CAIRO: Egypt has freed a blogger who served four years in jail after being convicted of insulting Islam and the country's president, Hosni Mubarak, a rights activist said on Wednesday. Abdel-Kareem Nabil (or Kareem Amer) had been due to be released on Nov. 5 but remained imprisoned, setting off protests from local and international rights groups. "He was released yesterday morning," said Gamal Eid, the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. Amer was the first blogger in Egypt convicted specifically for his writings. His prosecution was part of a government crackdown on bloggers and media outlets. His brother, Abdel-Rahman, says he was released Monday after being held 10 days beyond his sentence without explanation. He said Wednesday that Amer needed a rest before talking to media. Amer was arrested in 2006 and convicted of insulting Islam and Mubarak. Before that, he was expelled from Al-Azhar University for accusing the state-run religious institution of promoting extremism and for calling Mubarak a dictator. Earlier this month, London-based Amnesty International called on Egypt to investigate allegations that Amer was beaten in a holding cell after he finished the sentence. Limited reforms have opened space for the opposition, independent media and protest movements in Egypt, but police still routinely arrest opposition activists, and journalists have complained of government interference.
