19 July 2006
NEW PRESS LAW FAILS TO ABOLISH PRISON SENTENCES FOR PRESS OFFENCES
Despite President Hosni Mubarak's 2004 promise to abolish laws criminalising press offences, Egypt's newly amended press law still mandates prison sentences for insulting public officials in the media. The country's National Assembly approved the amendments on 10 July, one day after some 25 newspapers refused to publish and journalists rallied to protest the new measures.
The failure to fulfill the president's pledge and to bring Egyptian laws into line with international standards was criticised by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and Human Rights Watch.
Journalists convicted of publishing "false" information, defaming the president and foreign heads of state, and insulting state institutions such as parliament, the judiciary, and the armed forces will be subject to prison terms up to five years, notes CPJ. The law also doubles fines for defamation and other offences, raising fears that the government may attempt to financially cripple critical media outlets.
Press freedom groups did, however, welcome Mubarak's last-minute intervention to remove a controversial clause that would have stipulated jail terms for journalists who defamed public officials with corruption allegations. Some other articles from the previous law that specified prison sentences were also dropped.
The amendments come just two weeks after a court sentenced two journalists, Ibrahim Eissa and Sahar Zaki, to a year in prison for publishing a report about an Egyptian lawyer's efforts to take the president and his family to court on allegations of corruption and the misuse of foreign aid. The Cairo Institute for Human Rights (CIHRS), HRinfo, CPJ, Human Rights Watch, and the World Association of Newspapers expressed concern at the ruling.
In March, a coalition of editors, professors, human rights activists and union leaders launched a national campaign aimed at abolishing jail sentences for press offences, reported the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/73258/).
Visit these links:
- HRinfo: http://www.hrinfo.net/en/reports/2006/pr0708.shtml
- CIHRS: http://www.cihrs.org/Press_details_en.aspx?per_id=109&pr_year=2006
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/mideast/egypt12julyr06na.html
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=4060&Language=EN
- Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/11/egypt13712.htm
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