We have recently launched a WordPress plugin for Kareem. It has been in the works for some time, but we’re back now with a great update. In the previous post we noted that we were already working on introducing new features to improve the plugin/widget, these are now completed and you can download the latest from the official WordPress plugin directory.

What’s different from last time:

Previously you had no specific options. You had to use the widget as it came. However with the latest version, this is no longer the case. Whether you would like to show only Kareem’s photo and the feed from FreeKareem.org, or only a video and the social networking links, or simply an alert and a count-up of his time in prison, or a “tell a friend” e-mail option to increase awareness, or anything in between - this plugin allows you to choose whichever you prefer to show on your sidebar.

Take a look:

FAQ:

How do I customize it?
After you download and upload the plugin to your WordPress site (see “Installation“), go to “Settings” and proceed to the Free Kareem tab. Tick whatever option you would like your widget to include, and untick whatever you wish to eliminate. All the buttons are ticked by default, but this is just to show you the options before you begin customizing it depending on your needs.

Is it compatible with WordPress 2.7?
Yes. It is compatible with every version of WordPress since 2.0 and we’ll continue making it compatible with future releases of WordPress as well.

Does this plugin come in different languages?
Yes, very soon. Thanks to the outstanding support of volunteers we are currently working on launching this plugin in different languages. If you would like to translate this plugin, please let us know.

Here’s just an example of a customized WordPress widget:

Download the plugin here! And please spread the good word. This is a great way to spread awareness on Kareem’s situation.

WordPress is arguably the most celebrated blogging platform with millions of people using it around the world. We did not hesitate to use it as the platform of choice for both this blog and the plugin/widget described below.

The Plugin:
A plugin is a feature that extends the capabilities of WordPress. In this case, the Free Kareem plugin gives you the ability to promote Kareem’s cause through a simple widget, which you can conviniently place anywhere on your sidebar. Download it here [Instructions.]

What it looks like:

♦ These social networking buttons will lead to Free Kareem’s Facebook and MySpace pages as well as the campaign’s YouTube and Twitter accounts. This is because not many people knew we existed on these platforms and may choose to stay in touch with us there as opposed to only this site.

♦ The “Tell a Friend” button leads you to a page where you can spread the cause via email to others.

♦ In the very near future, you will be able to do the following:

Why:
Kareem has already spent 2 years of his life in prison. Now the media treats this as “old news” for the most part. We need to make sure that Kareem’s case remains prominent. Bloggers around the world can help us achieve that by downloading this plugin.

The Author:
Michael Torbert is ranked as the #1 WordPress Plugin Developer for 2008 (based on the total number of downloads of several of his plugins), making him an easy choice for us when we wanted to include the professional involvement of a WordPress developer. Michael supported our cause immediately and we sincerely thank him for his hard work with us.

The Future:
This plugin will continue being developed further depending on the feedback we receive. We are already working on some great additional features such as pictures, ability to exclude certain aspects of the widget, ability to include an RSS feed from FreeKareem.org, and generally making it as customizable as possible. But while we do that we need some help getting the word out on this plugin!

Open Source:
Like most WordPress plugins, the files are completely open source and anyone can build upon and improve this work, and if you do, please e-mail us and let us know so we can feature your work as well.

DOWNLOAD!
You can download this plugin from WordPress.org. It supports many versions of WordPress and works with any theme!

In a recent article featured in the Daily News Egypt, Kareem’s case is highlighted as a prominent example of Egypt’s increasing intolerance for freedom of speech:

February 2008 marked the first anniversary of the imprisonment of Kareem Amer, the first Egyptian blogger to be sentenced for his online writing. Amer’s jailing foresaw the trend described by CPJ in its annual census of journalists in prison, issued this month.

For the first time in CPJ’s prison census, online journalists represented the largest category (45 percent) of imprisoned media workers. CPJ attributes this to the “rising influence of online reporting and commentary.”

Many other examples are listed in this extensive article detailing Egypt’s punishment for anyone who dares to practice their basic right to free speech.

Despite over 2 years of worldwide protest, Egypt has yet to justify Kareem’s imprisonment with actual logic.

In celebration of Human Rights Day, Al Jazeera is currently holding a discussion on human rights violations in the Arab world, with an emphasis on Egypt.

In the report that accompanied the discussion, Kareem was quoted as an example of a young person unjustly imprisoned for his opinions, and FreeKareem.org was featured.

We are in the process of tracking the video of this. Once we find it, we will share it here.

Worldwide Protests Against Kareem Amer’s Imprisonment, by Safaa Abdoun for the Daily News Egypt:

CAIRO: Human rights activists and democracy advocates around the world protested and criticized the imprisonment of Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer, who was sentenced to four years in prison for insulting Islam and defaming Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

On Thursday Nov. 6, which marked the second anniversary of Amer’s arrest, demonstrations were held in several world capitals calling for the blogger’s release and criticizing Egypt’s violation of the citizen’s right to freedom of expression.

The demonstrations were organized by the Free Kareem Coalition, an online “campaign to free the brave Egyptian blogger,” according to the website.

Holding up banners and posters with phrases such as “Shame on Egypt” and “Respect Human Rights,” human rights activists stood in front of Egyptian embassies and consulates in New York, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Rome and Brussels, among other cities worldwide.

Pete Eyre, organizer of the rally in Washington DC, told Beirut-based website MENASSAT that their event was a “success.”

“There were 18 people who showed up to help spread the word about Kareem and vocalize their opposition to government-imposed censorship. Foot traffic in the area was moderate, and we handed out around 350 flyers,” he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Soviet dissident and democracy advocate Natan Sharansky strongly criticized the Egyptian authorities for Amer’s imprisonment.

“Freedom of speech is an inalienable right. Suppressing that right contravenes human decency and makes a mockery of the democratic ideal.

“We strongly condemn Egypt’s brazen assault on human liberty. Repression and autocracy must be castigated in no uncertain terms. Aid to a regime which denies its citizens basic rights is both counter-productive and immoral. We call on the Egyptian government to immediately release Kareem Amer and the many dissidents who bravely speak out in the name of freedom,” said Sharansky, who is currently, chairman of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at Jerusalem’s Shalem Center, in a statement to the press.

Twenty-four year old Amer, who was expelled from Al Azhar University, was arrested on Nov. 6, 2006 in his hometown, Alexandria. He was sentenced to three years in prison on Feb. 22, 2007 for his blog entries, which the court considered to be insulting to Islam and defaming to President Mubarak.

At the time, Amnesty International described his arrest as “a slap in the face of freedom of expression in Egypt.”

He is currently serving his sentence at Borg El-Arab prison on the North Coast in Alexandria. Amer has served half of his sentence, which makes him eligible for release if the state decides.

Last Thursday, Gamal Eid, director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, visited Amer and was reportedly appalled by the conditions of the prison, saying that detainees are harassed by the police officers.

“There are no laws governing this prison, any new state security officer can run it by his own laws. This is a matter of shame to the Ministry of Interior, which leaves prisoners as the victims of officers who have no respect for the law,” Eid said in a statement released by ANHRI

Link to original article.

The National Geographic featured Kareem in their global freedom of speech essay.

Here is a scanned copy of it, thanks to Fayrouz for sending this in!

(Click the image to see the full article.)

When we first announced our worldwide rallies, the Stockholm rally was the first to be confirmed. Jonas Virdalm, the rally’s organizer, never failed to support us in any of our worldwide rallies and manages to get the support and participation of some great rally speakers, all quoted below in Jonas’ summary of the event (pictures will soon follow) (pictures are below):

There were three speakers at the demonstration for Kareem in Stockholm. They were Hans Egnell, editor of the magasine Nyliberalen, Mattias Svensson, editor of Magasinet Neo, and Frida Johansson Metso, chairman of the Liberal Ungdosmförbundet (Organisation of young liberals).

Below are what the three speakers wanted to highlight in their speeches.

Speaker Hans Egnell emphasized that “Regimes try to censor the Internet to get control over something that cannot be controlled. This makes the authorities frustrated. It also shows the low self esteem of these oppressing regimes. The Egyptian regime got so frightened by the words of one blogger that they accussed him of trying to overthrow the government and claimed that he was a threat to national security! If anything, that shows that WORDS can scare the people in power and that WORDS can change the world to the better.”

Mattias Svensson said that “Kareem is not in prison because he is a criminal. He is in prison because the government in his country is criminal. He is in prison because his government has violated his fundamental right to express his thoughts. We have gathered here in Stockholm in support of Kareem because the right to speak one’s mind is a universal right for everyone. This thought can neither be stopped by boarders nor be locked in a den. There is no den anywhere on earth that it is so dark that it cannot be reached by enlightenment. Our speeches, our thoughts and our sympathy belongs to Kareem during his troublesome time just because freedom is a universal right.”

Finally, Frida Johansson Metso stated that “What Kareem has done is necessary in order for Egypt to become a democracy and to develope. However, in order for this to happen it is as necessary for those of us who know what is happening, and for that reason have a responsibility to act, even when things like this happen outside Sweden and to other than Swedish citizens. Humans rights are worth nothing unless they are protected for all, by all, all the time.

These are wise and powerful words that the Egyptian government needs to learn and practice! Our thanks go out to everyone who attended this rally and made it the successful event that it was in sending a crucial message to Egypt about Kareem and the importance of his freedom, and what that freedom means to all of us. We sincerely thank Jonas Virdalm for also organizing this and keeping us updated about how it went!

Edit:  Jonas had just sent us the pictures, here they are!

A note from Peter Eyre, the rally’s organizer:

The rally in DC was a success. There were 18 freedom fighters who showed up to help spread the word about Kareem and vocalize their opposition to government-imposed censorship. Foot traffic in the area was moderate, and we handed out around 350 flyers.

I had a short conversation with an employee at the Egyptian Cultural and Educational Bureau (where the Free Kareem rally has been held the past three times as well, as the Egyptian Embassy is a bit off the beaten path). I wanted to communicate why were had gathered outside their property. He was surprisingly pleasant and in agreeable about Kareem’s right to free speech because, as he put it, he is a “human being” (he noted that he had himself moved to the U.S. to more fully enjoy his rights). I asked him to tell his colleagues and those he works for that we don’t support Egypt’s policy on this issue.

My colleague Drew got some footage from which the attached stills were pulled. I hope to put together a video on Kareem and the larger issue of free speech, similar to what we did for the DC gun ban case and the larger case for freedom in Heller Yeah!

(Click on each image for a larger picture.)

Our great thanks goes to Nicola Iannello, who in his capacity as a university professor and director of the School of Liberal Thought in Rome, managed to get this great rally together in an effort to free Kareem. Special thanks also go to Annalisa Chirico and Giulia Innocenzi (the 2 wonderful ladies in the first photo) who did a great job gathering people to participate in this rally.

Many thanks to everyone else who joined and made this possible! Two of the protestors were allowed into the Egyptian embassy in order to express their concern for Kareem.

Great pictures of the rally are below (Note: More from the organizers on this Facebook page.)

(Click on each picture for a larger image.)

12 cities around the world are participating (or have participated) in the worldwide Free Kareem demonstrations today.

Here they are:

• Paris, France

• London, UK

• Brussels, Belgium

• Stockholm, Sweden

• Berlin, Germany

• Bucharest, Romania

• Washington, DC, USA

• New York, NY, USA

• Rome, Italy

• Berne, Switzerland

• Rhode Island, USA

• NEW! San Francisco, California

Thanks for everyone who got involved to make this possible! We will be posting the results shortly.