.. Kareem was officially sentenced to 4 years in prison, 2 of which he has already served. Throughout this time Kareem has been beaten, humiliated and harassed. But he remains strong, despite feeling frustrated and lonely. He has written several letters which we have published here, expressing his current state and also his appreciation of everyone around the world who continues to fight for his cause.

A recent article in Menassat has also featured news from his letters:

BEIRUT, February 19, 2009 (MENASSAT)- “Do you think that life outside prison will be better or do you think it will be more hell than here?” imprisoned blogger Kareem Amer asked “Wahda Masrya” in a letter a few days ago.

Wahda Masrya, moderator of the blog “An Egyptian girl” and a close friend of Amer, told MENASSAT that the dissident blogger currently feels “very lonely” and that he is in need of “moral support.”

The blogger has been in prison since 2006, and it appears to have taken a hard toll on him.

“Prison has become a part of my imagination. I don’t remember what life was like before my imprisonment and what people look like outside,” Amer wrote in his letter.

Wahda Masrya said Amer’s atheist views make it especially hard for him and that he fears for his safety after his release from Alexandria’s Borg Al-Arab prison.

“In his letter, I see that he is frustrated. He wrote that he is not sure if being out will be safer for him. He needs to be reassured that he will be safe, as he is considered an atheist.” Wahdamasryra told MENASSAT.

Read the rest of the article here.

To find out how you can help, please visit this page, or obtain the prison address from this page and help give Kareem moral support by sending him a letter encouraging his strength.

Egyptian blogger “Wa7da Masrya” received another letter from Kareem, stating:

I got a letter from Kareem today. He is fine and again would like to thank everyone for what they are doing to help free him. He’s waiting for the day he’d be released from prison and hopes that by next November, when he’d have spent the majority of his time in prison, the government may be able to release him. He is hopeful.

Kareem writes:

Prison has become a part of my imagination. I don’t remember how life was before my imprisonment and how people look like outside.

Shahinaz, Kareem’s friend and one of his frequent visitors, adds:

I wrote to him and reassured him that we are all supporting him and we’ll continue our campaign to protect him during his detention.

Any requests to free Kareem has been refused despite other prisoners being discharged.

Please write to him and express your support and solidarity.

Egyptian blogger “Wa7da Masrya” received a letter from Kareem a few days ago stating that he’s doing fine for the time being, despite feeling frustrated and lonely. Fortunately his situation has improved now that the prison guards and the prison’s administration are aware of the trouble that would ensue should they harm and torture him as they did last year. “Activists and Kareem’s lawyers are keeping eyes on him,” she noted.

In a brief e-mail to us she went on to add:

In his letter, I could sense that he’s frustrated and afraid. He asked me, ‘do you think that outside of this prison would be better than it is here, or would it be even more hell?’

He is feeling very lonely, he needs more moral support, and to be reassured that when he will be released, he would be safe, since he’s now known as an atheist.

He also thanked everyone who is fighting for his freedom and wishes that all supporters would continue. So please do!

Reporters Without Borders notes that:

A court in Al Zohor (west of Cairo) fined blogger Tamer Mabrouk (http://elhakika.blogspot.com) 2,500 Egyptian pounds (340 euros) on 20 January for allegedly libelling an Egyptian company, Trust Chemicals, in a blog entry accusing it of dumping hazardous waste in Lake Manzalah and the Suez Canal. The company filed its lawsuit last June.

[...]

Mabrouk’s lawyer, Rawda Ahmed, said it was the first time an Egyptian blogger had been sued by a private company over a blog entry.

Rawda is also Kareem’s lawyer. Kareem is still serving his 4 year prison sentence, which he received merely because of his blog posts.

Please continue fighting for Kareem’s cause. Contact us to see how you can help, or read this page.

We have recently launched a WordPress plugin for Kareem. It has been in the works for some time, but we’re back now with a great update. In the previous post we noted that we were already working on introducing new features to improve the plugin/widget, these are now completed and you can download the latest from the official WordPress plugin directory.

What’s different from last time:

Previously you had no specific options. You had to use the widget as it came. However with the latest version, this is no longer the case. Whether you would like to show only Kareem’s photo and the feed from FreeKareem.org, or only a video and the social networking links, or simply an alert and a count-up of his time in prison, or a “tell a friend” e-mail option to increase awareness, or anything in between - this plugin allows you to choose whichever you prefer to show on your sidebar.

Take a look:

FAQ:

How do I customize it?
After you download and upload the plugin to your WordPress site (see “Installation“), go to “Settings” and proceed to the Free Kareem tab. Tick whatever option you would like your widget to include, and untick whatever you wish to eliminate. All the buttons are ticked by default, but this is just to show you the options before you begin customizing it depending on your needs.

Is it compatible with WordPress 2.7?
Yes. It is compatible with every version of WordPress since 2.0 and we’ll continue making it compatible with future releases of WordPress as well.

Does this plugin come in different languages?
Yes, very soon. Thanks to the outstanding support of volunteers we are currently working on launching this plugin in different languages. If you would like to translate this plugin, please let us know.

Here’s just an example of a customized WordPress widget:

Download the plugin here! And please spread the good word. This is a great way to spread awareness on Kareem’s situation.

WordPress is arguably the most celebrated blogging platform with millions of people using it around the world. We did not hesitate to use it as the platform of choice for both this blog and the plugin/widget described below.

The Plugin:
A plugin is a feature that extends the capabilities of WordPress. In this case, the Free Kareem plugin gives you the ability to promote Kareem’s cause through a simple widget, which you can conviniently place anywhere on your sidebar. Download it here [Instructions.]

What it looks like:

♦ These social networking buttons will lead to Free Kareem’s Facebook and MySpace pages as well as the campaign’s YouTube and Twitter accounts. This is because not many people knew we existed on these platforms and may choose to stay in touch with us there as opposed to only this site.

♦ The “Tell a Friend” button leads you to a page where you can spread the cause via email to others.

♦ In the very near future, you will be able to do the following:

Why:
Kareem has already spent 2 years of his life in prison. Now the media treats this as “old news” for the most part. We need to make sure that Kareem’s case remains prominent. Bloggers around the world can help us achieve that by downloading this plugin.

The Author:
Michael Torbert is ranked as the #1 WordPress Plugin Developer for 2008 (based on the total number of downloads of several of his plugins), making him an easy choice for us when we wanted to include the professional involvement of a WordPress developer. Michael supported our cause immediately and we sincerely thank him for his hard work with us.

The Future:
This plugin will continue being developed further depending on the feedback we receive. We are already working on some great additional features such as pictures, ability to exclude certain aspects of the widget, ability to include an RSS feed from FreeKareem.org, and generally making it as customizable as possible. But while we do that we need some help getting the word out on this plugin!

Open Source:
Like most WordPress plugins, the files are completely open source and anyone can build upon and improve this work, and if you do, please e-mail us and let us know so we can feature your work as well.

DOWNLOAD!
You can download this plugin from WordPress.org. It supports many versions of WordPress and works with any theme!

In a recent article featured in the Daily News Egypt, Kareem’s case is highlighted as a prominent example of Egypt’s increasing intolerance for freedom of speech:

February 2008 marked the first anniversary of the imprisonment of Kareem Amer, the first Egyptian blogger to be sentenced for his online writing. Amer’s jailing foresaw the trend described by CPJ in its annual census of journalists in prison, issued this month.

For the first time in CPJ’s prison census, online journalists represented the largest category (45 percent) of imprisoned media workers. CPJ attributes this to the “rising influence of online reporting and commentary.”

Many other examples are listed in this extensive article detailing Egypt’s punishment for anyone who dares to practice their basic right to free speech.

Despite over 2 years of worldwide protest, Egypt has yet to justify Kareem’s imprisonment with actual logic.

In celebration of Human Rights Day, Al Jazeera is currently holding a discussion on human rights violations in the Arab world, with an emphasis on Egypt.

In the report that accompanied the discussion, Kareem was quoted as an example of a young person unjustly imprisoned for his opinions, and FreeKareem.org was featured.

We are in the process of tracking the video of this. Once we find it, we will share it here.

Xaq Fixx of Bureaucrash, “a non-profit organization that facilitates freedom-oriented activism,” recently conducted this podcast with me about Kareem, the Free Kareem Campaign, and free speech in the Arab world. Bureaucrash members provided a lot of support for the campaign and have helped us organize several rallies for Kareem in the past two years in Washington D.C and Romania. We are grateful for their support and thank them for this podcast opportunity!

You can listen to it here.