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.)

Members of Jong VLD, LVSV, Jeunes MR and FEL joined up to protest before the Egyptian embassy. According to the organizer, Philippe De Backer, their action made the national newspapers websites. The rally was a great succes with over 40 participants during the 2-hour protest!

Here is a news article covering the event in Dutch.

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.

IUF will sponsor a Free Kareem Rally in Berlin in front of the Egyptian Embassy at 12.30pm on the 6th of November.

6. November 12.30 Uhr
Kundgebung für die Freiheit von Kareem Amer
Kundgebung vor der ägyptischen Botschaft in Berlin

Sehr geehrte Frau Wright,

wir möchten Sie herzlich einladen, an diesem Donnerstag, dem 6.11. um 12.30 Uhr, mit uns Ihre Unterstützung für den ägyptischen Blogger Kareem Amer auszudrücken.

Kareem Amer ist ein ägyptischer Autor und Blogger der immer den Mut fand sich für das Recht auf freie Meinungsäusserung einzusetzen. Da er selbst von diesem Recht Gebrauch gemacht hat, ist er zu einer Gefängnisstrafe von vier Jahren verurteilt worden.

Zusammen mit anderen Organisationen und Individuen in vielen Hauptstädten der Welt werden wir gegen die Inhaftierung des ägyptischen Bloggers Kareem Amer protestieren, der für sein Eintreten für Gleichberechtigung, seine Kritik an der Radikalisierung des Islam und der ägyptischen Regierung verurteilt wurde.

Unabhängig davon ob, Sie Kareems Positionen teilen, können wir alle der Meinung sein, dass niemand für das Äußern seiner Meinung inhaftiert werden darf. Wir bitten Sie daher am Donnerstag zwischen 12.30 Uhr – 13.30 Uhr, während Ihrer Mittagszeit mit uns Kareem und das Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung zu unterstützen.

Veranstaltungsort
Egyptian Embassy / Ägyptische Botschaft in Berlin
Stauffenberg Str. 6-7
10785 Berlin

Wegbeschreibung über google
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=stauffenbergstr.+Berlin

Routenplaner der Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
BVG

Programm

12.30 Uhr Kundgebung für die Freilassung von Kareem Amer

13.30 Uhr Übergabe der Petition zur Freilassung von Kareem Amer an den Ägyptischen Gesandten

13.40 Uhr Ende der Veranstaltung

Das IUF lädt die Teilnehmer am Donnerstagabend um 19.00 Uhr zu einer informellen Veranstaltung in die Räume des IUF ein.

Bitte beachten Sie, dass für die Teilnahme am Donnerstagmittag, trotz Klimawandel, warme Kleidung von großem Vorteil ist.

A Free Kareem rally will be taking place in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Bern, Switzerland on Nov. 6 at about 11:00am.

[Bus line 19, stop Willadingweg.]

If you’d like to request for any specific details concerning this rally, please contact the organizer, Maryvonne Chartier-Raymond through chray[at]bluewin.ch

Your attendance at any of the worldwide rallies makes a difference!

We encourage all our supporters in London to participate in the Free Kareem rally there!

An entry about this rally has been posted by Andrew Gimber, the rally’s organizer, at the Oxford Libertarian Society blog. If you have any questions concerning this rally please contact him: andrew[dot]gimber[at]balliol[dot]ac[dot]uk, or simply use our contact form.

In an effort to spread as much awareness as possible about Kareem, students at Roger Williams University will be holding a peaceful rally for him on November 6th at Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island. It will be at 6 or 7PM.

For our dear readers in Romania, please note that there is a Facebook event concerning the rally.

Pe 22 februarie 2007 Kareem Amer, un tânar egiptean a fost condamnat la 4 ani de închisoare pentru “incitare la ură faţă de musulmani”, “defăimarea Preşedintelui Republicii” şi “insulte aduse Islamului”. Toate aceste „crime” au fost comise de Kareem pe blogul personal. Constituţiile majorităţii statelor lumii, inclusiv cea a Egiptului, garantează dreptul la libera exprimare. Cu toate astea, guvernul Egiptului refuză sa respecte drepturile lui Kareem şi să retragă acuzaţiile. De aceea, pe 6 noiembrie, data la care Kareem a fost arestat, se organizează mişcări de protest şi demonstraţii de solidaritate cu tanarul egiptean în toate marile oraşe ale lumii, inclusiv Bucureşti. Vino pe 6 noiembrie în faţa ambasadei Egiptului la Bucureşti la un protest pentru Kareem şi împotriva încălcării dreptului la liberă exprimare.

There is also a new blog for Kareem in Romanian!

The organizers are doing a great job and it’s great to see so many people around the world united and committed to Kareem’s cause.

New York has just been added as a confirmed location in the worldwide demonstrations for Kareem.

The rally will be taking place at the Egyptian Mission to the UN, at the following address:
304 East 44th St. (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
From Noon until 1:30PM!

We encourage everyone in or near New York to participate in this important rally!

View Larger Map

For more information about the rally please contact the organizer Anna Kushner, a director at PEN, of which Kareem is an honorary member of through anna[at]pen.org (replace [at] with @) or simply use our contact form.