For our friends and supporters in India (please click on the photo for the larger and clearer document.) The translation is of this post.
We would like to thank our friend Sandeep for providing this translation!
More information about Kareem in Hindi can be found here.
Kareem has been arrested since November 6th, 2006. He is about to spend his 600th day in prison! We are planning an event for this day and hope that you will all be involved.
Here are the details.
Date: Saturday, the 28th of June
Occasion: Day 600 for Kareem in prison!
Theme: Increase awareness for Kareem in prison, and get in touch with him!
How you can get involved:
On the 28th, dedicate a post on your blog/website to Kareem.
You can do this in two ways:
Option 1: Write a post/letter directly to or about Kareem. Make people aware of what Kareem is going through. Express your opinions or concerns over the fact that he is still in prison just for sharing his personal views on radical Islam, extremism within Al Azhar, and the president of Egypt.
Option 2: Write about something controversial, fearlessly, the same way as Kareem did (whether be it about free speech, human rights, religious freedom, political rights, et al) and then dedicate this post to him.
You may also choose to directly write to Kareem using the following address:
Prisoner Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman
Alexandria
Borg Al-Arab Prison
Room 1 Section 22
The Arab Republic of Egypt
Please attach the Arabic address on your letter:
Originally sent to this blogger:
First in Arabic, followed by an English translation -
بعيش يومين شكلهم مش حيتكرروا بسبب إن معايا مجموعة من المعتقلين على ذمة أحداث 6 أبريل
معظمهم ناس مثقفة و عندها قضية مؤمنة بيها بجد بعضهم أفرج عنهم و الباقي منتظرين قرار الإفراج ساعات بأفكر بيني و بين نفسي يعني
كان لازم يجوا هنا عشان يحسروني على الأيام اللي قعدوها معايا لما يمشوا
للمرة الأولى من ساعة ما غتحبست ألاقي في السجن ناس قريبن مني فكريا على الأقل إحتمال يفرج عنهم الأيام الجاية و هابقى انا لوحدي كما كنت في الاول.أنا نفسي أخرج ….كل ما اشوف الناس بتروح بقول إمتى حيجي اليوم اللي أروح فيه زيهم أنا عملت إيه عشان أتحبس المدة الطويلة اوي اوي
أنا عمري ما حسيت في يوم من الأيام اللي قضتها في السجن إني إرتكبت جريمة أستاهل عليها إني أتسجن معنى كده ان الغرض من عقابي ما بقاش له معنى
لأن السجن ما قدرش يغير فيا أي حاجة و لا عمرة حيغيرأنا عندي هنا جوابات كتيرة وصلوا 2300 جواب أنا بفرح أوي لما توصلني جوابات بأبقى حاسس إن لسه فيه حد فاكرني لاني احيانا في ناس هنا لما يحبوا يضيقوني يقولوا لي خلاص ما حدش فاكرك و لا فاكر
قضيتك دي كانت وقت و إنتهى و الدنيا نسيتك ساعات الكلام ده بيضيقني بس لما أبص على الجوابات ت الكتير أوي اللي ملياه الاوضة بسخر بيني و بين نفسي من الكلام ده لأن الدليل الحي قدامي
موجود م مشاركني جزء من الأوضة اللي انا عايش فيها
نفس يجي يوم الاقي نفسي خارج الشرنقة اللي أنا محبوس فيها ديكريم عامر
عنوان كريم أهه إكتبوا له:
سجن برج العرب الإحتياطي عنبر 22 غرفة 1
الإسكندريه
English:
I am living through some decent days here which I know will not last. I have several activists with me who were detained during the strike on the 6th of April in Egypt. They are people like me. They are educated, and staunch believers in certain values which they are fighting for.
Some of these people are out now, and the others are waiting to be released. Sometimes I wonder if the reason why they’re here in the first place is to make me more sad when they leave me alone in the dark.
This is the first time since I’ve been in prison that I meet people who are intellectually similar to me, but they will soon be released and I will be lonely again.
I wish I can get out of here. Every time I witness people being released from prison to go back to their homes, I wonder when it’s time for me to also leave. I never did anything worthy of this punishment. I’ve been here for so long, and throughout my detainment, I was never convinced that I ever committed a crime. Their punishment is not effective. This prison never changed my mind, and it never will.
I got 2,300 messages from all over the world. I feel ecstatic every time I receive a letter. I feel that people didn’t forget about me. Sometimes, the prisoners here mock me and try to hurt me by telling me that people forgot about my existence, but when I look at all of these letters that I have in my cell… I don’t care about what the prisoners are saying, because I have concrete evidence with me proving them wrong.
I just wish I could get out of here.
Kareem Amer
Borg el Arab prison, Section 22 Cell 1
Alexandria, Egypt
You may write to Kareem at the above address.
As President Bush prepares to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this weekend, U.S. Reps. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) sent a letter with 13 of their colleagues to President Bush urging him to call for the release of Kareem.
Kirk, Frank to President Bush: Pressure Egyptian Government to Release First Imprisoned Arab Blogger
Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman imprisoned for condemning Islamic extremism and defending women and minorities
First blogger in Egypt convicted for peaceful Internet expression
WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.), along with 13 other Republicans and Democrats sent a letter to President Bush today urging him to press Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to release human rights activist and blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman. Soliman was convicted for condemning Islamic extremism for its poor treatment of women and minorities on his blog. The case has attracted strong international attention and the personal interest of the President.
“Over the past year, the human rights of Egyptians have deteriorated, specifically with regard to freedom of expression,” said Congressman Kirk, a member of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. “Hundreds of prisoners of conscience are sitting in Egyptian prisons, but perhaps the most troubling case is that of young human rights activist and blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman. His only crime was speaking out against extremists who seek to persecute women and minorities. For that, the Egyptian government sentenced him to rot in prison for four years. We have a unique opportunity to right this injustice – President Bush should call on Egyptian President Mubarak to release Soliman and reestablish the freedom of expression that every person, regardless of location, deserves.”
Mr. Soliman is known more commonly by his Internet pen name “Kareem Amer.” In March 2006, he was expelled from his religious university for comments posted on his blog denouncing the university’s discriminatory teachings and practices. “I call on Egyptian government officials to take the necessary procedures to protect the Egyptian youth from the spread of subversive religious ideologies among them by permanently shutting down religious institutions in this country,” Soliman wrote. “Shutting them down will stop the prevalence of the tone of hatred and sectarian enmity, heated by what [religious university] students study from things that incite [the] hatred and scorn of non-Muslims.” Soliman was later arrested by the government and convicted of “contempt of religion” and “defaming the President of Egypt.” On February 22, 2007, he was sentenced to four years in jail.
“It is inevitable that the Internet will grow, and so too must the freedoms that founded it,” the lawmakers wrote. “We therefore request that you press President Mubarak to commute the sentence of or grant amnesty to Mr. Soliman as a way to show that Egypt is a force for moderation on the Internet, our new global village. By accepting broad liberties within this vast new medium, Egypt can demonstrate its role as a pioneer in showing tolerance to different and new ideas.”
Egyptian prisoners are occasionally released by the President in honor of various national holidays, including the recent release of 861 prisoners to mark the anniversary of the start of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. July 23, Revolution Day, is Egypt’s next national holiday.
Bush will meet with Mubarak on Saturday. The bipartisan Kirk-Frank letter is below.
________________________________________
Dear Mr. President:
As Members of Congress concerned about freedom of speech in Egypt, we are writing in advance of your visit with President Mubarak to respectfully request that you strongly urge him to release human rights advocate and blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman.
Egypt and the United States are allies in the fight against extremism in the Arab world. A new part of this effort is the establishment of Internet rights, such as blogging. The right to peaceful, free expression through newspapers or now the Web will have an enormous impact on the reputations of nascent democracies, especially for the new generation under forty that now seems to live on the Internet.
Mr. Soliman, known more commonly by his Internet pen name Kareem Amer, was convicted for statements made on his personal web blog condemning Islamic extremism for its poor treatment of women and minorities. On February 22, 2007, he was sentenced to a total of four years in prison. While we recognize his comments were offensive to many Egyptians and Muslims around the world, this sentence sets a troubling precedent. Mr. Soliman is the first blogger in the Arab world to be convicted for the expression of personal views.
We recognize that Egyptian law is sensitive to all denigration of religion and protects Islam, Christianity and Judaism from any religious defamation. However, Egypt must honor these laws under its commitment to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These solemn international agreements state that “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference” and “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression.” Such rights include “the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”
It is inevitable that the Internet will grow, and so too must the freedoms that founded it. To continue on the path of modernization, development and reform, it is critical that Egypt expand the scope of acceptable Internet dialogue such that expressing views on religious extremism does not constitute a violation of law.
The Egyptian judiciary has on occasion commuted the sentence of political prisoners. Journalist Howayda Taha Matwali was convicted of making or possessing pictures likely to harm the country’s reputation in January, 2007, but the Court vacated her prison sentence just this past February.
The Egyptian Constitution also affords the President the right to grant amnesty or commute a sentence. President Mubarak has exercised this right on a number of occasions, including the release of 861 prisoners to mark the anniversary of the start of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Revolution Day, July 23, would seem the perfect opportunity to commute Mr. Soliman’s sentence to time served, seventeen months.
We therefore request that you press President Mubarak to commute the sentence of or grant amnesty to Mr. Soliman as a way to show that Egypt is a force for moderation on the Internet, our new global village. By accepting broad liberties within this vast new medium, Egypt can demonstrate its role as a pioneer in showing tolerance to different and new ideas.
Thank you for your attention to this precedent-setting case. We look forward to working with you on this and other human rights abuses around the world.
Sincerely,
Mark Steven Kirk, Member of Congress
Barney Frank, Member of Congress
Frank R. Wolf, Member of Congress
William D. Delahunt, Member of Congress
Christopher H. Smith, Member of Congress
Al Green, Member of Congress
Ted Poe, Member of Congress
Bob Inglis, Member of Congress
Robert B. Aderholt, Member of Congress
Shelley Berkley, Member of Congress
Trent Franks, Member of Congress
Thaddeus McCotter, Member of Congress
Howard Berman, Member of Congress
John Conyers, Jr., Member of Congress
Joe Courtney, Member of Congress
It’s been over a year and a half now that our friend Kareem has been in prison, merely for standing up in what he believes in. It’s imperative for all of us to continue this struggle! To keep yourself updated on his news and our campaigns for him, please add this widget to your blogs and websites:
Joshua Curry recently wrote this article, where he incorrectly noted:
Iran arrested Kareem Amer for a sophomoric rant against his university and gave him a four-year prison sentence. His lawyers say since then, his teeth have been smashed and he’s beaten regularly.
Iran has nothing to do with Kareem’s case. The government responsible is Egypt’s.
In our previous post, we wrote that the most recent “The World” podcast will feature a discussion about the “Flood the Jail with Mail” campaign which is co-organized by the wonderful and hard working Committee to Protect Bloggers (CPB) This podcast features the director of the Free Kareem Coalition (myself), Curt from CPB, and Elijah Zarwan, a Cairo-based human rights researcher.
You can now listen to the short 4 minute talk here. [MP3]
BBC’s “The World” is going to feature a new podcast concerning the upcoming 2-week long letter campaign for Kareem, detailed by Curt from the Committee to Protect Bloggers here.
Curt and I (Esra’a) will be discussing the Flood the Jail with Mail campaign [click here for info] which goes live on Monday, April 7th. We encourage everyone to get involved!
Visit the website and make sure you listen to Friday’s show to learn more about the campaign and Kareem’s situation in general.
We are happy to announce the launch of a joint mail campaign in support of Kareem together with the Committee to Protect Bloggers.
From April 7 through April 21, both organizations are encouraging their readers to go analogue and write Kareem a letter or postcard.
There are several reasons for another analogue campaign:
First, we’ve organized demonstrations and public outreach events all over the world but nothing that targets Kareem directly. It is time for a campaign that focuses on him in personal way! He really enjoys letters and they make a difference to him, as he has stated before. Second, a sufficient amount of such mail will remind Egyptian authorities that Kareem, bloggers in general and prisoners of conscience over all, are not alone. Remember, when Kareem was being tortured several months ago, the focus of international media was instrumental in stopping it. And finally, this campaign means an opportunity for us to really do something directly for Kareem.
We have asked you to write to Kareem before, and by all means continue it! But now we are especially asking you to send him at least one letter between April 7 and April 21. During this period, let’s “flood the jail with mail”!
Below you find the address in English, followed by a picture of it in Arabic. It goes without saying that both versions (if you are writing from a non-Arabic country) must be on the mail to assure that it gets delivered.
Alexandria
Borg Al-Arab Prison
Room 1 Section 22
Prisoner Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman
The Arab Republic of EgyptKareem’s address in Arabic (mandatory to be included on the envelope)
Please also have a look at Alexandra Sandels’ article about this campaign at Menassat, which includes statements by Esra’a and Wa7damasrya as well as some background information.
If you need more information about the “Flood the Jail with Mail” campaign, please feel free to contact us.
The heart of the desert, the prison of Borg el Arab where Kareem is imprisoned.
Shahinaz, an Egyptian blogger, Rawda, Kareem’s lawyer, and Doa’a Sultan, a journalist, drove all the way from Cairo to Borg el Arab prison in order to visit Kareem and see how he’s doing. The prison is situated in a cruel, dirty, and isolated location.
Shahinaz tells us that Kareem is doing good and was very glad to see them all. They spent most of the time encouraging him, and mentioned the latest worldwide rallies which he was very happy to hear about. He thanks everyone who was involved. Likely due to the international outrage which took place the last time we were aware of his torture, Kareem is no longer being physically abused in prison.
Kareem has been receiving several letters from abroad which really help keep him in good spirits. The Free Kareem Coalition is considering launching another letter campaign, calling for people across the world to send letters to Kareem and making sure he’s not alone.
If you would like to write to him, you may use this address:
Abdel Kareem Nabil Suliman
Borg el Arab prison
Section 22, Room 1
Alexandria Egypt
You can also FedEx small packages or books to this address.
Kareem will also be featured in a local newspaper. He has spent some time writing down his thoughts and this will hopefully be translated as soon as possible by the coalition. When Doa’a asked him about his torture in November, he had a very hard time dealing with the memory. “We could see how much this cruelty traumatized him,” says Shahinaz.
The three young women spent the full day to visit Kareem. They left Cairo at 7am and came back that same night at 7pm. We thank them all greatly for having the courage and for taking the time to visit Kareem in prison, which surely meant a lot to him.
