10 January 2007
MUBARAK URGED TO REPEAL CRIMINAL DEFAMATION LAWS
Twenty-four IFEX member and partner organisations have signed a letter calling on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to follow through on a promise he made in 2004 to abolish prison sentences for all press offences.
In a letter to Mubarak, the free expression groups said that while a law passed last year removed imprisonment for insulting civil servants, those who are charged with insulting the president and foreign heads of state can still be jailed. In 2004, Mubarak had pledged to remove jail terms for all press offences.
Under the new law, journalists convicted of publishing "false" information, defaming the president and foreign heads of state, and insulting state institutions such as parliament, the judiciary, and armed forces can be jailed for up to five years. They can also be fined up to 40,000 LE (US$7,000).
In one notable case, Ibrahim Issa, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly newspaper "Al-Dostour", and reporter Sahar Zaki, have each been sentenced to one year in prison and fined 10,000 LE (US$1,750) for allegedly insulting the president. The conviction stems from an April 2005 article in "Al-Dostour" that reported efforts by an Egyptian lawyer to take Mubarak and his family to court on allegations of corruption, including the alleged misuse of foreign aid.
In a separate case, Issa and the editors of three other independent newspapers - Abdel Halim Kandeel of "Al-Karama", Adel Hamoda of "Al Fagr" and Wael El Abrashi of "Soat Al-Ommah" - face charges that may lead to their imprisonment. A lawyer who is close to the ruling National Democratic Party has filed a complaint against them for allegedly insulting President Mubarak and several senior officials.
The defamation lawsuits appear to be targeted at independent or opposition-controlled newspapers, according to local IFEX members the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo) and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS). So far, not a single editor of a state-run newspaper has been accused of insulting an opposition party leader.
In their letter to Mubarak, the 24 free expression organisations recommended that a committee made up of lawmakers, legal experts and human rights lawyers be established to review legislation concerning press freedom, with the goal of bringing Egypt's laws in line with international free expression standards.
Visit these links:
- IFEX Joint Action Letter: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/80254/
- New Law Still Threatens Press Freedom: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/mideast/egypt12julyr06na.html
- CIHRS: http://www.cihrs.org/Default_en.aspx
- EOHR: http://www.eohr.org/report/2006/re0821.shtml
- HRinfo: http://www.hrinfo.net/en/
(Photo of Ibrahim Issa)
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