Latest press release -

NEW YORK– Demonstrators around the world will protest on February 15th against the continued imprisonment of Egyptian blogger Abdelkareem Nabil Soliman, a 22-year-old student arrested last November for criticizing the Egyptian government on his personal website. Protests will take place in New York City, London, Rome, Paris, Ottawa, Bucharest, Washington, DC, and a growing number of cities, in hopes of persuading Egyptian authorities to drop all charges against Mr. Soliman, also known by his online handle, Kareem Amer.

Kareem, the first person prosecuted in Egypt for Internet-based journalism, has stated that he believes that women and men should be treated equally; that Islamic extremism is hurting Arab society; and that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. The Internet has made possible the dissemination of these ideals to a global audience. For that reason, some in Egypt evidently feel threatened by Kareem and others who, like him, are not afraid to speak their minds.

This is not the first time Kareem has been arrested. His writings also led to him being expelled from Egypt’s Al-Azhar University earlier in 2006. Since his arrest in November, he has been kept in solitary confinement and has been denied access to his lawyer and to his family. Several Middle Eastern human rights organizations have expressed concern for his life. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders have all condemned his arrest.

The roster of government officials who have written the Egyptian government on behalf of justice for Kareem continues to grow. Last week, three members of the Italian parliament—Antonio Martino, Daniele Capezzone, and Gaetano Quagliariello—sent letters to the Egyptian government pleading for Kareem’s release. In January, two US congressmen, Republican Trent Franks and Democrat Barney Frank, wrote the Egyptian Ambassador in Washington.

Media may contact Constantino Diaz-Duran, Director of the New York Free Kareem Coalition, by email at constantino@c-dd.com, or on +1 202-288-3328. More information can also be obtained at www.FreeKareem.org.

Rallies have been confirmed in NYC, Washington, London, Ottawa, Rome and Bucharest on the 15th of February. People from these various countries will unite on that date in support of Kareem and free speech.

For details and more information about the rallies and its leaders, or if you’re interested in organizing a rally in your own country, please contact Constantino Diaz-Duran at -

constantino (at) c-dd (dot) com

Please stay tuned for more information and coverage.

Remember that rallies can make a difference. Even if you are only 3 people, you can get your message across. Please consider doing this for the sake of not only Kareem, but in the name of freedom of speech as well.

Update – We’ve just been informed that two representatives from RSF will come to Cairo on 18-19 Feb. to meet the Minister of Justice and other officials about Kareem.

Read the news story here.

Also, Andrew Perraut is organizing a protest in London. If you can help, please do so!

You can read the details here.

From the man who made this possible: Constantino -

Hi All,

The rally went well. We were few, but we managed to hand out about 100 fliers to passerby. One Egyptian cab driver who rolled down his window to get a flier asked me, as I approached him, “So what did my government do now?!” Then he honked his horn in solidarity while he waited for the light to turn green.

[...]

We turned our signs to them and started yelling “Free Kareem.” They immediately closed the drapes… but we still caught them peeking out every now and then. A few minutes later, a car with diplomatic plates pulled up right in front of us. They were bringing catered food to the consulate. I tried to give the guy my letter, but he wouldn’t take it.

I should also point out that several people said they had heard about Kareem’s case, and wished us luck. All in all, I think we at least managed to send the message that Kareem is not alone, and we also got to share the information with more people.

I pray that this will all be over tomorrow, and that our friend will be acquitted and set free. But we are definitely keeping the signs in case we need them again. They will hear from us again if they don’t release him. And next time we will do a better job at organizing.

Major thanks goes to Chris Kilmer as well, who contributed a lot to this rally.

Thanks to Constantino’s great efforts, more and more people are learning about the rally for Kareem in New York, and hopefully the majority of them will attend to make a really important statement.

Kareem on Bwog -

Constantino Diaz-Duran, GS ‘09, alerted us to a rally at the Egyptian Consulate (2nd Avenue between E. 58th and E. 59th) in support of Kareem Amer. Amer is a 22-year-old college student who has been imprisoned for criticizing the government in his blog. He is currently facing up to nine years in prison and is being kept in solitary confinement, and his sentence will be handed down on Thursday. Diaz-Duran can be reached at constantino@c-dd.com. The rally will take place in front of the Consulate this Wednesday at 3:30 PM. Go support free speech and make PrezBo proud.

Daily Star Egypt features this article about a protest for Kareem on its front page -

CAIRO: A rally was held Friday in front of the Egyptian embassy in Washington DC to call for the release of blogger Abdel Karim Soliman Amer, who has been detained by security forces since November.

Organized by a group called the DC Coalition for Blog Freedom, the rally urged the Egyptian government release Alexandria native Amer and protects his right to free speech.

A statement by the group said “Because of the urgency of his plight, DC-area residents of diverse backgrounds are staging a peaceful rally in front of the Egyptian Embassy’s cultural affairs branch in DuPont Circle to defend Amer’s right to blog freely and to call for his immediate release from jail.”

Although the protestors presented a petition to an embassy official who came out to meet them, when The Daily Star Egypt contacted the Foreign Ministry there appeared to be no plans to take any further steps concerning the matter.

Amer, 22, was a student of Al Azhar University, but was expelled last March and then arrested on Nov. 7 for writings on his internet blog, where he allegedly criticized religion.

He is currently detained in Al-Hadra prison in Alexandria on charges of having defamed the Egyptian government, “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.”

Local activists and human rights organizations have previously told The Daily Star Egypt that bloggers who cover religious or sectarian issues are more likely to be targeted for arrest.

In a press release issued on Nov. 11, the organizations called upon the Egyptian government to immediately release Amer.

“The arbitrary accusations against Karim Amer indicate the authorities’ inclination to detain Kareem simply for expressing views contradictory to theirs. The public prosecutor told Kareem that if he did not abandon his views, even though personal, he may be imprisoned,” representatives from the organizations argue.

According to Dalia Ziada from the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, the investigator told Amer that “he should reconsider his secular opinions and change his mind in order to be able to get out of jail. When Karim insisted on his right to freedom of expression, the investigator ordered his re-detainment for another 15 days with the hope that the stay in prison might push Karim to change his mind.”

The Daily Star Egypt had previously attempted to contact the Ministry of Interior concerning the status of Amer. Several faxes of queries have not been answered and a ministry official who answered a request for a phone interview declined to comment.

We have just been informed that Kareem’s next investigation session will take place on the 31st of January.

We’d like to thank the DC Coalition for Blog Freedom for organizing a rally for Kareem last week. Thank you so much for your efforts.

A small group of us protested for Kareem’s cause in front of the Egyptian embassy.

Some of the posters that we made:

Mohammed, president of Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

Mohammed again, along with Marwa, one of the editors at ME Faith: