EGX closed mostly higher on July 9    Gold hits over 1-week low on stronger dollar    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Sisi commissions panel to investigate Ramsis Telephone Exchange fire – PM    Egypt, France FMs review Gaza ceasefire efforts, reconstruction    Egypt, Pakistan boost healthcare ties – Cabinet    Escalation in Gaza as ceasefire talks remain fragile amid mounting humanitarian crisis    Egypt's electricity, public enterprises ministers discuss expanding renewables in energy-intensive industries    UK, Egypt strengthen cooperation on green transition, eco-tourism, and environmental investments    Egyptian authorities race to contain fallout from fatal telecom fire    CPME shareholders approve EGP 2.8bn acquisition of Qardy, Catalyst Partners Holding    Egypt, UNDP discuss expanded cooperation on medical waste management, human development    Egypt, Somalia leaders discuss strategic partnership, counterterrorism in New Alamein    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    Egypt's PM, Uruguay's president discuss Gaza, trade at BRICS summit    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt's FM, China's Wang discuss Iran-Israel escalation    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Egypt party demands abolition of prison sentences for journalists
Published in Bikya Masr on 04 - 05 - 2011

CAIRO: The international community celebrated International Day for the Freedom of the Press on Tuesday, May 3.
Egypt's Almasreyeen al-Ahrar party saw the celebration this year being centered on the modern electronic media that played a key role in the January 25 revolution which liberated Egypt from decades of dictatorship and the stifling of freedoms during which the Egyptian press suffered the most notorious types of repression and distortion.
“Today while Egypt is in the process of building a new state based on initial freedoms and at the gates of an unprecedented electoral experience and on the base of our belief that a free press and fair elections are the first shield of democracy, we call for the immediate abolishment of Article 22 Act 69 of the 1996 law on the regulation of the press which punishes journalists with prison in what it sees as crimes of publication,” said the party on Tuesday. “This is along with the cancellation of the penalties that deprive of freedom and replace them with financial fines.”
The new party was established by Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris and calls upon the Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to implement these demands to the Supreme Military Council to take the necessary measures for their ratification and implementation.
Sawiris' party sees the need to correct the situation created by this suspicious article by providing material and moral compensation for anyone who is proven harmed by it retroactively.
“The moral and physical attacks against Egyptian and foreign journalists, who were trying to cover events during the January 25 revolution with honesty and transparency, necessitate the development of legal mechanisms to protect them and punish whoever tries to undermine their mission or put them at risk,” stated the press release of the party on occasion of the World Press Freedom Day.
Almasreyeen al-Ahrrar is confident that the Egyptian Press Syndicate is superintendent of the defense of freedoms and supervises resistance against oppression. “This institution will activate the professional code of ethics of journalism in the era of freedoms and commit to its criteria and rules,” it stated.
Egypt is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Rule 19 that “each person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression and this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, impart and receive information and ideas through any media and regardless of geographic frontiers.”
“We believe that the new Egyptian state must adhere to its commitments of international conventions in order to retain the respect of everyone and recover the prestige of its leadership internationally and regionally,” added the party.
“The adoption of a law that allows the free flow of information would entrench the principles of transparency, accountability and integrity, and enable the press to exercise its role as a fourth authority that seeks the advancement of Egypt through the revealed truths,” reads one principal of the party.
BM


Clic here to read the story from its source.