Cinzia Polese, who is volunteering as country coordinator for Egypt at Amnesty UK, alerted us that her group is running a campaign to raise further awareness on Kareem. They’re requesting supporters to send a picture of themselves holding a keyboard, representing freedom of speech, with posters that say “Free Kareem” on it. Below are some photos:
Update: More photos!
IUF Berlin, who also organized two previous rallies in Germany (rally 2; rally 1 pictures, rally 1 video), assisted us once again with an “undercover” campaign for Kareem.
A grand ball was held at the Interconti Berlin, under the patronage of the Egyptian Ambassador to Germany, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy. Members of the IUF managed to get into the lobby of the event location and handed out several hundred buttons to the ball guests who entered the hotel. The buttons were pinned to dresses and jackets and read in Arabic: “We are all with Kareem Amer”. In the ballroom, the Egyptian Ambassador along with embassy staff and Egyptian businessmen were able to read this friendly reminder that Kareem is not forgotten by his friends and supporters.
A petition was handed to a guest who entered the ballroom, which could only be accessed by invited guests, with the request to deliver the petition to the Ambassador.
Here are the pictures, a video will also be added later.
The entrance to the Interconti Hotel, note the pyramidal shape of the lobby....
Approaching the entrance to the hotel
Entering the lobby
In the lobby
Successfully handing out the first buttons to the guests
Slightly hesitant in pointing out the best spot to pin on the button
The pins
Pin sample
The main ball-room
The dance
A first newspaper report after the ball
A video will be available later!
Meklit Hadero, an Ethiopian-born musician and 2009 TEDGlobal Fellow, sings a very moving song in support of Kareem:
Thank you so much Meklit! If you’re on Twitter, please take a moment to send a personal shout out to Meklit @meklithadero for joining the struggle to free Kareem Amer.
The following is a guest post from Maryvonne, organizer of the Free Kareem Rally in Bern, Switzerland:
For three years now, Kareem Amer has been in prison for expressing his opinions. Although the authorities customarily grant a release request after three quarters of a prisoner’s sentence, Kareem’s hearing has been repeatedly postponed and is still pending.
In the West and especially in Switzerland, we enjoy free speech. That is why we are organizing a rally in front of the Embassy of Egypt, Elfenauweg 61, in Bern, on Friday, November 6, 2009, between 11 and 11:30 a.m.
French:
Trois ans déjà que Kareem Amer est emprisonné pour des faits qui relèvent de la liberté d’expression. Sa demande de mise en liberté devant la cour de Cassation après l’accomplissement des trois-quarts de la peine et qui est habituellement accordée, est encore repoussée.
Nous avons le privilège et en particulier en Suisse de pouvoir nous exprimer librement. C’est pourquoi nous organisons un Rallye devant l’ambassade d’Egypte, Elfenauweg 61, à Berne, le vendredi 6 novembre 2009 de 11h à 11h30.
Comme dans d’autres capitales dans le monde, venez avec nous affirmer dans la dignité que la liberté individuelle et la liberté de pensée et de parole sont un droit de l’homme.
German:
Es ist schon drei Jahre her, seit Kareem Amer wegen Tätigkeiten, die zur Meinungsfreiheit gehören, inhaftiert worden ist. Das Freiheitsgesuch vor dem Hochgerichtshof ist zum dritten Mal verschoben worden.
Wir haben insbesondere in der Schweiz das Privileg, uns frei zu äussern. Deshalb organisieren wir am Freitag, 6. November 2009 zwischen 11 und 11.30 Uhr einen Rallye vor der ägyptischen Botschaft, Elfenauweg 61, in Bern.
Bus 19, Haltestelle Willadingweg
Wie in anderen Hauptstädten wollen wir mit Würde bestätigen, dass individelle Freiheit und freie Meinungsäusserung Menschenrechte sind.
Today, Kareem spends his 25th birthday in prison. The third birthday which he spends alone behind bars. We have recently sent a mailing list alerting people of his birthday and requesting that they send him letters and postcards of support – we hope that you will do the same! You may find Kareem’s prison address here.
A number of Representatives just sent a letter to President Obama requesting that he pressures Egyptian President Mubarak to release Kareem. A copy of this letter found below:
A presentation by FreeKareem.org was done at the re:publica ‘09 event in Berlin. People had overwhelming support for Kareem, and many immediately wanted to know how they can help. Some are doing so by writing letters to either Kareem or the Egyptian government, others are spreading the word about Kareem’s imprisonment.
We appreciate everyone’s support, and thank them for coming to see the presentation and learning how they can help support the campaign.
In less than a month, Kareem will have spent exactly 2 years in prison. During this time, he has been tortured, denied rights to visitors, had his books taken away from him, and is being generally harrassed by both fellow inmates and prison guards. He is losing his health, and apparently his patience.
Imprisoning him is truly a grave crime, one that the Egyptian government should never get away with easily. Your involvement in a Free Kareem rally will help us effectively convey this message to the ones responsible for unjustly putting Kareem behind bars.
If you are in any of these locations, please plan ahead so that you can attend! We really need you there. All rallies will be taking place either in front of Egyptian Embassies or Consulates. We will be publishing exact addresses and rally organizers’ information when the date nears, so please keep checking back for more information. In the meantime, please be aware of confirmed locations so far and ones that are still being considered.
Paris, France: Confirmed
London, UK: Confirmed
Brussels, Belgium: Confirmed
Stockholm, Sweden: Confirmed
Bucharest, Romania: Confirmed
Rome, Italy: Being considered
Prague, Czech Republic: Being considered
Washington, USA: Being considered
Berlin, Germany: Being considered
Moscow, Russia: Being considered
If your country/city is not yet listed here, PLEASE CONTACT US! We urgently need your assistance in organizing a local Free Kareem rally in front of your Egyptian Embassy or Consulate.
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:
