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Action Alert: Join the Rallies to Support Egyptian Blogger Kareem Amer

What: The organization Free Kareem uses digital tools to organize on the street rallies in front of several Egyptian embassies. This is one means to keep their promise not to let Kareem be forgotten in jail, and also a useful tactic to attract interest in the case of the prisoner of mind.

When: The protests will be held on November 6, the second anniversary of the imprisonment of Kareem Amer. The exact time may differ from place to place and will be posted at the Free Kareem blog.

Where: Currently, rallies in front of the Egyptian embassies in the following cities are confirmed:

Paris, France;
London, UK;
Brussels, Belgium;
Stockholm, Sweden;
Bucharest, Romania;
Washington, DC, USA;
Rome, Italy.

Other places, including Prague, New York, Bern, Berlin and Moscow, are considered to host a rally. If your local Egyptian embassy is not yet listed, you can initiate a protest there.

How: On the one hand there is work to be done ahead of the events. Free Kareem uses several web 2.0 tools to advertise the protest, including Twitter and Facebook. The latest information can always be derived from their blog, e.g. updates on the participating cities.
On the other hand, coverage of the ongoing rallies is important. Participants can use Twitter to report live from the ground. For instance, Hash tags are a great tool to sync updates from several participators.
Another way to document the rallies is videoing them. Free Kareem has previously used Youtube to distribute videos covering the world wide rallies to inform their global community about the local events.

Why? The Egyptian Abdelkareem Nabil Soliman, known under the blognym Kareem Amer, was one of the first bloggers to be arrested for what they wrote on their blogs and the first person jailed in Egypt for publishing online. Based solely on his blog posts, Soliman is charged with the alleged crimes of “defaming Egypt’s President, incitement to hate Islam, and highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt.” But members of the Free Kareem Coalition argue that imprisoning Kareem has severely harmed Egypt’s international reputation, and has made millions of people around the world question the country’s supposed commitment to free speech and human rights.

Kareem has stated countless times throughout his writing that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. The Internet has made possible the dissemination of these ideals to a global audience. For that reason, Egyptian officials evidently feel threatened by Kareem and others who, like him, are not afraid to speak their minds.

Several Middle Eastern human rights organizations have expressed concern for his life. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, English PEN and Reporters Without Borders have all strongly condemned his arrest. The roster of government officials who have written the Egyptian government on behalf of justice for Kareem continues to grow.