Cairo: The trial of Abdel Karim Soliman Amer, a student blogger accused of "incitement to hate Islam because of his controversial online writings on religion, was postponed Thursday due to persistent requests from the defense. "Yes, that is correct. The defense has requested the trial to be postponed until Jan. 25 to further review case details and agree on defense points, Rawda Ahmed, Amer's lawyer said. According to Ahmed, Amer was escorted into the court room on Thursday by state security officers who prevented him from speaking to his lawyers. Following the defense's request to postpone the trial, Amer was allegedly moved to solitary confinement. "Kareem is prevented from seeing his family and he is only given one meal each two days. He is suffering awful and inhumane conditions in his imprisonment, Dalia Ziada from the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, stated. According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Amer is the first Egyptian blogger to be persecuted for personal religious views published in an Internet blog, "We call upon advocates of freedom of expression in Egypt and all over the globe to support Kareem Amer in his prospected trial based on biased investigations by the Public Prosecutor, Gamal Eid, Executive Director for the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, argued. The defense is reportedly planning to hold a demonstration in Amer's support in the next court session on Jan. 25.
