Update: 10-25-07: The worldwide Free Kareem rally is scheduled for Nov. 9, and will include public demonstrations in Brussels, Rome, Stockholm, Washington, D.C., New York City, Prague, Bucharest, Berlin, Amsterdam, and London, according to the Free Karem website.
From Advocates For The Persecuted
February 22, 2007 - An Egyptian blogger, whose arrest and prosecution grabbed world headlines as people demonstrated on his behalf in front of Egyptian embassies, has been sentenced to a four-year prison term. Muhammad Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman raised the ire of government officials when he posted his commentary condemning Muslim attacks on Christians in Alexandria.
According to Reuters News Service, an Alexandria court convicted Suleiman, 22, on charges of "insulting both Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak," on Feb. 22, 2007. Suleiman received a four-year prison sentence as a result of eight blog postings since 2004. Suleiman is the first blogger, according to Reuters, to face trial for the content of his blog. He was arrested Nov. 6, 2006. Three years of the sentence was for "inciting hatred of Islam," and one year was for insulting Egypt's president.
Reporters Without Borders called the sentence "a slap in the face for the international organisations and governments that support President Mubarak’s policies. It is time the international community took a stand on Egypt’s repeated violations of press freedom and the rights of Internet users.”
Reuters also reported that Suleiman's article, "The Naked Truth of Islam as I Saw it," accused Muslims of savagery during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Alexandria in 2005.
Suleiman's father publicly condemned his son for visiting Christian websites and blamed human rights organizations "for losing his son’s opportunity to declare his repentance, and that’s by their aiding and defending him." A translation of his letter into English was posted on www.freekareem.org, and is also in Arabic.
U.S. "State Department spokesman Tom Casey also criticized the verdict, telling reporters that Washington was 'very concerned about Suleiman's conviction and sentencing and regarded freedom of speech as a basic human right,'" reported Reuters.
Suleiman, better known by his blogger name of Kareem Amer, first raised the ire of Egyptian authorities in October 2005 when he posted comments criticizing Muslim rioters who had targeted Christians in Alexandria, Egypt.
“Charging someone for the peaceful expression of their views is sadly not new in Egypt,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, who was quoted in the organization's January 27 press release, "Egypt: Drop Charges Against Blogger." “By curbing a blogger’s freedom to post, the government may be trying to close an important space for Egyptians to speak openly about events and issues that worry them,” she said.
Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Barney Frank (D-MA) wrote Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy January 24. “Democracies must allow for freedom of speech and certainly for the tolerance of diverse religious beliefs. I laud Mr. Amer’s recognition that violence in the name of religion is unacceptable. I urge the Egyptian government to free Mr. Amer and to protect its citizens from persecution," said Franks. He co-founded the Task Force on International Religious Freedom.
"'The state of freedom of expression in Egypt is getting worse one day after the other,' said Dalia Ziada, a Cairo-based human rights activist and translator who helped secure Kareem a lawyer for the trial," according to a report from Index on Free Expression. "She called Kareem’s case a ‘severe violation to freedom of expression in Egypt.’"
Index on Free Expression's website describes demonstrations in London, Bucharest, Rome, Berlin, Ottawa, Paris, Washington DC, Chicago, and New York. Other demonstrations have occurred in Stockholm and Bahrain and U.S. Congressmen and Italian MPs have written letters protesting Kareem’s detention. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters without Borders have condemned the arrest.
On a chilling note, one blogger noted that "seconds after he was loaded into the truck and the door closed, an Associated Press reporter heard the sound of a slap from inside the vehicle and a shriek of pain from Nabil [Suleiman]."
To those familiar with Egypt's reputation for torture and mistreatment of prisoners of conscience, particularly those who convert from Islam to Christianity, there is justification to believe Suleiman's life is in significant danger while in prison.
Update: 03/15/07 Egyptian Blogger Appeal Denied
"The United States is disappointed that the initial appeal of Egyptian student blogger, Abdel Karim Soliman, was not successful. He is the first Egyptian blogger to be prosecuted for the content of his remarks, and his conviction is a setback for human rights in Egypt. The role of freedom of expression is critical in a democratic and prosperous society. The right to freedom of opinion and expression, through any media, applies to everyone and is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We were deeply concerned by his conviction and prison sentence for expressing his opinions. We note that Mr. Soliman can pursue a further appeal, and we will continue to closely monitor this case." (Source: U.S. Department of State spokesman Sean McCormack.)
For more information, see http://www.freekareem.org/. |
