ALEXANDRIA: The Higher Court of Appeals in Alexandria rejected on Monday the appeal of blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman Amer, a 21-year old university student sentenced to four years in prison last month for defaming Islam and President Mubarak on his Internet blog. This verdict was not handed down in a lawful manner and goes against any human rights principles, Gamal Eid, director of the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) said. Seen as a complete violation of freedom of expression , Amer's trial sparked an outcry among global human rights groups and has attracted much unwanted attention to the Egyptian government from international press and media. We are, of course, disdained over the court s rejection of Amer's appeal. The case is in clear violation of human rights law and this young blogger should have never been sentenced to prison in the first place, Elijah Zarwan, Middle East researcher at global rights organization Human Rights Watch told The Daily Star Egypt. Arguing that the teachers and preachers of Cairo s prestigious religious institution Al-Azhar University who stand against independent thinkers will end up in the rubbish bin of history and that Mubarak s regime will end just like others have , Amer is expected to serve a three-year prison sentence for defaming Islam and one year for insulting President Mubarak. This sentence sets a chilling precedent in Egypt where blogs have opened a window for free speech, Zarwan added. Wael Abbas, one of Egypt s most prominent bloggers, was disappointed but said that the rejection was totally expected . It was clear to me that Amer would go to jail when he was sentenced last month despite the massive pressure from international organizations and rights groups, Abbas said. The authorities just don t care if our national laws don t comply with international human rights principles of which Egypt is a signatory of, Abbas added. A country with a vibrant and active blogging community, Egypt s outspoken bloggers have reportedly faced repeated intimidation by the Egyptian authorities. Most recently, judge Abdel Fattah Mourad at the Alexandria Court of Appeals called for the blocking of 21 Egyptian blogs and websites belonging to human rights organizations and bloggers critical of the government, claiming that they damage the reputation of the Egyptian government and insult the Egyptian president . In early March, the laptop of outspoken Egyptian blogger Mohamed El-Sharqawy allegedly containing an unpublished police brutality video disappeared when his someone mysteriously broken into his apartment, according to several Egyptian blogs.
