Kareem Amer - Second Arrest

Second Arrest

On November 6, 2006, Amer was again detained by the public prosecutor's office after it questioned him about his writings on "Modern Discussion" that were considered by authorities to be of an irreligious nature, and because of al-Azhar's complaint to the Public Prosecutor Office.

The interrogation process involved violations by the Public Prosecutor's Office, according to the human rights lawyer of The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) who represented Kareem Amer before the prosecutor. The observed violations include the illegal attendance of three interrogators, their laughing at Amer while interrogating him, and their addressing unwarranted questions to him (e.g. "Do you fast during Ramadan?", "Do you practice prayer?").

The Public Prosecutor told Amer that if he did not abandon his views, even though personal, he may be imprisoned. Nevertheless, Amer insisted on his right to freedom of expression. Consequently, Egyptian prosecutors ordered that Amer be held in a detention center in Alexandria until November 22 at least. His detention was renewed four times before his trial opened in an Alexandria court.

Amer was charged with:

• Atheism, due to some blog posts, such as "There is no God except the Human being" (in Arabic لا إله إلا الإنسان);
• Spreading information and malicious rumors that disrupt public security
• Defaming the president of Egypt
• Incitement to overthrow the regime based upon hatred and contempt
• Incitement to hate "Islam" and to breach public peace standards
• Highlighting inappropriate issues that harm the reputation of Egypt and spreading these publicly