Egypt: Blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman has spent six weeks in custody



Press release Reporters Without Borders 
18 December 2006 

Reporters Without Borders has repeated an appeal for the release of
blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman - known as Kareem Amer - who has been
held in custody for six weeks after posting articles on his blog
(http://www.karam903.blogspot.com), critical of Islam.

Amer, aged 22, who was arrested on 6 November 2006 has twice had his
period in detention extended for two further weeks by judges in
Alexandria.

"The imprisonment of this blogger, who represents no threat to national
security, is unacceptable. His outspokenness may not be popular and he has
to take responsibility for his comments, but keeping him in custody
without trial is a disgrace for Egyptian justice," the worldwide press
freedom organisation said.

"The country is proving yet again that it fully deserves its place on our
list of the '13 Enemies of the Internet'", it added.

Amer, who is imprisoned in central Alexandria, 200kms north of Cairo, is
being held in harsh and insalubrious conditions and shares his cell with
common-law prisoners.

He is accused of, among other things, "incitement to hatred of Islam" and
"circulating rumours threatening public order" for having condemned the
government's religious and authoritarian excesses. He was questioned on 8
November, 22 november and 6 December after which investigating judges both
three renewed a two-week period of detention. His lawyer was denied access
at the third session of questioning.  He was previously arrested for
posting anti-religious articles on his blog and held for 18 days, in
October 2005.


------- 
Reporters Without Borders launched its own blog platform in November
2006: www.rsfblog.org 





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