CAIRO: An Egyptian misdemeanor court has acquitted Hisham Bahaa el-Din, a member of the actor's union, after he had been charged with insult and libel over an opinion article he published on Facebook. In the article, el-Din criticized the union board's performance, which sparked the case. Local rights groups and freedom of speech advocates praised the court's ruling, saying it was a step in the right direction for the country. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), which was defending el-Din, said the court had initially handed down a sentence of two weeks in prison and a 10,000 Egyptian pound bail to suspend the sentence's execution. ANHRI appealed the sentence and the court eventually ruled in favor of the pan-Arabic rights group's assertions. The court rejected both the criminal and civil cases for “illegal proceedings and binding the plaintiff to pay all expenses of the case,” ANHRI said in a press statement on Tuesday. Rawda Ahmed, Director of the Legal Aid Unit for Freedom of Expression at ANHRI, said, ”We knew right from the start that it is a malicious complaint that the union leader has submitted due to competing with Hisham in union elections. We were confident to have acquittal on the first hearing, but first instance verdict was unexpected, until we got an acquittal in the appeal.” ANHRI expressed its “pleasure” at getting an acquittal. “This verdict is a clear message to the interns of the freedom to use the Internet and freedom of expression, to temporarily hold imprisonment in Facebook insult and libel cases. “The sentence is supportive of these social networks, which made everyone able to use their legitimate right to expression,” the statement added. BM
