CAIRO: International civil society organizations and activists are once again taking action against what they call are "systematic crackdowns on Egyptian bloggers by the national authorities. Today, a network of international human rights activists are staging worldwide demonstrations in protest at the imprisonment of Alexandrian student blogger Kareem Amer, who in late November was sentenced to four years in prison for "defaming Islam and President Mubarak in his Internet blog. At the time of writing, rallies have been confirmed to take place outside the Egyptian embassies in several world capitals, including Vienna, Stockholm, Brussels, London, Washington DC, Bucharest, Athens, and Rome. Additional cities may join in as well, according to the organizers. Concurrently with the Amer demos, members of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States are reportedly holding a demonstration outside the Egyptian embassy in Washington DC following Friday prayer in protest at detained Egyptian Brotherhood blogojournalist Abdel Moneim Mahmoud. "We are organizing this rally in support of Mahmoud while calling for enhanced democracy in Egypt, Ibrahim El-Houdaiby of the Muslim Brotherhood told The Daily Star Egypt. A correspondent for British Al-Hiwar channel and moderator of the blog Ana Ikhwan , I am a Brother , Mahmoud was arrested at Cairo airport on April 14 en route to Sudan, where he was planning to do reporting for a story on human rights issues in the Arab world. Mahmoud is currently in detainment pending investigation of charges including "membership of an illegal organization and "tarnishing Egypt's image . The cases of Amer and Mahmoud have sparked strong criticism towards the Egyptian authorities from both local and international rights groups as well as national governments. Human Rights Watch emphasized that Amer s sentence "sets a chilling precedent in a country where blogs have opened a window for free speech and urged the Egyptian government to abide by its commitment under international human rights law. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Egypt ratified without reservations in 1982, guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media. The Egyptian government should abide by its commitments to uphold free expression and release Amer without delay, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. Reporters Without Borders emphasized that the two bloggers are being targeted because they seek to expose ongoing human rights violations in their home country. "This arrest comes two months after another blogger, Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, was sentenced to four years in prison. These two young men hold very different views, but they have a common desire to denounce the constant human rights violations in Egypt. We hope the authorities will free them and undertake to respect the principle of the free flow of information online, Reporters Without Borders said in a recent press statement. According to Es ra El-Shafei, creator of the online support campaign www.freekareem.org and co-organizer of the rallies, the majority of the Amer demonstrations will reportedly also protest the arrest of Mahmoud. In March, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit lashed out at critics of Egypt s domestic policies. No one has the right to interfere with Egyptian legal matters or comment on Egypt s decisions, the Foreign Minister told reporters. Egypt rejects the reactions of certain foreign media and non-governmental organizations, he added, citing his indignation and disapproval.
