Abdul Kareem Suleiman Amer, the Egyptian blogger known as Kareem Amer, was finally set free on the evening of November 15, 10 days after completing a four-year jail sentence, and is now reunited with his family. He has decided for the time being to make no statement, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF).
The blogger was again subjected to physical mistreatment at the headquarters of the internal security department in Alexandria during the 10 days he was held illegally after November 5, the date he should have been released.
“We are deeply relieved and happy to know that Kareem’s nightmare is over and he is free at last,” RSF said. “Nothing will be able to erase his four years of suffering as a result of a totally unjustified conviction, but at least he will no longer be the scapegoat of Egyptian government anger at criticism expressed by bloggers. We will closely monitor the behaviour of the authorities towards Kareem in the coming months and we will be ready to report any attempt to intimidate him.”
The press freedom organisation added: “We would like to thank all those who fought for his release, including his fellow Egyptian bloggers, especially those linked to the Free Kareem Coalition, Internet users the world over, human rights groups and politicians. His lawyer, Rawda Ahmed, and Gamal Eid of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information deserve special recognition for their unflagging commitment to his cause despite the extremely difficult conditions in which they had to defend him.”
Reached by telephone today, Gamal Eid told RSF he was delighted by Kareem Amer’s release but added that Kareem “should never have spent four years in prison just for exercising his right to free speech.”
Arrested on November 6, 2006 for criticising the government’s religious and authoritarian excesses in his blog (www.karam903.blogspot.com), Kareem Amer was sentenced on February 22, 2007 to three years in prison on a charge of inciting hatred of Islam and another year in prison on a charge of insulting the president. His blog entries also criticised the Sunni University of Al-Azhar, where he had studied law, and discrimination against women. He was previously arrested for similar reasons on 2005.
Kareem Amer was subjected to appalling conditions in detention. In his letters he described being put in solitary confinement for 10 days and “physical torture that was covered up by the prison doctor, who altered my medical file.” His request for a new trial was rejected in 2009. His request for early release, for which he qualified a year ago on completing three quarters of his jail term, was also rejected.
Countless protests were organised by the Free Kareem Coalition (http://www.freekareem.org/) and others during the past four years to press for his release. His release gives the government an opportunity to begin anew its relationship with Egypt’s netizen community. It could start by putting an end to the constant harassment of bloggers, whether in the form of brief arrests or abusive court prosecutions.
