Kareem Suleiman, the first blogger in Egypt to face a court trial for what he published online, was due to be released from prison term on Friday after four years of incarceration.
From the Boing Boing post in 2007:
He was charged with "inciting hatred of Islam" and insulting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on his blog, where he wrote under the pseudonym of "Kareem Amer": Link (Arabic), here is his Blogger.com profile, and here are writings he posted on a discussion forum: Link (Arabic). The sentence comes three years after Mubarak announced he would abolish the practice of imprisonment for "press offenses."
The photo above was taken right after the court convicted Kareem in 2007, and he was loaded inside a truck to be taken into jail:
Seconds after he was loaded into the truck and the door closed, an Associated Press reporter heard the sound of a slap from inside the vehicle and a shriek of pain from Nabil.
His sentence ended Thursday November 4, but the Egyptian government did not release him today, or explain why. Al Jazeera has more. The online group for Kareem supporters, and a letter-writing campaign, are here.
