About IFEX:

News by region:

IFEX Campaigns and Advocacy:

IFEX Email Products:

Opportunities and assistance:

Alert

Journalists fined, their prison sentences dropped, for "insulting president"

(HRinfo/IFEX) - The following is a 28 February 2007 HRinfo press release:

A new episode in the regime's restriction of Freedom of Expression
The two Al-Dostour journalists fined

Cairo - 28 February 2007 - Judge Ismail Abu Kerisha of the Misdemeanor Appeal Court in Al-Warak sentenced Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly "Al-Dostour", and Sahar Zaki, a journalist with the newspaper, to a fine of 22,500 Egyptian pounds (approx. US$3,952). Eissa and Zaki were accused of insulting the Egyptian president and disturbing public order in case number 22378/2006.

The case began with a news story titled "A Citizen from Waraq El-Arab Calls for Putting Mubarak and his Family on Trial and Committing them to Return 500 Billion Pounds from the Public Sector and Foreign Aids", published in Issue no. 55 of "Al-Dostour" on 5 April 2006. Journalist Sahar Zaki only described the incident in her news story.

Eissa and "Al-Dostour" are working hard to protect press freedom and freedom of expression from the enemies of press freedom in Egypt.

"We welcome the decision of the court to drop the one-year imprisonment sentence by the Misdemeanor Court in Waraq on 26 June 2006. However, the fine is also a penalty, which comes within the context of state policy to repress freedom of expression, as was the case with blogger Abdul Kareem Sulieman and Al-Jazeera reporter Huweida Taha. That is in addition to the defamation campaigns against Hala Sarhan, Nawal El-Saadawy, and others," HRinfo Lawyer Rawda Ahmed said.

"All of (this) comes in contradiction with the regime's claims of democratic reform; claims that the regime has not stopped reiterating," she added.

The undersigned organizations call upon organizations defending freedom of expression to intensify their campaign to amend laws restricting freedom of expression.

Signatories:
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
Al-Nadim Center for Psychological Treatment and Rehabilitation for The Victims of Violence
Egyptian Association against Torture