Libya has sentenced a blogger to a year and a half in prison after he criticized the government in his online articles, according to Human Rights Watch. The jailing, which the rights group reported Thursday, is one of <A HREF="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-5933917.html?tag=zdnn.alert">several recent crackdowns on bloggers</A> by authoritarian governments. The group also confirmed Friday that Egyptian authorities have detained a university student who had criticized the government and Islamic fundamentalism in his blog in what may be the first such case in the country. Meanwhile, free press advocate Reporters Without Borders is calling on China to reopen a blog it shut down recently. The pro-democracy blog was nominated for a free speech award in Germany just days before its closure, the Paris-based organization said.