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Egypt: Kareem’s Appeal Case Tomorrow
Middle East & North Africa, Breaking News, Egypt, Weblog, Freedom of Speech, Cyber-Activism, Human Rights, Internet & Telecoms, Law, Religion, Politics

Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman’s appeal is expected to be heard by an Alexandria court tomorrow. (March 12)

The Egyptian blogger made history last month by being the first
writer in his country to be sentenced to four years in prison for
articles he wrote on his blog.

The 22-year-old former Al Azhar University student
was charged with defaming Islam and insulting Egyptian president Hosni
Mubarak. The sentence was criticised by bloggers, writers, human rights
activists and campaigners for free speech from all over the world, who
demanded his immediate release.

Fellow blogger Freedom for Egyptians posts an article discussing Kareem’s ordeal.

“As an Egyptian fellow blogger I stand with Karim,
because I will never side with processes meant to terrorize innocent
citizens who are exercising their innate right to freedom of expression
and because I will never be part of a tribunal of inquisition in the
21st century. Those tribunals judged arbitrarily and without appeal
like the current Emergency Laws and military courts applied in Egypt,”
she writes.

“During the Middle Ages between the 5th and the 15th centuries, the
Catholic Church was not only a religious institution, but also an
immensely rich financial establishment that interferes and influences
politics in the West. The largest Sunni religious institution in Egypt
and the Middle East, Al-Azhar, has the right to give its say in
politics and referring people accused of heresy to courts and prisons.
If the measure cannot be damaging enough to send people to prisons like
Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim, an irreversible Fatwa (religious opinion)
can lead an Islamic fanatic or extremist to put an end to a person
exercising his freedom of expression by spilling his blood. The
Cairo-based religious institution is financed by the government and
their employees are civil servants.”

A website developed by a group of Kareem’s supporters posted the following:

Outside Abdul Kareem’s court room, many Egyptians were
calling for his imprisonment, and extremists went as far as demanding
that he be stoned. (Let us not also forget the prosecution lawyer who
called for waging a “jihad” on Kareem.)

It is therefore encouraging for the world to see that many
Egyptians, Arabs, and Muslims actually do stand up for Kareem’s right
to express himself. In fact, we have set up a section dedicated to
‘Arab & Muslim Voices for Kareem’ to prove this.”

More comments on Kareem’s case are available on www.freekareem.org