What you can do for Hala

As I have written, Hala Helmy Botros is having her life threatened and was forced to shut down her blog, because it was critical of the way Egypt treats the Coptic Christian population. Well, I decided to start a campaign to SPEAK OUT against such censorship. PLEASE: write to your local Egyptian consulate. Tell them that you will NOT stand for such censorship by a 'democracy,' and that you value freedom of speech. The website with consulate addresses is right here. The address of the Egyptian consulate for the United States is as follows: The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt 3521 International Ct. NW Washington DC 20008 Phone (202) 895 5400 Fax (202) 244 5131 (202) 244 4319 embassy@egyptembdc.org PLEASE contact your local embassy, and tell them you will not stand for this. Together, we can make a difference. UPDATE: I have written a template letter for you all to copy and paste into your emails. To whom it may concern: I am writing about Hala Helmy Botros, a young lady whose family's life was harassed, and was forced to shut down her website, simply because it was critical of the way Egypt treats Coptic Christians. The story was chronicled on the Reporters Without Borders website right here: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18563 Ms. Botros now has to live with her phone wiretapped and her moves followed - merely because she spoke her mind. In short, there is a policy of intimidating, in the effort of shutting her up. Egypt is supposed to be a 'democracy,' and it is the third largest recipient of U.S. aid money in the world. For a democracy to act this way is simply unacceptable. Actions must be taken to rectify this situation immediately. In order for a 'democracy' to flourish, citizens must feel free to speak their minds without censorship and intimidation. I hope this matter receives the attention it deserves. Sincerely, ________, concerned citizen