Dear Colleagues and Friends, An International Day of Readings for Ahmed Naji has been scheduled for May 12, 2016, with events planned around the world (https://worldforahmednaji.wordpress.com/). TIMEP will be hosting a reading in Washington, DC on May 12 at 6 pm at Coffy Cafe; more details are available here: http://timep.org/upcoming-events/freedom-for-ahmed-naji/ In support of Ahmed Naji, PEN America has sent a letter (https://pen.org/free-ahmed-naji) to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, signed by over 120 prominent writers and artists from around the world. Noting that Egypt's 2014 Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, the letter asks for Mr. Naji's release as well as the guarantee of the right to freedom of expression for all Egyptian citizens. PEN America's efforts on behalf of Mr. Naji have been covered in the New York Times, which notes that the government's prosecution of Mr. Naji "clearly looked like a politically motivated prosecution." (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/world/middleeast/egypt-pen-america-ahmed-naji-sisi.html?ref=topics&_r=0)