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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters
More jailing for journalists
By Shaden ShehabA Cairo misdemeanours court on Sunday sentenced Salah Qabadaya, editor-in-chief the daily Al-Ahrar, mouthpiece of the Liberal Party, and four of its journalists to six months in jail after convicting them of slandering Mohamed Fahim Rayan, chairman of EgyptAir. The court fined the journalists LE7,500 each and were collectively ordered to pay LE501 in initial compensation to Rayan. The five had published a series of articles in 1997 accusing Rayan of corruption, mismanagement and abuse of power.
The convicted journalists -- Qabadaya, Hossam Soliman, Mohamed Abdel-Fahim and cartoonists Hisham Mustafa and Nabil Fadel -- have yet to go to jail and have taken an appeal to a higher court.
"This is all a big mistake," Qabadaya told Al-Ahram Weekly. "The misdemeanours court does not have the mandate to hear the case because Rayan is a public figure," Qabadaya said. The law stipulates that if a victim of libel is a public figure, hearings should be conducted by a criminal court. "Since 1997, the lawsuit brought against us was given to the criminal court on the grounds that Rayan is a public figure," Qabadaya said, retracing the steps the case has taken. "But the first circuit of the criminal court disqualified itself from hearing the case and sent it to the second circuit which did the same and referred the case to a third circuit. The third circuit viewed Rayan as an ordinary citizen, not a public figure, and sent the case to the misdemeanours court. The first circuit of the misdemeanours court also apologised, but the second circuit agreed to hear the case and found us guilty."
At a meeting yesterday, the Press Syndicate's council discussed the sentences handed down against the five.
Less than three weeks ago, Magdi Hussein, editor-in-chief of Al-Shaab, mouthpiece of the Islamist-oriented Labour Party, and journalist Salah Bedeiwi were sentenced to two years in jail and cartoonist Essam Hanafi to one year for libelling Youssef Wali, deputy prime minister and minister of agriculture. The Al-Shaab journalists are currently behind bars.
Hussein is one of 12 elected members of the Press Syndicate's council. He won close to 900 votes in last June's balloting.
On 12 April, the council held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the plight of the Al-Shaab journalists, issuing a statement that "it would continue to provide legal support" to secure their release.
The council has already prepared a draft press law that strikes off imprisonment as a penalty for publication offences. "The ways and means and the timing of its submission to parliament are still under study," Yasser Rizq, a council member, told the Weekly.
Irrespective of whether they agree or disagree with the views of the accused, most journalists believe they should not be thrown behind bars for a publication offence. They also say the judiciary is only doing its job because, they add, the law must be implemented. It is the press law that should be amended, believe most journalists.
Dropping jail sentences as punishment for publication offences was a major issue in the election platforms of council members in the June ballot. All elected members have vowed to fight for the cause, their anxiety heightened after four journalists were sent to jail last year.
Since the passing of Law 93 of 1995, journalists have campaigned to have the prison penalty for publishing violations dropped. Law 93 provided for severe penalties for journalists found guilty under its provisions. Following stiff opposition from the Press Syndicate, the law was repealed and another press law was passed in 1996, but it retained the imprisonment penalty for publication offences, albeit for shorter terms. Under the new law, libel is punishable by a maximum of one year in jail and/or a fine between LE1,000 and LE5,000. If the victim of the slander is a public official or if it relates to public duties, the maximum penalty is two years and/or a fine between LE5,000 and LE20,000.
The Al-Ahrar five are not the only journalists to have criticised Rayan. The airline chief came under criticism in the press after an EgyptAir plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on 31 October, killing 217 people on board.
