Prominent blogger Kareem Amer has reportedly gone missing as of Monday evening Egypt time. Colleagues reported seeing him at the demonstrations in central Cairo's Tahrir Square, but as he was returning home from the day's protests, he was allegedly detained by police and has not been heard from since. Dalia Ziada, a leading blogger and writer on Egyptian politics, told Bikya Masr that Amer was “on his way back home at night. He was accompanied by another friend, Samir. Both of them have now disappeared.” She said that people close to the blogger claim he was ambushed at the Kasr el-Nil exit from the square and kidnapped, although Bikya Masr has yet to confirm details of the alleged kidnapping. Amer is known as the first Egyptian blogger to be imprisoned by the Egyptian government. Arrested on November 6, 2006, Amer was convicted by an Alexandria court on charges of insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak. A student at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, Amer was expelled in 2006 because he frequently criticized the state-run religious university, which he accused of promoting extremist ideas, and Mubarak, whom he referred to as a dictator. Amer was the first blogger in Egypt to be convicted explicitly for his work. In 2007, inmates severely beat the young man on alleged orders from prison officials. Ziada and others believe the arrest shows that the Mubarak regime is not standing by their promise to ensure the safety of all activists and protesters. “They may start hunting us down later,” Ziada said. “Kareem is a very sensitive guy. He did nothing wrong, he is not a criminal to be taken like this. Emergency Law must be removed so no one can be taken again like this. They have wasted 4 years of his life already with the charge of criticizing Mubarak. That is too enough!” BM
