Imprisoned blogger no longer allowed out of his cell

Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, an imprisoned blogger better known by the pen-name of Kareem Amer, is forbidden to leave his cell, his books have been confiscated and his health is deteriorating as a result of physical mistreatment, Reporters Without Borders said today, calling for his “immediate release.” Suleiman has been held in a prison near Borg El Arab (40 km southwest of Alexandria) since 6 November 2006. “Suleiman's prison conditions are unacceptable,” Reporters Without Borders said. “He is being harassed in an outrageous manner by the prison's guards. Not only are they preventing him from leaving his cell, but they are also getting his fellow inmates to beat him regularly. His health is visibly deteriorating but he is not allowed to see a doctor.” When his lawyer, Rawda Ahmed, went to see him yesterday, he told her the guards were not letting him out of his cell. “He is ill and is being mistreated by the prison staff,” she said. Aged 22, Suleiman was sentenced to four years in prison on 22 February 2007 on charges of “inciting hatred of Islam” and “insulting” President Hosni Mubarak in blog entries)] that often criticised the government's religious and authoritarian excesses as well as Egypt's leading religious institutions such as the Sunni university of Al-Azhar, where he studied law. Reporters Without Borders awarded him its “Cyber-Freedom” prize on 5 December 2007. He was the first person in Egypt to be jailed because of their online activity. Others have since been imprisoned but none of them got such a long sentence. Egypt was ranked 146th out of 169 countries on the Reporters Without Borders world press freedom index. It is also on the organisation's list of “Internet enemies.” Kareem Amer at his trial on Feb 22 2007, dressed up as a prisoner Sign the petition for Suleiman's release Read more about the Internet in Egypt