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.

Excerpts:

The lecture hosted three speakers: Ahmed Seif El Islam, lawyer in Hesham Mubarak Center for Human Rights, blogger Nawara Negm and Alaa Seif El Islam, dubbed the godfather of Egyptian bloggers. Each speaker emphasized the importance of free speech and how it is impeded in Egypt.

[…]

Blogger Nawara Negm said she was optimistic about the young Egyptian bloggers. Even though most of them see only corruption, they still love their country and are loyal to it.

[…]

“It is not only oppressive countries, or countries which have strong religious institutions, that fight freedom of expression on the Internet,” said Alaa, adding that the “struggle” is international which should make activists everywhere feel that they’re not alone, and that they have supporters worldwide.

[…]

“Censorship is a lost cause for governments,” he said and “even if they ban one or more individuals, they won’t be able to ban the thinking itself.”

[…]

But the speakers agreed that they didn’t believe the Egyptian government took an actual role to influence Amer’s case. They simply used it to set a precedent.

“The most threatened freedoms at times when citizens demand political reform are those that are socially controversial such as freedom of thought and expression and freedom of belief,” said Ahmed Seif El Islam.

[…]

Nawara Negm showed a mixture of optimism and pessimism. She was pessimistic about the state of the Egyptian opposition in general, saying that the worst thing she learnt through her involvement in Amer’s case was the corruption of the opposition.

“The people who ignored his case shocked me,” she said.

National Public Radio (NPR) is a US-based membership organization of public radio stations that serves over 26 million Americans a week.

Xeni Jarden from NPR News has produced a report that was aired on the nationally-syndicated newsmagazine Day to Day. On the six-minute segment, she interviewed:

- Our New York Coordinator, Constantino Diaz-Duran;
- Egypt’s Ambassador to the US, Nabil Fahmy;
- Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El-Fattah; and
- 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).

Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, or “Kareem Amer,” was convicted of violating the same legal provisions he criticized on his personal blog.

Three people stand with signs outside Egyptian embassy in Washington, D.C. FreeKareem.org

Exactly one month ago, a 22-year-old law student was sentenced to four years in prison for what he wrote on his personal Web site. The case of Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, or “Kareem Amer,” as he is known in the blogosphere, has shed a spotlight on a growing community of bloggers in Egypt, and on the country’s laws concerning online speech.

A translation from Kareem’s final blog post in October reads, “The mere existence of legal provisions that criminalize freedom of thought, and threaten with imprisonment anyone who criticizes religion in any way, is a grave defect in the law.”

Two days after he posted those words, he was interrogated by Egyptian police. Eventually, he was convicted of violating the same legal provisions he criticized on his personal blog.

A court convicted him of contempt of religion, specifically Islam, and of defaming President Hosni Mubarak. Though this is the first time a blogger in Egypt has been convicted by a court for blogging, Egyptian bloggers say free speech and political activists are often arrested and detained.

Cairo-based Alaa Abdel Fattah spent a month and a half in jail last year for protesting injustice in Egypt’s legal system. Last week, Egyptian authorities targeted him again, producing a list of opposition activists that included him and other bloggers.

At a protest days later, police arrested and jailed 20 people for two days, including some of the bloggers on that list.

Another blogger targeted for spreading what the government called “false news” posted a video of alleged torture and rape in an Egyptian prison.

This and other videos documenting alleged human rights abuses have made Egyptian bloggers a subject of attention. Wael Abbas, the blogger who posted a copy of that torture video, reportedly also has a warrant out for his arrest.

Blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah says he wasn’t tortured during his 47 days in jail last year, but knows others who have been.

Egyptian activist and blogger Mohammed el-Sharkawi, 24, was tortured and sodomized “using a rolled up piece of cardboard for nearly 15 minutes” according to his lawyer, Gamal Eid. Human rights groups say Egyptian authorities have yet to investigate or prosecute the police officers accused.

Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, says torture is rampant in Egypt’s jails.

“We need to be much more universal in our condemnation of torture in Egypt,” Wright says.
He argues that the United States should also support due process and humane treatment for Islamist prisoners, not just reformist bloggers like Kareem.

“There’s a greater risk in not advocating for those values for both sides. The Islamists in prison in Egypt pose a real threat when they get out,” Wright says. “If we advocate for their rights, if not for their cause, we stand a better chance of having some kind of understanding.”
Nabil Fahmy, Egyptian ambassador to the United States, believes much progress has been made on social and political reforms. How Egypt’s government and society go forward in dealing with bloggers, he admits, still remains a question mark.

Meanwhile, a coalition of Kareem’s supporters are campaigning for his release, including organizing protests at Egyptian embassies around the world. Coordinator Constantino Diaz-Duran in New York says that Kareem’s family has disowned him, so the coalition plans to provide some of the necessities that prisoners in Egypt generally depend on families to provide: medicine, clothing and food.

Kareem’s father has said that he would like to see Islamic Sharia law applied. This would give Kareem three days to repent, or face execution. As dire that sounds, this may be one of his last remaining options. On Monday, an Egyptian court rejected an appeal for Kareem’s release, a move the U.S. State Department has condemned.

You can also read the report at Boing Boing.

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!

Launa Bacon from London recently created a projection project on the Egyptian Embassy building as a reaction to Kareem’s case. “As an artist, the inalienable right to freedom of expression is a most important issue,” she explains. She projected his blog on the front building along with a picture of Kareem being taken into custody.

Here are the results:

Thanks again to Launa for using this excellent and creative method of getting an important point across to Egypt.

Shortly after posting on Kareem’s Index on Censorship Award, we’ve been told about a surprise demonstration for Kareem, held today at Paris’ world tourism trade fair… Right in front of Egypt’s stand!

Videos, photos, and statement by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) are provided below. Along with well-known French bloggers, RSF members repeatedly chanted (in French), “Free Kareem Amer!”. The spokesman in the videos says (paraphrase): “There is this postcard image of Egypt, but beyond it are hundreds of political prisoners, as well as imprisoned and harassed journalists.” He goes on to describe Kareem’s case. He stresses that people can and should go to Egypt for tourism, but that they shouldn’t be oblivious to the larger reality. He then segues into talking about dictatorships that are tourist destinations, such as Tunisia and Cuba.

[UPDATE: RSF has its own blog tool; confidentiality of any information submitted by bloggers is guaranteed. The Coalition encourages you to sign up. The funds raised from this blog service enable RSF to help bloggers who are living under in difficult conditions... Bloggers like Kareem.]

Thanks to all those who sent this in!

Opération Kareem Amer
Uploaded by SachaQS

Photos, courtesy of Reporters Without Borders:

Statement by RSF: Reporters Without Borders and French bloggers demonstrate at Egypt’s stand for release of blogger “Kareem Amer”.

Reporters Without Borders and French bloggers demonstrate at Egypt’s stand for release of blogger “Kareem Amer”

Well-known bloggers living in France and Reporters Without Borders activists demonstrated in front of Egypt’s stand at the world tourism trade fair in Paris today in protest against the four-year prison sentence imposed last month on the young Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, who signs his blogs as “Kareem Amer.”

The protestors attached “censored” computer mice to the stand (see photos), brandished photos of the detained blogger and unfurled banners that said “Egypt = Internet enemy.”

“We want to express our solidarity with Kareem and to show that French bloggers feel concerned by free speech violations, even when they take place abroad,” the bloggers said. “We also want to encourage the French blogosphere, which is one of the most dynamic in the world, to actively support this young man. We could all be in his place if we lived in Egypt.”

The bloggers taking part in the demonstration were : Gilles Klein (www.pointblog.org), Natacha Quester-Séméon (www.memoire-vive.org), Pierre Etienne Pommier (ipol.fr), Carlo Revelli (www.agoravox.fr), Hélène Legastelois (http://monblogdefille.mabulle.com), Christophe Grébert (www.monputeaux.com), Pierre Catalan (http://pierrecatalan.hautetfort.com), Cai Chongguo (http://caichongguo.blog.lemonde.fr) and Laureen Martin (http://leblogmedias.rsfblog.org/).

Suleiman (“Kareem Amer”) was convicted on 22 February of “inciting hatred of Islam” and insulting President Hosni Mubarak. Reporters Without Borders regards his four-year prison sentence as a threatening message to the entire Egyptian blogosphere, which has emerged in recent years as an effective bulwark against the government authoritarian tendencies. For more information on this case.

UPDATE: (March 21)
Al-Jazeera coverage:

UPDATE: (March 24)
For those interested, below is another video taken on RSF just before the demonstration.

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

In addition to being granted honorary membership by English PEN, Kareem was awarded the 2007 Hugo Young Award for Journalism at the 7th Annual Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Ceremony on March 14. These awards are presented to honor the world’s champions of freedom of expression: Index Freedom of Expression Awards.

Index on Censorship/Hugo Young Award for Journalism 2007

This award, given in memory of Guardian columnist Hugo Young, goes to a journalist who has shown an outstanding commitment to journalistic integrity in defence of freedom of expression.

• Winner: Kareem Amer (Egypt): Kareem Amer is the pseudonym of 22-year old blogger Abdul Kareem Suleiman Amer, who was recently sentenced to four years imprisonment for criticising Islam and President Mubarak.

• Fellow nominees: Jayyab Abu Safia (Gaza): Jayyab has received death threats from Islamic fundamentalists for his work on his phone-in programme on Gaza FM. Trevor Ncube (Zimbabwe): Ncube’s tireless work in continuing to run the only independent newspapers in Zimbabwe while under constant attack has been described as ‘incredibly inspiring’. Carlos Lozano (Colombia): Carlos Lozano is a newspaper editor in Colombia, one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.

Please visit the Index on Censorship Web site, and read the profiles of other soldiers of free speech under similar awards. They are all winners.

English PEN is “the world’s only international fellowship of writers, working together to promote literature and defend the freedom to write … English PEN seeks to dismantle the barriers to creative expression.” PEN provides “an active and supportive community for writers and readers around the world.”

By electing imprisoned writers like Kareem Amer as Honorary members, PEN members offer “solidarity with their international colleagues … they are sent membership cards, letters and books – this helps to lessen the damaging effects of fear and isolation, and provides hope for the future.”

Kareem’s English PEN profile: Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman (Kareem Amer).

Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman (Kareem Amer)

D.o.B.: c. 1984, Egypt

Profession: former law student at the Al-Azhyar University in Alexandria, Egypt. Amer is an Internet writer, publishing articles on his blog.

Date of Arrest: Amer was arrested on 6 November 2006.

Sentence: On 22 February 2007, Amer was sentenced to four years in prison: three years for insulting Islam and one for defaming the Egyptian president, Mubarak.

Sentence Expires: 2011

Details of Trial: Refusing to retract the articles he posted on his Internet blog, Amer was detained in a prison in Alexandria. His detention was extended until his trial in January 2007. His hearing began on 25 January 2006, and was adjourned until 1 February 2007. He was accused of insulting Islam and the President, as well as inciting hatred towards Muslims.

Place of Detention: Amer is being held in a detention centre in Alexandria, Egypt.

Conditions of Detention: It is reported that Amer has been receiving numerous death threats and has suffered from physical violence from prison guards. He is currently being held in solitary confinement despite asking to be moved to the political prisoners’ cell.

Other: He was previously held for 12 days in October 2005 for his articles on Islam and his coverage of sectarian riots in Alexandria. These articles prompted an investigation and led to his expulsion from Al-Azhyar University in March 2006 after its disciplinary board found him guilty of blasphemy against Islam.

Professional Details: Kareem Amer was a former law student at the Al-Azhyar University until his critical online articles led to his expulsion. He is known for his secular views and his critical writings about Islam and Egypt’s highest religious authorities.

Honorary Member: English Pen

He co-signed a bipartisan letter to the Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S.A., and he responded to the Embassy’s defense of Kareem’s imprisonment on The Washington Post.

Ariz. GOP Rep. Trent Franks is now also blogging on his support for Kareem: Freedom of Speech Should Apply to Our Allies Too. (Hat tip: Jesse.)

Only through the genius of “sophisticated, enlightened men and women” can a self-evident truth be denied. The self-evident truth to which I refer is that all men, women, and children regardless of race, monetary worth, or station in life are created equal and possess a sacred dignity intrinsic to being creatures made in the image of God Himself.

Because of this truth, one of the most fundamental natural rights of every individual is the right to freely worship and think according to one’s conscience. It is the cornerstone of all human freedom.

If Egypt is to be considered a vibrant and tolerant society, it must be a pluralistic one that protects freedom of speech and tolerance of religious diversity … As I write this, a young champion for freedom, Abdelkareem Nabil Soliman, sits in an Egyptian prison for ridiculing violence in the name of Islam. Surely, a country that sincerely values the dignity of every individual will immediately release this young man who is facing years of captivity for voicing opposition to the notion of violence in the name of religion.

Thank you, Congressman Franks!

*** To our new visitors who watched the CNN segment: Welcome to our Web site! You can learn how you can help Kareem by visiting our action center: What You Can Do. ***

Kareem was on one of the main headlines on CNN.com this morning. A video of his trial is available: Cairo Cracks Down on Bloggers.

The video includes:
- Footage of Kareem in court on February 22;
- Prosecuting lawyer Mohamed Dawoud’s statement: “I hope every judge, if they get a similar case, will give the same judgment, based on the wishes of God.”;
- Elijah Zarwan, of Human Rights Watch in Cairo, tells CNN: Kareem’s imprisonment is a “chilling precedent”;
- Interviews with other Egyptian bloggers; and
- Coverage of FreeKareem.org!

However, a clarification is in order: The reporter remarked that Kareem’ blog “may be closed”. Kareem’s blog is not shut down. It is available here, and we have provided translations for some of his articles.

UPDATE: Now on YouTube as well:

Egypt 12 March 2007

Appeal court upholds four-year sentence for blogger “Kareem Amer”

The four-year prison sentence imposed on 22 February on blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman for “inciting hatred of Islam” and insulting President Hosni Mubarak was confirmed on an appeal today in Alexandria, 24 hours after an Alexandria judge brought a complaint accusing 21 websites of attacking Mubarak.

“All of Egypt’s Internet users are being targeted through Suleiman,” the press freedom organisation said. “A threat is now hanging over their heads. We fear that other arrests and website closures could soon take place as the authorities seem to have decided to bring Internet users into line.”

During today’s appeal hearing, the presiding judge ruled that the courts could accept complaints brought by individual lawyers demanding reparations from Suleiman for “insulting” Islam in his blog, for which he used the pseudonym “Kareem Amer.” He said Suleiman would appear soon before a civil court, which could order him to pay damages to lawyers who had brought complaints. For more information

Meanwhile, Alexandria appeal court president Abdel Fattah Murad yesterday brought a complaint against the Egyptian government, demanding the closure of 21 websites that “attack the President of the Republic.” Local sources told Reporters Without Borders that the website of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and the very popular blogs Baheyya and Gharbeia were among the sites concerned.

Egypt is one of the countries which Reporters Without Borders has identified as Internet Enemies. Nonetheless, it has been asked by the United Nations to host an Internet Governance Forum in 2009.

Lobby against Egypt’s inclusion in 2009 Internet Governance Forum by contacting Nitin Desai, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Internet Governance:

United Nations
Secretariat of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10
Swiss Confederation

Tel: +41 22 917 57 59
Fax: +41 22 917 00 92
E-mail: igf AT unog DOT ch

Learn how else you can help Kareem: What You Can Do.