A Different Drummer

Not that it will do anything, but this open letter from Amnesty International is pretty on the money:

"Amnesty International considers Tal'at Sadat to be a prisoner of conscience imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release. The organization is awaiting further details of the charges against Abdel Karim Sulaiman Amer but is concerned that he may also be a prisoner of conscience who is being prosecuted on account of the peaceful expression of his views about Islam and the al-Azhar religous authorities.

Amnesty International is calling on the Egyptian authorities to review or abolish legislation that, in violation of international standards, stipulates prison sentences for acts which constitute nothing more than the exercise of the rights of freedom of thought, conscience and religion."

Abdel Karim was charged by police with, among other things "Highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt and spreading them to the public". Having a law like this on the books basically means the government can arrest whoever they want. Would there be a single social scientist, aid worker, activist, investigative journalist, opposition politician, blogger or guy sitting in a cafe who could not get screwed under this law?