. Although a civilian, he was tried and convicted by a military court.

Amnesty International has consistently urged the Egyptian authorities to put an end to the trial of civilians before military courts, from which there is no higher judicial appeal, which violates some of the most fundamental requirements of international law, such as the right to be tried before an independent and impartial court, and the right to appeal to a higher court.

Amnesty International considers Tal’at Sadat to be a prisoner of conscience imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release. The organization is awaiting further details of the charges against Abdel Karim Sulaiman Amer but is concerned that he may also be a prisoner of conscience who is being prosecuted on account of the peaceful expression of his views about Islam and the al-Azhar religous authorities.

Amnesty International is calling on the Egyptian authorities to review or abolish legislation that, in violation of international standards, stipulates prison sentences for acts which constitute nothing more than the exercise of the rights of freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Click here for the article.

The Students for Global Democracy Condemns the Detention of Egyptian Blogger “Kareem Amer” and Sponsors HAMSA petition for his release

The Students for Global Democracy strongly denounces the arrest of Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim Suliman Amer, known as “Kareem Amer,” for expressing secular opinions on his blog. Kareem, a former student at Al-Azhar University, was illegally arrested in October 2005 by security forces due to opinions he expressed online regarding the sectarian violence in Alexandria that year. After his arrest and release, Al-Azhar University dismissed Kareem and filed a communiqué with the Office of the Public Prosecutor against Kareem. Despite the arguments of Kareem and a human rights lawyer from the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information who was representing him, the prosecutor decided to detain Kareem again on November 6 for four days, on a renewable basis, pending an investigation.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, states:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

The Students for Global Democracy fully supports Kareem’s right to free speech, as we stand by all those brave enough to express their views, however controversial, in repressive societies.

We formally sponsor the petition drafted by the Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance (HAMSA) to release Kareem, and we ask all of our readers to express their solidarity with Kareem by signing this important document.

The following is the original Arabic article written by Kareem from his cell in Moharm Bek prosecution. We hope the English translation can be provided soon:

Human Rights Organizations Condemn the Ongoing Detention of Egyptian Blogger and the Violation of His Right to Freedom of Expression
Kareem Amer is detained for an additional 15 days

Cairo – 11 November 2006

The Public Prosecutor Office of Alexandria re-detained the Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer for additional 15 days on Wednesday 8 November. This is considered a violation of his right to hold opinions without interference, which is stipulated in the Egyptian constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Egypt is a state-party.

“The arbitrary accusations against Kareem Amer indicate the authorities’ inclination to detain Kareem simply for expressing views contradictory to theirs. The Public Prosecutor told Kareem that if he did not abandon his views, even though personal, he may be imprisoned,” the undersigned human rights organizations stated.

The case of Amer is eventually testing the extent of respect granted by the Egyptian government to the right to freedom of expression, the Egyptian Constitution, and other international covenants which that right.

Kareem Amer deserves encouragement and support for risking his freedom for the sake of upholding his right to believe in secularism. His insistence on his right to freedom of expression had previously resulted in his expulsion from Al-Azhar University. The right to freedom of thought and expression is a basic human right that should not be undermined. Article 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, states:

Article 18: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change religion or belief, the freedom to manifest religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, and teaching either alone or in community with others and in public or private.”

Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

The undersigned human rights organizations call upon the Egyptian government to immediately release Kareem Amer, protect him against more harassment, and guarantee his right to freedom of expression.

Signatory Organizations:

From Egypt:

1. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
2. The Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement
3. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
4. Association for Human Rights Legal Aid
5. Habi Center for Environmental Rights
6. Al-Nadeem Center for Psychological Rehabilitation and Treatment of Victims of Violence
7. Hisham Mubark Law Center
8. Land Center for Human Rights
9. Shomuu Assocaition for Human Rights and People with Disabilities
10. Egyptian Center for Human Rights
11. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
12. The Civil Observatory of Human Rights
13. Al-Ganob Center for Human Rights

From Bahrain:

14. Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

To read the Arabic origional Click HERE

Students for Global Democracy, a student activist group based in the US, has endorsed the campaign to free Kareem.

The Students for Global Democracy Condemns the Detention of Egyptian Blogger “Kareem Amer” and Sponsors HAMSA petition for his release

The Students for Global Democracy strongly denounces the arrest of Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim Suliman Amer, known as “Kareem Amer,” for expressing secular opinions on his blog. Kareem, a former student at Al-Azhar University, was illegally arrested in October 2005 by security forces due to opinions he expressed online regarding the sectarian violence in Alexandria that year. After his arrest and release, Al-Azhar University dismissed Kareem and filed a communiqué with the Office of the Public Prosecutor against Kareem. Despite the arguments of Kareem and a human rights lawyer from the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information who was representing him, the prosecutor decided to detain Kareem again on November 6 for four days, on a renewable basis, pending an investigation.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, states:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

The Students for Global Democracy fully supports Kareem’s right to free speech, as we stand by all those brave enough to express their views, however controversial, in repressive societies.

We formally sponsor the petition drafted by the Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance (HAMSA) to release Kareem, and we ask all of our readers to express their solidarity with Kareem by signing this important document.

We have been just notified that Elaph covered the story of Kareem’s detention. Read it:

اعتقال شاب مصري لانتقاده الازهر

وكانت مصر من بين الدول الجديدة المدرجة على القائمة الى جانب ميانمار وبيلاروسيا وايران وكوريا الشمالية. وقالت المنظمة ان “العديد من اصحاب المدونات تعرضوا للمضايقات والسجن هذا العام في مصر، ولذلك فقد تمت اضافتها الى قائمة العار التي تضم الدول التي تنتهك حرية التعبير على الانترنت بشكل منهجي”. واضافت ان “الرئيس المصري حسني مبارك، الذي يتولى السلطة منذ عام 1981، يظهر قدرا كبيرا من السلطوية المقلقة فيما يتعلق بالانترنت”.

To visit the website CLICK HERE

Reporters Without Borders has at last picked up Kareem’s case:

Blogger arrested for criticism of Islam

Reporters Without Borders condemned the arrest by Egyptian authorities of Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, also known as Kareem Amer, for posting articles critical of Islam on his blog and called for his immediate release.

Since his arrest on 6 November, he has been held and questioned at a detention centre in Alexandria, 200 kilometres north of Cairo.

“This arrest took place on very day we announced that Egypt was being added to the list of 13 ‘Enemies of the Internet’” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “It shows just how much the country deserves its place on this black list.”

“Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981, takes a very authoritarian stance in relation to the Internet. The arrest of Kareem Amer is a serious press freedom violation,” Reporters Without Borders added.

Last week, the 22-year old blogger condemned the government’s religious and authoritarian excesses. He was expelled this year from the Islamic University of al-Azhar for the same reasons. He criticised his professors, saying that their authority would be ended and the Egyptian government would finish “in the dustbin of history”. University administrators then laid a complaint against the cyber-dissident, who is accused of “spreading rumours endangering public security” and “defamation of President Mubarak”.

Police arrested Kareem Amer for the first time, on 26 October 2005, for posting anti-religious articles on his blog and held him for 13 days.

To visit the website CLICK HERE