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December 28, 2006
A 22-year-old Egyptian student has been thrown in jail for
expressing dissident views on his weblog. He lives in Egypt, but he's
one of us --a member of our generation expressing his dicontent with
the government he lives under and the policies it pushes.
Jailed for blogging
Dalia Ziada and Jesse Sage
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
CAIRO
In a cramped jail cell in Alexandria, Egypt, sits a soft-spoken 22-
year-old student. Kareem Amer was sent to prison for over a month for
allegedly "defaming the president of Egypt" and "highlighting
inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt." Where did
Amer commit these supposed felonies? On his weblog.
If the Alexandria prosecutors' standards of censorship were applied
in the United States or Europe, thousands upon thousands of bloggers
would be behind bars. The basic right of individual free expression is
sadly not respected in today's Egypt. Yet the authorities' decision to
jail an obscure student for his writing reveals a larger struggle for
free speech playing out between dissident bloggers and state
prosecutors across the Middle East.
If you're outraged, like I am, send an email to that effect to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
info@mfa.gov.eg
December 28, 2006 | Permalink
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Comments
It was the famed Nigerian phhilossopher -Poet Dr Francis Ohanyido that once said "..nations that imagine that they can muzzle dissents operating in new age cybermedia like blogs , are simply living in another Orwellian delusion..". I tend to concur with that very keen observation.How many more Kareem Amers will they continue to arresst?
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