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.

Petition.

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.

View Larger Map

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.

Bus 19, arrêt Willadingweg.

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.

Photo source.

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:

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