CAIRO: The Criminal Court of Agouza sentenced on Thursday four editors-in-chief of the most popular independent newspapers to a year in prison and a LE 20,000 fine in what journalists and rights advocates have dubbed the death of press freedom in Egypt. Adel Hammouda, of Al-Fajr weekly, Ibrahim Eissa, editor of Al-Dostour daily, Wael Al-Abrashy, editor of Sout Al-Omah weekly, and Abd Al-Halim Kandil, ex-editor of Al-Karama newspaper were each charged with intentionally insulting President Mubarak, head of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), as well as other NDP members. Mahmoud Marouf, the lawyer defending Ibrahim Eissa and Abd Al-Halim Kandil, told Daily News Egypt that in November 2006 a lawyer from Al-Gamilia district affiliated with the NDP filed a lawsuit against the four editors for publishing articles that insult President Mubarak. A few months later, as Marouf indicated, another lawyer affiliated with the NDP called Ashraf Hossam Al-Din, filed a second lawsuit accusing the editors of publishing false allegations about the party and some of its members. By this time the case was transferred from Al-Gamalia court to Al-Agouza court in Giza. "The accusation of insulting the 'symbols' of the NDP is the first of its kind in Egypt, said Marouf. "All we can do now is appeal and pay the LE 40,000 bail, LE 10,000 for each, he added, stressing that the sentence will not be implemented until the appeal process is complete, since the verdict does not stipulate instant application. Dr Farid Ismail, an MP affiliated with the NDP, told Daily News Egypt that the situation has become "very dangerous and is considered a negative development in Egypt's political climate. He said that it is press's mission to expose corruption. "So I see no sense in putting those who try to stand against corruption in jail, he said. Ismail also indicated that the independent press may sometimes make mistakes, but so does the state-run press with impunity. For years, the PA had debated scrapping jail sentences for journalists from the publishing offences law, yet NDP members voted against it despite the fervent objections of opposition forces in the assembly, Ismail explained. "And now the situation has reached the worst stage of humiliation to the fourth estate, he said. This is the first time that chief editors of independent newspapers are slapped with year-long jail sentences, Hossam Bahgat, chairman of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights organization, told Daily News Egypt. "This is an outrageous decision . There is no legal ground for convicting the four editors, he said, further indicating that "the smear campaign run by the regime and the government newspapers is clearly responsible for this miscarriage of justice. This campaign is meant to "suppress the role of independent newspapers, he believes. "The government has lost its patience with the independent press as it is not used to criticism, said Gamal Eid, director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, who also described the verdict as "the worst of its kind in the era of Hosni Mubarak. "We are now at the worst times for freedom of expression and the press since the 1950s, Eid added. A few days before this verdict was announced, Eissa's case was transferred to Bolak Court to be trialed on Oct. 1 over his paper's coverage of the state of President Hosni Mubarak's health. On Sept. 3, he was summoned for questioning over his paper's coverage of the state of Mubarak s health. On Wednesday Sept. 5, the public prosecutor released Eissa without bail, after a seven-hour interrogation that included many journalists and representatives from several human rights organizations who voluntarily went to the prosecutor's office to express their support for Eissa. There were around 30-35 lawyers who volunteered to represent him. The health rumor, which ran on various media outlets, was only refuted after weeks of uncertainty. Some said the President was hospitalized, others claimed he had traveled for medical treatment. But the most serious rumor circulated went as far as to say that he had passed away.
