HEADLINES

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

London Rally for Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer - Thursday, February 15th


Who is Kareem? And why will we demonstrate?

Kareem is a 22 year old Egyptian law student and blogger who was arrested last November in Alexandria for criticizing the Egyptian government on his weblog. This is not the first time he has been arrested. His writings also led to him being expelled from Islamic University of Al-Azhar earlier in 2006. Since his arrest in November, he has been kept in solitary confinement and has been denied access to his lawyer and to his family. Several Middle Eastern human rights organizations have expressed concern for his life. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders have all condemned his arrest. Two US congressmen (Republican Trent Franks and Democrat Barney Frank) have written a letter to the Egyptian Ambassador in Washington, pleading for Kareem's release. His trial has been postponed several times, most recently to February 22.

A group of concerned citizens from various nations has organized a global demonstration on Thursday, Feb. 15th, asking the Egyptian authorities to free Kareem immediately and drop all charges against him. Respectful and dignified rallies have been confirmed in New York City, London, Rome, Washington, Ottawa and Bucharest. Efforts are being made to find volunteers in other cities who would be willing to take the lead and plan more rallies. Since this is a worldwide demonstration, it doesn't matter if an individual rally is relatively small. The goal is to send a clear signal that people across the world are aware of this flagrant assault on liberty in Egypt, and that as friends of the Egyptian people, we wish to see their government right this wrong.

When?

The London Rally for Kareem

Thursday, 15 February. 3pm to 6pm.

Where?

The Egyptian Embassy, located at 26 South Street, London W1K 1DW.

The Embassy is just a short walk from either Marble Arch (Central Line) or Green Park (Piccadilly, Victoria, or Jubilee Lines). See a map of the area.

If you're at LSE, you can walk over with a group that will leave from the Peacock Theatre at 2pm.

Contact for more information on the London Rally: Andrew Perraut's Rally for Kareem
More on the worldwide campaign - Freekareem.org
And of course Kareem's blog

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