 |
|
|
 Travel Writers' Resources | November 2007 
EGYPT: Journalists Get Jail Sentences in New Crackdown
 Adam Morrow & Khaled Moussa al-Omrani - IPS
go to original
Cairo, Egypt - The government has stepped up its campaign against the independent and opposition press, with criminal courts delivering prison sentences to 11 prominent journalists within the last two months. While state prosecutors accuse the writers of "publishing false news", spokesmen for the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate have described the latest crackdown as a "war" on press freedom.
"This escalation against the free press serves as confirmation that the regime has lost patience with the small number of independent journalists who have dared to criticise it," Yehia Qulash, secretary-general of the Journalists Syndicate told IPS.
The campaign began on Sep. 13, when the editors-in-chief of four prominent independent newspapers were sentenced to one year in prison each for publishing "libellous" material about President Hosni Mubarak and other influential members of his ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
The defendants included Ibrahim Eissa of independent daily al-Dostour, Wael al-Ibrashi of independent weekly Sout al-Umma, Adel Hammouda of independent weekly Al-Fagr, and Abdel-Halim Qandil, former editor-in-chief of opposition weekly al-Karama.
Shortly afterwards, on Sep. 24, the editor-in-chief and two writers from liberal opposition daily al-Wafd were held guilty of publishing statements in January that were "falsely attributed" to the minister of justice. In this case, the three defendants were each sentenced to two years in jail.
Days later, the independent press was dealt another blow, with seven more Sout al-Umma staff members - including al-Ibrashy - receiving jail terms in two separate cases. Again charged with the publication of "false news", the defendants received sentences ranging from one to two months in prison each.
In addition to the first charge, al-Dustour's Eissa - a long-time critic of government policy - also faces accusations of publishing false information concerning the sensitive issue of the President's health. If found guilty, he could face up to four years in prison, in addition to significant financial penalties.
According to state prosecutors, Eissa "acted against public interest" when he ran a report in August suggesting that the 79-year-old Mubarak was seriously ill. The prosecution claims that the rumour - which later proved untrue - caused a marked withdrawal of foreign investment from the local economy and a significant stock market slump.
In the trial's second session, however, held on Oct. 24, Eissa was partially vindicated when the head of the government-run Capital Markets Authority and the deputy-governor of the Central Bank of Egypt testified that a direct connection between the contentious news report and the alleged economic impact "could not be verified." The trial's next session is scheduled Nov. 14.
Notably, Eissa was initially scheduled to be tried by a state security court, the verdicts of which, unlike civil courts, are not subject to appeal. After a wave of condemnation by both local and international human rights and civil liberties groups, however, the government changed course, announcing that the case would be tried in a civil court.
All of the defendants, including Eissa, are currently free on bail awaiting a chance to appeal the verdicts.
In 2004, President Mubarak famously vowed to amend Egypt's press law with a view to eliminate the practice of issuing prison terms for "publication offences". Despite this promise, however, restrictive legislation remains in place, and reporters still run the risk of serving jail time for publishing material found to be overly critical of the regime's leadership.
On Oct. 7, in a show of protest against the harsh verdicts, 22 local independent and opposition newspapers refrained from printing their respective publications.
"The decision was taken collectively by the editors-in-chief of the newspapers in question, and supported by the Journalists Syndicate," said Qulash. He said the move served to "send a powerful message of protest both in Egypt and abroad."
Sure enough, a total of 41 local and international rights organisations issued a joint statement four days later in which they expressed their "total support" for the defendants. The statement went on to urge the government to stop applying prison sentences to publication offences in accordance with international human rights conventions, to which Egypt is signatory.
Local critics of the harsh sentencing also point out that, under Egyptian law, criminal lawsuits can technically be filed by anyone - even those not directly affected by the alleged offence.
"This practice technically allows anyone to file a lawsuit against anyone else," al-Karama's Qandil told IPS. "There are currently 200 such cases pending in the courts, which were initially filed against opposition journalists by lawyers who also happen to be NDP members."
"The growth of the independent press represents one of Egypt's few recent successes in terms of liberalisation," he said. "It has often been cited as proof of the country's commitment to political reform, which has led in turn to a noticeable increase in foreign investment."
Qulash added: "The incarceration of any one of these journalists is likely to have dangerous implications - political and economic - for the entire country." |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us