18 - 24 January 2001
Issue No.517
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 18 - 24 January 2001 Issue No.517 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Prosecution case under fire
The trial of Saadeddin Ibrahim, sociology professor at the American University in Cairo and head of the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Developmental Studies (ICDS), and 27 of his associates, has been adjourned until 20 January when witnesses for the defence will be heard.
Ibrahim
Judge Shalabi
The decision was taken by Judge Mohamed Abdel-Gayed Shalabi after a three-hour session on Tuesday which was devoted to hearing the testimony of a prosecution witness.
The session, held under strict security measures, was attended by a large number of journalists as well as representatives of the American, Canadian and Swiss embassies and the European Commission (EC).
The head of Ibrahim's defence team, Ibrahim Saleh, reiterated a not-guilty plea and again requested permission for both the Ibn Khaldoun Centre and the Women Voters Support Centre (HODA), an affiliate of Ibn Khaldoun which Ibrahim also heads, to resume their activities. Saleh also requested the lifting of a travel ban imposed on Ibrahim and asked that all evidence confiscated by police be made available to the defence.
Saleh complained to the court that Tuesday's hearing had been brought forward from the original date of 20 January. "This was very confusing and prevented our witnesses from showing up," he said.
The session was exclusively devoted to the testimony and cross examination of a prosecution witness, police Major Nasr Mohieddin, an officer with the state security investigation department. In his testimony, Mohieddin merely restated the charges against Ibrahim.
Dozens of questions were directed at the witness by defence lawyers with the aim of proving the inaccuracy of his investigative reports on the ICDS, on which the state security investigation department has built the case against Ibrahim and his co-defendants.
According to Saleh, the questions aimed to prove the prosecution's lack of knowledge of some basic facts relating to the case, such as its confusing a civil company with a voluntary association, and confusing the European Union with the European Commission.
The defence cross examination also attempted to show inconsistencies in the allegations, as well as the selectivity in targeting Ibrahim while leaving untouched others who have committed similar "violations." "There was a famous declaration by 100 Egyptian public figures stating the same things [that Ibrahim is accused of], but none of them was investigated or prosecuted," Saleh said.
Ibrahim and the 27 others are facing charges ranging from accepting foreign funds without government authorisation to making false statements about the country's internal situation. Defendants also face charges of trying to embezzle money and of making plans to bribe government employees at the radio and television networks to broadcast programmes about the ICDS.
Specifically, the prosecution charged Ibrahim with receiving 261,000 euros from the EC to finance a documentary on voting in parliamentary elections which was regarded as damaging to Egypt's reputation.
Three of the four charges against Ibrahim relate to the alleged misuse of EC funding of programmes administered by the Ibn Khaldoun and the women's centres.
On 13 December, the EC issued a statement in collaboration with Ibrahim and both his non-governmental organisations. "Both projects of Ibn Khaldoun and HODA were subject to external mid-term audits whose reports gave no cause for concern, financial or otherwise," the statement says.
It adds that the final reports, which are now due, "are not connected with the charges against Ibrahim and his associates, nor do they imply any concern by the EC with respect to the management of these projects."
"We have a great concern in the process and we will continue to follow the case," Bengt Sparre, Sweden's ambassador to Egypt, who attended on behalf of the EU, told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Also attending the session was Livia Agosti, counsellor at the Swiss Embassy. "This is a case which involves human rights which are of great concern to us. We care about the freedom of expression," she said.
Agosti affirmed that the case would not discourage her country in its dealings with civil groups, declaring that Switzerland had never faced any problems with the Egyptian government. She said it was up to NGOs to inform the relevant authorities.
If found guilty, Ibrahim, who holds US citizenship in addition to his Egyptian nationality, could face up to 15 years in prison.
There can be no appeal against a verdict of a state security court, and it can only be challenged before the Court of Cassation on procedural grounds and not on the substance of the case.
Defence witnesses who will testify at Saturday's session include: Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, a Cairo University professor of law and a member of the board of trustees of ICDS; Said El-Naggar, a prominent economist and head of the New Civic Forum; Mohamed Shaker, Egypt's former ambassador to Britain; Abdel-Moneim Said, director of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies; Mohamed El-Gohari, former president of Helwan University; Major-General (retired) Ahmed Abdel-Halim of the National Centre for Middle Eastern Studies; and Ibrahim Shehata, deputy director of the World Bank.
According to the defence team, the seven witnesses were selected from more than 100 public Egyptian figures and trustees of the ICDS who volunteered to testify.
Ibrahim, 61, was arrested on 30 June and taken in custody for 45 days before being released on bail. All but two of the defendants are members of the ICDS and its affiliate organisation.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
