The C.R.I.M.E. Report

ISSUE #1 CONTENTS:


SPOTLIGHT CASES:

Congress Investigates Plight of Jailed Egyptian Blogger

When Kareem Amer was detained by Egyptian police last November, the 22-year-old student could not have imagined his case would become an international incident. But now Congress is on the case.

The prosecutors interrogating Kareem demanded he recant opinions expressed on his blog. Kareem refused; he was placed in solitary confinement; and a judge sentenced him to four years in prison for “insulting religions” and “defaming Egypt’s president.”

At a recent Congressional hearing in Washington, HAMSA Outreach Director Nasser Weddady, testified about Kareem’s case and threats to other Egyptian bloggers.

“Blogging is the new frontier for free expression – and government repression,” said Weddady. “The uncensored space of blogs enables young Egyptians of diverse backgrounds to publish their thoughts for a global audience. But there has been a dramatic rise in harassment of bloggers, some of whom are now closing their blogs.”

Nonetheless, bloggers from around the world have united behind the “Free Kareem” Campaign. “Over 8,000 people have signed petitions calling for Kareem’s release,” Weddady noted. “The campaign organized rallies outside 12 Egyptian embassies around the world and generated international media coverage of Kareem’s case.”

Basic rights like free expression are not guaranteed, Weddady explained, but rather only given by authorities when citizens submit. Kareem was jailed simply because Egyptian officials felt his opinions crossed a red line.

Weddady asked Congress to intercede with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. “The mistake made by one judge can be corrected by President Mubarak,” noted Weddady. “Surely the president of Egypt is not bothered by the blog of a random student.”

More updates on Kareem's case coming soon.

Fashion Police, Tehran-Style

Celebrity magazines critics often give out citations for fashion faux-pas by movie stars. But in Tehran, a wardrobe mistake can have legal consequences, giving new meaning to the term “fashion police.”

This spring and summer, Iranian leaders have instructed public morals police officers to crackdown on citizens whose clothing violates legal restrictions on public dress deemed “un-Islamic” by religious clerics. Iranian law states that women who do not cover their hair and body in public face fines or imprisonment for up to two months.

In one week alone, the country’s moral police arrested hundreds of women in Tehran for not wearing their hijab (headscarf) properly or for not having long enough sleeves. Several hundred more were detained at the airport and prevented from boarding flights due to “improper attire.” Police have also raided and closed clothing boutiques for selling “racy” outfits. There are also reports of young men detained and beaten for wearing clothes that police enforcers consider to be “too Western.”

Camera-phone videos of authorities arresting young women have recently appeared on YouTube, providing international audiences with scenes of police brutality and sounds of young women screaming as they are forced into police cruisers.

Rather than let women choose to dress as they wish, the Iranian regime is reminding young people that they must submit to official standards. Any bending of the rules will not be tolerated, and the basic right to choose your own clothes is denied.

The fashion police are out in full force – only this time, they are on the city streets, not the red carpet.

Report from Yemen: Journalist Silenced Once Again

Ms. Fakhria Ali and Mr. Sami Noaman, advocates for press freedom in Yemen, provide this first-hand report on the plight of journalist Abdelkareem al-Khaiwani. The newspaper editor, a national hero for his stand on free expression, has been re-arrested – but his Yemeni colleagues are taking to the streets.

On June 20, Yemeni security forces raided al-Khaiwani’s home, arresting him for the second time in four years. Al-Khaiwani, editor of the online newspaper Al-Shoura, was previously jailed in 2004 for criticizing Yemen’s President, Ali Abudullah Saleh. Now he stands accused of “terrorism.” Yet according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, al-Khaiwani is simply “being punished for his outspokenness.” 

A few days after the recent arrest raid, Ms. Ali visited the arrested journalist’s home. His family reported that security forces entered the house by posing as electrical workers. They beat al-Khaiwani with rifle butts, dragged him outside in his underwear, and knocked his seven-year-old daughter unconscious.

Al-Khaiwani is regarded as a hero who stands on principle. He received death threats for exposing political corruption. When he was arrested in 2004, prison guards broke his jaw and yet he still refused to agree to stop writing.

While he was jailed in 2004, he smuggled out a letter to American bloggers that explained his approach: “I believe in democracy, freedom, equality, and rights and am willing to suffer for their sake simply because I do not wish my children to suffer dictatorship and I will strive to provide them a better future.”

Yemeni journalists and human rights activists have now organized weekly sit-ins in “Freedom Square” outside of the offices of the Presidential Cabinet. Protestors are demanding al-Khaiwani’s release and an end to the recent crackdown on press freedom. Meanwhile, al-Khaiwani finds himself behind bars once again simply for expressing his opinion.

REWARD NOTICE:
“Dream Deferred” Essay Contest Set to Announce Finalists
Over 1,000 young people from the US and the Middle East entered the second annual “Dream Deferred Essay Contest” on civil rights in the Middle East. A panel of celebrity judges is evaluating top essays and finalists will soon be announced. Read last year’s winning essays.

CRIME QUIZ:
Ex-Iranian President Muhammad Khatami may face charges for an act he is committing in the photo at right. Can you tell what his alleged crime is?

BECOME A PARTNER IN CRIME:
The Middle East civil rights movement needs your support. Here is a list of four quick ways you can contribute: