Egypt
Blogger receives four-year prison sentencePosted Feb 25 2007
Blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, who writes under the pseudonym “Kareem Amer,” was sentenced Feb. 22 to a total of four years in prison. Suleiman was arrested Nov. 6 for inciting hatred of Islam and insulting the president on his blog, http://karam903.blogspot.com/. A judge dismissed an added charge of spreading rumors liable to disturb the peace, which had been included in the prosecution's indictment. Suleiman had regularly criticized the government's “religious and authoritarian excesses,” according to Reporters Without Borders. He also criticized Egypt's highest religious institutions, such as Sunni university of Al-Azhar, where Sulieman studied law. Egypt is one of 13 Internet enemies determined by Reporters Without Borders in 2006.
On the Web: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=20914a