"Narrative Summit" Releases 2025 Recommendations to Cement Egypt's Position as a Global Tourism Destination    Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    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    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    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    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.



Editor accused of spreading rumors about the president's health to stand trial
Published in Daily News Egypt on 12 - 09 - 2007

CAIRO: The editor of Al-Dostour daily independent newspaper Ibrahim Eissa was ordered put on trial over his paper s recent reports questioning the health of 79-year-old President Hosni Mubarak, the state news agency reported Tuesday.
Eissa, an outspoken critic of Mubarak, was questioned for seven hours by authorities last week for printing the rumors.
He was released without bail, but the general prosecutor decided Tuesday to send the case to trial, the Mena news agency reported. Eissa is charged with disturbing the peace and harming national economic interests, his lawyer Nasser Amin said.
The state is considering me its enemy, Eissa, 41, told AP Tuesday. All the accusations are nonsense.
They are using me to scare journalists and critics from criticizing Mubarak personally or from talking about the possibility of his son inheriting power, said Eissa.
For several weeks in August, several opposition and independent newspapers published stories speculating that Mubarak s health was poor. The president, who has ruled Egypt for more than a quarter century, has no designated successor, but many believe his son Gamal is being groomed for power, a prospect that has raised widespread opposition.
Al-Dostour carried front-page stories for several days, including one that contended Mubarak sometimes lapses into comas.
Mubarak and state-run media did not comment or deny the rumors for weeks, until finally the president appeared in photos and gave an interview to state-run media.
Last week, First Lady Suzanne Mubarak said in a rare television appearance that her husband is healthy and said journalists who published reports contending he was ailing deserve to be punished.
Eissa s trial was set to begin Oct. 1. He could face up to three years in prison if convicted, Amin said.
Mena said that, according to Egypt s Central Bank, the rumors prompted the withdrawal of foreign investments worth more than $350 million in the two days of publishing these rumors.
Eissa told AP in an interview last week that he fears he will be thrown in jail and his newspaper shut down.
Al-Dostour previously was closed in 1998 for seven years by the government, after it published a statement by an Islamist group that threatened Coptic Christian businessmen in Egypt.
The paper is sharply critical of the government and often breaks political, social and religious taboos in its commentaries on Egyptian society. Its sharp language earned the ire of censors and its copies were confiscated three times in the 1990s.
In 2006, Eissa was sentenced to a year in prison for libeling Mubarak, but an appeals court reduced the sentence to a $4,000 fine.
The paper also features extensive coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the most powerful opposition movement, though it is officially banned.
In his interview with the government Al-Ahram newspaper that aimed to quell the health rumors, Mubarak accused illegitimate movements of being behind the rumors - a reference to the Brotherhood. The group s leader, Mohammed Mahdi Akef, denied the allegation.
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights expressed its deep concern about the plan to try Eissa. It called on the canceling of provisions allowing prison sentences for crimes connected to the press. Associated Press


Clic here to read the story from its source.