Free Kareem!
Few weeks ago I linked to the story of an Egyptian blogger who committed an unforgivable crime - he criticized his president. and In Egypt, an allegedly democratic country, criticizing your president is something that will send a 22 year blogger to jail:
In a cramped jail cell in Alexandria, Egypt, sits a soft-spoken 22- year-old student. Kareem Amer was sent to prison for over a month for allegedly "defaming the president of Egypt" and "highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt." Where did Amer commit these supposed felonies? On his weblog.
If the Alexandria prosecutors’ standards of censorship were applied in the United States or Europe, thousands upon thousands of bloggers would be behind bars. The basic right of individual free expression is sadly not respected in today’s Egypt. Yet the authorities’ decision to jail an obscure student for his writing reveals a larger struggle for free speech playing out between dissident bloggers and state prosecutors across the Middle East.
I’m a little bit late to this news about a rally that will be held today (1/11/07) at Washington DC, but if you are around here are the details:
We have organized a rally tomorrow outside the Egyptian Cultural and Educational Bureau near Dupont Circle in Washington. If you are a blogger, and would be willing to spread the word on your blog, we would be extremely grateful. Better still, if you are in DC, come to the rally. We are trying to get a decent turnout of bloggers and blog readers from the DC area in order to create exposure for Kareem’s case, and to send a clear message that the freedoms of conscience and expression are dear and not to be trifled with.
And if you cannot attend the rally You cab still write your representatives in Washington and tell them that the generous financial support the US giving to Egypt is good enough tool to put some pressure on the oppressive government of Egypt and they should use it to request the release of Kareem.
Technorati Tags: Freedom of Speech - Human Rights - Egypt - Foreign Aid - Kareem Amer
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and so it continues..
Ingrid
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