14 Sep 2007, 0505 hrs IST,AP CAIRO: A Cairo court sentenced the editors of four outspoken tabloids to a year in prison for insulting President Hosni Mubarak and his ruling party, judicial officials said on Thursday. The editors, who all run a new generation of brash, tabloid style newspapers that have been pushing the boundaries […]
14 Sep 2007, 0505 hrs IST,AP
CAIRO: A Cairo court sentenced the editors of four outspoken tabloids to a year in prison for insulting President Hosni Mubarak and his ruling party, judicial officials said on Thursday.
The editors, who all run a new generation of brash, tabloid style newspapers that have been pushing the boundaries of state press policy, will have to pay fines of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (USD 3,500) as well as another 10,000 pounds (USD 1,750) in bail to avoid the prison sentence during the appeals process, said a judicial official on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press.
“My first reaction was surprise. The sentence is very harsh,” said Adel Hammouda, editor of the weekly al-Fagr about his sentence.
“The judge praised the president and his son and the ruling party while reading the verdict – it was unprecedented.”
According to the judge, as quoted by the official Middle East News Agency, “the defendants failed to prove the authenticity of what they published and didn’t present any proof (of their assertions) in their defense.”
The articles in question included accusations that Egypt’s ruling party is controlling the country with “iron and fire,” slaughters its people and oppresses them and should be called “the party of disasters.”
The other editors sentenced included Wael Ibrashi of the weekly Sawt al-Umma , Abdel Halim Qandil of the weekly al-Karama and Ibrahim Eissa, editor of the daily al-Dustour , who has been a lightning rod for government criticism.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Gulf/Four_editors_sentenced_for_insulting_Egyptian_President/articleshow/2367465.cms