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:

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

Thanks to Amira Al Hussaini for this informative article:

With most Arab countries waging a war on the Internet, Egypt decided to score brownie points with its bloggers by arresting yet another online writer.

Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah, who has himself enjoyed a stint behind bars, reports to us his colleague’s ordeal.

أمرت نيابة محرم بك بالإسكندرية اليوم بحجز المدون عبد الكريم نبيل سليمان – 22 سنة و طالب سابق بالسنة الثانية بكلية الحقوق جامعة الأزهر – أربعة أيام على ذمة التحقيق بعد استجوابه فيما ينشره من مقالات رأي على شبكة الإنترنت في عدة مواقع أهمها مدونته http://karam903.blogspot.com

في مارس الماضي قامت كلية الحقوق في جامعة الأزهر التي كان عبد الكريم (الشهير بكريم) مقيدا بها كطالب بفصله بصفة نهائية من الكلية على خلفية كتاباته المشككة في صحة الدين الإسلامي و نقد بعض رموزه, و كانت جريدة الجمهورية قد نشرت وقتها ما يفيد بأن أوراق التحقيق مع كريم في مجلس التأديب – و التي رفض كريم التوقيع عليها لأسباب خاصة به – قد أرسلت نسخة منها إلى النيابة العامة. و بناءا عليه استدعته النيابة العامة في محرم بك بالإسكندرية لاستجوابه.

جدير بالذكر أن كريم كان قد تعرض للحبس من قبل في نفس التاريخ (6 نوفمبر) العام الماضي لنفس الأسباب, حيث اقتحمت قوة من جهاز أمن الدولة منزل كريم واقتادته لمكان مجهول، بسبب كتاباته على الإنترنت لبعض المواقع الإخبارية فضلا عن المدونة ” البلوج” الخاص به

و أثناء التحقيق مع كريم اليوم اعترف بمسئوليته الكاملة عما يكتب و أكد على تمسكه بحقه في حرية التعبير, لكن وكيل النيابة ركز على مناقشة كريم فيما يكتبه و بالتالي رد عليه كريم بتحليلات و استدلالات أذهلت المحقق, وفقا لما ذكرته المحامية التي رافقت كريم في أثناء التحقيق. كما اضطرت المحامية أيضا للتشاجر مع بعض الموظفين في النيابة بسبب استهزائهم بكريم و بحقوق الإنسان.

Alexandria’s Muharam Baik Public Prosecution today ordered the detention of blogger Abdulkarim Nabeel Sulaiman, a 22-year-old former Azhar University law student, for four days after questioning him on material he published on his blog. In March last year, Azhar University’s Law College suspended Abdulkarim (better known as Kareem) from the college for writing articles which throw suspision at Islam and criticize some of its symbols. Al Jomhoria newspaper at the time published details of the investigation papers, which Kareem refused to sign for personal reasons. A copy of the investigation was also sent to the Public Prosecutor. Based on this, he was called for questioning. It is worth mentioning that Kareem was previously arrested on November 6 last year for the same reasons. Public Security forces broke into his house and took him to an undisclosed location because of articles he published in his blog. During today’s interrogation, Kareem admitted his full responsibility for all that he had written and stressed his right to freedom of expression. But the Public Prosecutor discussed with Kareem specifics of his articles while the blogger rebutted by analysis and information which amazed the investigator, according his lawyer. The lawyer, on her part, had to quarrel with some of the employees there who ridiculed Kareem and human rights,” he wrote.

As is the case with any blogger’s arrest, Kareem’s detention too brought bloggers from Egypt and supporters from around the world to rally behind the cause, creating an online war zone against the authorities known as Free Kareem!

According to supporters, Kareem’s detention has been extended for another 15 days, with allegations against him summed up as follows:
- Spreading data and malicious rumors that disrupt public security
- Defaming the President of Egypt
- Incitement to overthrow the regime upon hatred and contempt
- Incitement to hate “Islam” and breach of the public peace standards
- Highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt and spreading them to the public.

But not all bloggers are supportive of Kareem’s plight. Fellow Egyptian Blogger Ahmed Shokeir shows no sympathy for the arrested blogger.

العبث بالدين أيا كان مرفوض في كل بقاع الأرض وما يكتبه هذا الشخص لايدخل أبدا في نطاق حرية التعبير

“Playing games with religion, whatever religion it is, is refused all over the world and what this person writes does not fall within the parametres of freedom of expression,” he said.

Away from Egypt, which has kept us busy for three posts now and moving to other topics, plans are well underway in the Arab blogosphere to have a common platform for Arabic bloggers to express themselves – if only Arabs learn to agree instead of disagree the whole time.

Haitham Sabbah, a Jordanian Palestinian blogger writing from Bahrain, writes about the issue.

“What I find funny and sad at the same time nowadays is all that I am hearing about what is happening behind the scenes in the Arab blogosphere (especially blogs written in Arabic) about the establishment of unions, groups and federations for Arab blogs, and the demise of some of those gatherings and the failure of others as well as accusations of plagiarism and the the formation of unions which we don’t know anything about, etc,” wrote Sabbah.

Sabbah lists a number of projects to bring Arab bloggers together, including an initiative launched by Al Jazeera to form Bloggers Without Borders, and the ongoing war between different bloggers hurling accusations at each other and claiming to be the first to come up with the idea of a common portal for all Arabic bloggers.

“I am not against the setting up of such gatherings and unions. On the contrary, I have worked and will continue working on bringing Arab bloggers to work together in an effective manner and not just under slogans which mean nothing much to anyone. My projects are not like those which have very little thought put into them and which are run by people who know nothing about blogging and bloggers. The Arab blogosphere is rich with ideas and activities which are smart and interesting and which only lack financial and moral support to develop them further. I just hope that money used or being used for projects like Bloggers Without Borders, which is supported by Al Jazeera, will be spent on such projects. This reminds me of an idea called the Observatory, which Hijouij and other serious Arab bloggers wrote about. These are projects which deserve support and efforts to ensure their success and not others which are formed and launched while at the same time not qualified to speak on behalkf of Arab bloggers,” continued Sabbah.

Hijiouj gives us his two cents on the project, linking us to Joha, who has a full idea of the scheme.

Joha explains his masterplan as follows:

“The Arab Bloggers Observatory. This is the name of something which hasn’t seen light yet but it is what Joha.com suggests should take off as soon as possible. It is something I have written about a few months ago. Why an observatory? Because it will record all that happens to Arab bloggers beginning with harrassment by the security apparatus which usually begin with blocking sites and could escalate to arresting bloggers. This has happened in more than one Arab country and with more than one blogger. The second thing it would register is the end of blogging because of sickness or death,” explained Joha.

“This observatory is not a society or a federation or a group which links anyone to anything. It is just an agreement between an acceptable number of bloggers (about 10 for example) from Arab countries and those abroad, who will exchange bad news regarding Arab bloggers, whether through their network of Arab bloggers, or friends or relatives,” he said.

Hjiouij agrees with the idea, saying that an Observatory would be better than a union for Arab bloggers.

“Joha’s suggestion is to set up an observatory for Arab bloggers which aims to register all the problems which effect bloggers such as health problems and harrassment by the security forces. What makes this project stand out in my opinion is that it will end the issue of federations and unions which some bloggers are calling for and which are opposed by others because they are worried it would put them under scrutiny. This observatory will fulfil the objectives of those gatherings without imposing restrictions on bloggers. There will also be no system for membership. The observatory will be an open blog or Wiki which all bloggers can access and participate in by registering all the problems bloggers come across as well as planning campaigns for them. This observatory will be under the supervision of bloggers with a legal background as well as those involved in community projects. They will not have any authority though as their role will not exceed supervising local campaigns,” he wrote.
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Sounds great! What do you think? Will Arab bloggers be united under one web address, which promised to plead their cause?

Thanks to Mohammed for these encouraging words:

Egyptian Blogger Kareem Arrested…Again!

I had met him in Cairo and before that I met his thoughts through his blog.

Abdul Kareem is an “Azhari” who was dismissed and punished for his rejection of the old ways and for his work to free his mind and the minds of others from the prison of obsolete traditions and doctrines.

Abdul Kareem does not represent a majority in the lands of sands but he stands as a hope; a hope for Egypt and a hope for me here in Iraq and for you out there who support reform and open mindedness. People like him work to turn our societies into civilized societies that appreciate liberty and respect the right of the other to be different.

Abdul Kareem was arrested again by the repressive authorities in his country but you can help set him free by adding your voice and signing this petition.

Check out Sandmonkey for more about Kareem’s case.

Tom Palmer also wrote about this and he provides the adrress and contact info of the Egyptian embassy in D.C, so you can go ahead and give them a call or write to them.

Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
3521 International Court, NW, Washington DC 20008
Telephone: (202) 895 5400
Fax: (202) 244-4319
E-mail: embassy@egyptembdc.org
URL: http://www.egyptembassy.us

Thanks to Sally Bishai for this link!

We have just been informed that Kareem will be re-detained for four 15 more days pending investigation. Let’s take this as a chance to work harder and send a more influential message, not just to people about Kareem, but to Kareem himself so that can be more willing to cooperate.

In the meantime, keep your hopes up.

I would like to thank Dalia for her courage, her passion, and her consistent efforts while working on this case. I’m not sure I can find the right words to describe her, she leaves me speechless. She contributed the most to our campaign and Kareem is blessed to have her by his side.

Thank you, Dalia. From all of us. You’re a true friend.

We have just been informed that tomorrow, Kareem will be re-interrogated by the prosecutor and his professors from Al-Azhar University. Let’s hope for the best!

The Daily Star Egypt just ran their story on Kareem:

Abdel Karim Suliman Amer, also known as “Kareem Amer,” a student blogger, was detained Monday by state authorities and is being held in custody for four days awaiting prosecution for his secular online writings in which he criticizes Islam, his lawyer told The Daily Star Egypt.

“Freedom of expression is a basic human right. We believe that Kareem Amer has the absolute right to express his personal views. This case is a clear violation of universal human rights principles,” Amer’s lawyer Rawda Amed, says in an interview with The Daily Star Egypt.

A former student at Al-Azhar University, Amer was reportedly expelled from the school in March 2006 because of his secular thoughts and online writings and critiques of Islam.

Following interrogations between Amer and his professors at Al-Azhar, the school filed a communiqué against Amer to the Office of the Public Prosecutor for his online writings.

“It is regrettable and shameful for a university to punish one of its students for practicing his basic right to freedom of expression. The university did not only dismiss him, but also did not hesitate to take up the role of an informer by filing a communiqué against him to the Public Prosecutor Office.

“Amer is targeted because he expressed his own views,” executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Gamal Eid, argues.

Amer is currently accused of: “Spreading data and malicious rumors that disrupt public security”; “defaming the president of Egypt”; “incitement to overthrow the regime upon hatred and contempt”; and “incitement to hate ‘Islam’ and breach of the public peace standards.”

He is currently being held in custody for four days, pending investigation and prosecution.

Cairo – 7 November 2006

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) condemned today the prosecutorial decision to hold in custody the Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim Suliman Amer – known as “Kareem Amer” – for four days pending investigation. Al-Azhar University interrogated Kareem after dismissing him in March and then filed a communiqué against him to the Public Prosecutor Office because of his secular writings.

Security forces illegally arrested Kareem in October 2005 for twelve days on account of his online writings about the sectarian strife that took place in Alexandria last year. After releasing him Al-Azhar University wherein he is a registered student dismissed him because of his secular thoughts. Afterwards, the university filed a communiqué to the Public Prosecutor Office against Kareem. While prosecutorial interrogations, Kareem insisted on his right to freedom of _expression in respect with his secular ideas. Consequently, the prosecutor decided to keep him in custody for renewable four days pending investigation.

The interrogation process witnessed some violations by the Public Prosecutor Bureau, according to human rights lawyer of HRinfo who represented Kareem before the prosecutor. The monitored violations of the Public Prosecutor include the illegal attendance of three interrogators, laughing at Kareem while interrogating him, and addressing illegal questions to him (e.g. do you fast in Ramadan? Do you practice prayer?). It is evident that the interrogations with Kareem lacked integrity.

“It is regrettable and shameful for a university to punish one of its students for practicing his basic right to freedom of _expression. The university did not only dismiss him, but also did not hesitate to take up the role of an informer by filing a communiqué against him to the Public Prosecutor Office. Kareem is targeted because he expressed his own views,” HRinfo Executive Director; Gamal Eid Said. “Al-Azhar University is therefore presenting a bad model for any university. Freedom of Speech is to be defended by all even when ideas disagree”.

It is noteworthy that the claim no. 6677/2006 filed against Kareem in Mohram Bek Prosecution, Alexandria included arbitrary accusations which are considered to be in violation of the right to freedom of _expression; a violation targeting Egyptian writers, intellectuals, and political activists for almost 50 years.

Kareem Amer is charged with:
- Spreading data and malicious rumors that disrupt public security
- Defaming the President of Egypt
- Incitement to overthrow the regime upon hatred and contempt
- Incitement to hate “Islam” and breach of the public peace standards
- Highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt and spreading them to the public

Furthermore, the fact that investigators of the Public Prosecution put aside their neutrality and allowed their own personal biases during an official investigation in a case of conscience is a serious threat not only to the future of a 22 year old young man, but also to freedom of _expression in Egypt. “Kareem was courageous when he defended his right to freedom of _expression despite his confidence that he will be imprisoned for this. Defenders of freedom of _expression and human rights in Egypt and worldwide are called upon to stand in solidarity and defend Kareem “, Eid said.