An Egyptian blogger who served his prison term is still under detention and being beaten by Egyptian security officers, a a human rights group said Wednesday. In a statement, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Abdel Kareem Nabil, known by his blogging name of Kareem Amer, has been reportedly assaulted by policemen in Alexandria on Tuesday. Nabil was arrested in 2006 and later convicted by an Alexandria court on charges of insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak. A student at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, Nabil was expelled from college because he used to criticize the state-run religious university, which he accused of promoting extremist ideas, and Mubarak, whom he referred to as a dictator. Nabil had been released from Burj al-Arab Prison on 6 November where he had been held for four years. He was subsequently re-arrested by the security men in Alexandria without charges. "There is no legal basis for (Kareem) Amer's detention beyond his court-imposed sentence," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "It's alarming that a law enforcement officer would feel he could attack someone with impunity. The assault should be investigated, and charges should be brought against the officer." Nabil was the first blogger in Egypt to be convicted explicitly for his work.
