[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 80 (Thursday, May 15, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H4048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SUPPORT THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN EGYPT

  (Mr. KIRK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, our government should fight for the release of 
a key prisoner of conscience, the first person in the Arab world 
convicted for what he peaceably wrote on his blog. This case has 
attracted strong international attention and the personal interest of 
the President.
  Last year, Egypt saw the deterioration of human rights and especially 
with regard to freedom of expression. Most troubling is the conviction 
and imprisonment of a young human rights activist and blogger, Abdel 
Kareem Nabil Soliman. Mr. Soliman, known for his Internet pen name 
Kareem Amer, was convicted for statements made on his personal Web log 
condemning Islamic extremism and the poor treatment of women and 
minorities.
  He was sentenced to 4 years in prison, and while we recognize what he 
said may have offended some, his conviction sets a dangerous precedent 
on the Internet.
  On Saturday, the President will meet with President Mubarak. I urge 
Members to sign the letter to the President urging him to raise the 
case of Kareem Amer and to free this man, the first man in the Arab 
world convicted simply for what he said on his Internet Web log.

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