Egypt journalists sentenced for 'insulting president'
Agence France Presse
Mon Jun 26, 2006
Two journalists from an independent Egyptian weekly have each been given a year in jail for reporting on a complaint accusing President Hosni Mubarak of misusing government money.
The Giza criminal court found Al-Dustour chief editor Ibrahim Issa and reporter Sahar Zaki guilty of "insulting and harming the president of the republic and the people of Egypt".
They were both given a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (1,735 dollars).
In April, Al-Dustour published a story about a complaint filed by an Egyptian citizen, Said Mohammed Abdallah, who accused Mubarak of misusing 500 million Egyptian pounds (86 million dollars) during the privatisation of several public companies.
Abdallah appeared in the same court as the two journalists Monday and was given the same sentence.
"It is the first time in Egypt that a journalist has been indicted for insulting the president. It is ironic that this sentence should be delivered even as the regime is talking about political reform," Issa told AFP.
"It shows that these reforms and promises are short-lived," he said, adding that both he and Zaki would appeal.
Al-Dustour is one of a handful of independent and opposition newspapers that have campaigned for democratic reform in Egypt and challenged Mubarak's 25-year rule.
Three other Egyptian journalists appeared before a criminal court earlier this month for denouncing reported state-sponsored fraud during the 2005 parliamentary elections.
Mon Jun 26, 2006
Two journalists from an independent Egyptian weekly have each been given a year in jail for reporting on a complaint accusing President Hosni Mubarak of misusing government money.
The Giza criminal court found Al-Dustour chief editor Ibrahim Issa and reporter Sahar Zaki guilty of "insulting and harming the president of the republic and the people of Egypt".
They were both given a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (1,735 dollars).
In April, Al-Dustour published a story about a complaint filed by an Egyptian citizen, Said Mohammed Abdallah, who accused Mubarak of misusing 500 million Egyptian pounds (86 million dollars) during the privatisation of several public companies.
Abdallah appeared in the same court as the two journalists Monday and was given the same sentence.
"It is the first time in Egypt that a journalist has been indicted for insulting the president. It is ironic that this sentence should be delivered even as the regime is talking about political reform," Issa told AFP.
"It shows that these reforms and promises are short-lived," he said, adding that both he and Zaki would appeal.
Al-Dustour is one of a handful of independent and opposition newspapers that have campaigned for democratic reform in Egypt and challenged Mubarak's 25-year rule.
Three other Egyptian journalists appeared before a criminal court earlier this month for denouncing reported state-sponsored fraud during the 2005 parliamentary elections.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 5:46 PM
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