Archive for the ‘Abdel Karim’ Category
What it Takes by James Brown
I am literally going to copy a post…
“The Struggle for Freedom of Speech
There is nothing I can say tonight that is more important than this:
“The situation is as follows: the egyptian government is going after Abdel Karim with 3 charges, each equaling 3 years in prison: 1) religious disdain, 2) Insulting the President and 3) attempting to flare secterian strife and disrupt public secuirty. The total expected sentence is 7-9 years in prison, which besides being grossly unfair, it also marks the first time that such charges were applied against statements made on the internet/ blogs. The implications for that are clear: A legal precedent will be set for the persecution and imprisonment of bloggers for what they write on their blogs, and the state will use it against its critics and detractors in the Blogosphere.”
If this blogger is jailed for things that he has written on his blog, it will be a huge blow to the Egyptian blogosphere. It will basically mean that any Egyptian who writes something that the powers-that-be in the Egyptian government doesn’t like, can be arrested and jailed for simply stating their opinion. The trial is today, and no matter what happens the landscape of the blogosphere will be changed as a result…for better or for worse.
Now, I know that most of my readers are Americans. And a lot of you just come here because I talk about sex. So you may be rolling your eyes and asking what in the world this has to do with you. I’ll tell you…America is at war. We are at war with fundamentalists who will do anything in their power to squash opposing voices in the Arab world. But with every Middle Eastern blogger who has the courage to speak out against oppression, there is hope for change. And we, as Americans, need to support that. It is after all, in our best interest.
Here in the USA, we often take our freedom of speech for granted. Most of us have never known what life is without it. We can write or say what we want, when we want, and know that there is very little we can actually be jailed for. So, today, as you go about your business, give a thought, and maybe even send an email to your local Egyptian Embassy in support of Abdel Karim and all of the Egyptian bloggers”
