Egypt sentences blogger to four years for insulting Islam
{{date|February 27, 2007}}
[[Image:Flag of Egypt.svg|thumb|right|200px|The Egyptian Flag]]
An [[Egypt]]ian [[w:Blog|blogger]], [[w:Abdel Kareem Nabil|Abdul Kareem Suleiman Amer]], known online as Kareem Amer, was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday for insulting [[Islam]] on his weblog.  

Blogs had been considered a relatively safe means of expression for citizens of countries with restrictive Islamic laws. Mideast governments have harassed and arrested bloggers before, but Kareem is the first to receive jail time.

Kareem had written about becoming a [[human rights]] lawyer and working for the betterment of Muslim and Arabic women; however, the [[w:Al-Azhar University|Al-Azhar University]] expelled him in 2006 for criticizing the school's religious leaders.

He had criticized various Muslim beliefs and suggested that there was [[atheism|no God]]. The court took special interest in his posting to Coptic blogs, ''i.e.'' those run by Egyptian [[Christianity|Christians]].

His arrest last November inspired rallies in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], [[Rome]], [[Paris]], [[London]], and Stockholm.

Gamal Eid, the Executive Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, said that the most repressive regime for blogging had been [[Tunisia]], followed by [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Syria]] and [[Libya]], which have blocked sites and limited internet access.  Expressing surprise at the severity of the sentence given Egypt's recent history, he said it was a "gloomy day for all the advocates of freedom of expression", not only in Egypt but also around the world.

[[w:Reporters Without Borders|Reporters Without Borders]], the Paris-based advocacy group for press freedom condemned the sentence. Pointing out that [[Hosni Mubarak|President Mubarak]] had promised in 2004 to end prison terms for press offenses, it called the sentence a "message of intimidation" to Egyptian bloggers who, it said, were emerging as an "effective bulwark" against what it called the regime’s authoritarian excesses.

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1593050,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
|title=The Blogger-Martyr of Egypt
|author=Amany Radwan
|pub=Time
|date=Friday, Feb. 23, 2007}}
*{{source-pr|url=http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21075
|title=Four-year prison sentence for blogger “Kareem Amer”
|pub=Reporters Without Borders
|date=February 22, 2007}}

==External links==
* [http://karam903.blogspot.com/ Kareem's blog]

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[[Category:Egypt]]
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[[Category:Atheism]]
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[[de:Vier Jahre Haft für ägyptischen Blogger]]
[[pt:Egípcio é condenado a 4 anos de prisão por causa de weblog]]
The Egyptian Flag
An Egyptian blogger, Abdul Kareem Suleiman Amer, known online as Kareem Amer, was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday for insulting Islam on his weblog.  

Blogs had been considered a relatively safe means of expression for citizens of countries with restrictive Islamic laws. Mideast governments have harassed and arrested bloggers before, but Kareem is the first to receive jail time.

Kareem had written about becoming a human rights lawyer and working for the betterment of Muslim and Arabic women; however, the Al-Azhar University expelled him in 2006 for criticizing the school's religious leaders.

He had criticized various Muslim beliefs and suggested that there was no God. The court took special interest in his posting to Coptic blogs, i.e. those run by Egyptian Christians.

His arrest last November inspired rallies in Washington, Rome, Paris, London, and Stockholm.

Gamal Eid, the Executive Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, said that the most repressive regime for blogging had been Tunisia, followed by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Libya, which have blocked sites and limited internet access.  Expressing surprise at the severity of the sentence given Egypt's recent history, he said it was a "gloomy day for all the advocates of freedom of expression", not only in Egypt but also around the world.

Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based advocacy group for press freedom condemned the sentence. Pointing out that President Mubarak had promised in 2004 to end prison terms for press offenses, it called the sentence a "message of intimidation" to Egyptian bloggers who, it said, were emerging as an "effective bulwark" against what it called the regime’s authoritarian excesses.


de:Vier Jahre Haft für ägyptischen Blogger
Egípcio é condenado a 4 anos de prisão por causa de weblog
Egypt Africa Religion Islam Politics and conflicts Internet Computing Science and technology Middle East Hosni Mubarak Reporters Without Borders Free speech Christianity Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Atheism Washington, D.C. London Paris Rome Stockholm United States United Kingdom France Italy Sweden North America Europe Al-Azhar University