NP Rank:
Adwords Campaign to Free Kareem is On
The Google Campaign Addressing President Mubarak has taken another turn. It is now adressing the "World", asking help for Egyptian blogger Kareem. This Campaign will be on as long as financially possible.
Important Notice:
If you wish to see the campaign in action, search, for example, for "Egypt Citizen Journalism". ***BUT***, please do not click on the Adwords links. Each click is costing money to "Darwish", so the more you click, the faster the campaign will have to end. If you wish to see what the campaign is linking to, you can click here. If the campaign isn't showing up, try reloading your page up to 5 or 6 times. For full background about this story on NowPublic, click here
Thank You to Now Public and to its Readers for their amazing solidarity and concern regarding this case and other Egyptian Blogger cases.
Ahmad Sherif / Ahmad Sherif



Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
- reply
KEARNEYat 20:23 on March 11th, 2007
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
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.
A website developed by a group of Kareem’s supporters posted the following:
More comments on Kareem’s case are available on www.freekareem.org
- reply
Pat_Nolanat 01:05 on March 12th, 2007
This is the kind of action that represents the only exposure most of the world has with Muslims outside of the middle east. Stoning somebody for writing. It is small wonder with Americans generally don't get along with Muslim leaders.
More Muslims should speak out about what Islam really means. I think we'll find that we are more alike than different.
at 05:33 on March 12th, 2007
At NowPublic, this is high praise from NowPublic editors! Your story is now on the home page for awhile, and everywhere else the “good stuff” box shows up. Many thanks for your great work.
at 09:38 on March 12th, 2007
Hey Ahmadsherif,
Kareem's appeal was just denied. Now we have to concentrate on other means to try and persuade Mubarak to use his rather extensive executive privilige to free this absurdly held prisoner.
- reply
Ahmadsherifat 12:48 on March 12th, 2007
Hey Michael , yes of course. This Adword Campaign is part of different efforts we're all pursuing in different areas (web, street, press, HR associations etc.). I'm interested in following and providing coverage to this Adword campaign because I believe that if it leaks to mainstream press it can give the Egyptian Blogosphere the international support it needs right now. Senator Franks was smart enough to remind President Mubarak of the billions of dollars Egypt was receiving each year. Maybe is it time for the Free World financing Egypt, to *voice* (or Shout-Out -- Should we invite them at NP?) their opposition. Yours, Ahmad.
- reply
KEARNEYat 09:44 on March 12th, 2007
Egypt court rejects blogger appeal
March 12, 2007
CAIRO --
An Egyptian appeals court Monday confirmed a four-year jail
sentence against a blogger convicted of insulting religion and defaming
the president, his lawyer said.
The court in the Mediterranean
city of Alexandria rejected the appeal by 22-year-old Abdel Karim
Suleiman who was sentenced last month, lawyer Gamal Eid said.
"The verdict was not handed down on the basis of the law," said Eid, who is also the head of Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. "It is a religious verdict similar to those of the inquisition."
Suleiman, who blogs under the name Karim Amer, was sentenced to
three years in prison for insulting religion with his writings and a
year for defaming President Hosni Mubarak after posting an entry on his blog lashing out at Cairo's Al Azhar University - the highest seat of learning in Sunni Islam.
"I say to Al Azhar and its university and its professors and
preachers who stand against anyone who thinks differently to them: You
are destined for the rubbish bin of history, where you will find no one
to cry for you, and your regime will end like others have," he wrote.
The verdict was condemned by rights groups all over the world as an attempt to intimidate Egypt's burgeoning blogging scene.
Egypt has thousands of bloggers, although only a few discuss
political issues, and lately they have been shedding light on alleged
torture by security services.
- reply
KEARNEYat 09:46 on March 12th, 2007
Egyptian court rejects blogger's appeal
Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:41PM GMT
Email This Article |
Print This Article |
RSS
[-]
Text
[+]
Begin: Story Text
CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian appeals court on Monday
upheld a 4-year jail sentence against a blogger convicted of
insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak.
Abdel-Karim Suleiman, 22, last month became the first
Egyptian to be jailed for his writing on the Internet in what
human rights groups and bloggers described as a dangerous
precedent that could limit online freedom in the country.
"This was not a verdict issued on a legal basis," said
Gamal Eid, a human rights activist and one of Suleiman's
lawyers.
"This is a religious verdict similar to those of the
Inquisition," he told Reuters.
The court in the port city of Alexandria also allowed a
group of Islamist lawyers to file a separate lawsuit against
Suleiman demanding compensation on the grounds that his
writings had harmed them as Muslims.
A photographer working with Reuters said the Islamist
lawyers criticised Suleiman's lawyers during the proceedings
for defending him.
"You are an infidel," one of the Islamist lawyers shouted
at a member of Suleiman's defence team after the trial,
sparking a shouting match between the groups.
The case against Suleiman, a secular-minded Muslim who uses
the name Kareem Amer on his blog
(http://karam903.blogspot.com), was based on a complaint by
al-Azhar University about eight articles written since 2004. Continued...