Abdel Karim Suliman Amer, also known as Kareem Amer, a student blogger, was detained Monday by state authorities and is being held in custody for four days awaiting prosecution for his secular online writings in which he criticizes Islam, his lawyer told The Daily Star Egypt.
Freedom of expression is a basic human right. We believe that Kareem Amer has the absolute right to express his personal views. This case is a clear violation of universal human rights principles, Amer s lawyer Rawda Amed, says in an interview with The Daily Star Egypt.
A former student at Al-Azhar University, Amer was reportedly expelled from the school in March 2006 because of his secular thoughts and online writings and critiques of Islam.
Following interrogations between Amer and his professors at Al-Azhar, the school filed a communiqué against Amer to the Office of the Public Prosecutor for his online writings.
It is regrettable and shameful for a university to punish one of its students for practicing his basic right to freedom of expression. The university did not only dismiss him, but also did not hesitate to take up the role of an informer by filing a communiqué against him to the Public Prosecutor Office.
Amer is targeted because he expressed his own views, executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Gamal Eid, argues.
Amer is currently accused of: Spreading data and malicious rumors that disrupt public security ; defaming the president of Egypt ; incitement to overthrow the regime upon hatred and contempt ; and incitement to hate Islam and breach of the public peace standards.
He is currently being held in custody for four days, pending investigation and prosecution.
