CAIRO: The Bolaq court postponed Monday the trial of Ibrahim Eissa, chief editor of Al-Dostour daily newspaper, at the request of his lawyers who asked for more time to investigate the nine lawsuits filed against him. Eissa is accused of publishing wrong information about the president's health and spreading rumors that threatened foreign investments in Egypt and caused public panic. The other eight lawsuits filed by lawyers affiliated with the National Democratic Party (NDP) accuse Eissa of causing them emotional damage after publishing rumors about the president's death, according to Hossam Bahgat, human rights activist and president of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Although Eissa did not attend the hearing, a large crowd of journalists, human rights activists - including Bahgat - and photographers gathered in front of Al-Galaa Courts at 9:30 am Monday to hear the verdict. A large number of security forces surrounded the courthouse, located on the crowded street ironically facing the Al Ahram building, preventing journalists from entering the court session. The session ended at 10:30 am. Outside, Mohamed Abdel Qoddous, journalist and head of the Press Syndicate's freedoms committee, carried the Egyptian flag as he called for freedom of the press and denounced the fact that Eissa is facing such a trial. This case filed by NDP lawyers is an injustice . such a thing should never take place . where is the freedom of the press? Where is the independence of the press? shouted Abd El-Qoddous. He was followed by a journalist from Al-Ghad newspaper, Yasmine Abdel Aziz. An older woman dressed in a red galabeya carried a photograph of Ayman Nour, the jailed founder of Al-Ghad opposition party and newspaper and former presidential candidate. She referred to Nour as the leader and the person who should be president. We do not want Hosni Mubarak, she yelled. The protestors asked the regime, national security forces and the Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly to stop interfering with the press. Most slogans, however, did not address President Mubarak directly, but tackled the succession issue. Abd El-Qoddous shouted, Freedom . Freedom, where are you? Suzanne Mubarak can never stand against you, and then repeated the same phrase, substituting the First Lady s name with the word succession. What does Hosni Mubarak want? Does he want the public to kiss his shoes? yelled Abdel Aziz. This trial tarnishes Egypt s reputation, said Abd El-Qoddous calling the lawyers who filed the lawsuits against Eissa enemies of Egypt. At the end of the protest, he asked everyone to follow him for another protest at the Press Syndicate. On Wed. Sept. 5, the public prosecutor released Eissa without bail after a seven-hour interrogation that included many journalists and representatives of several human rights organizations who voluntarily went to the prosecutor's office to show their support for Eissa. Some 30-35 lawyers volunteered to represent him. Eissa was also convicted along with Adel Hammouda, editor of Al-Fajr weekly, Wael Al-Abrashy, editor of Sout Al-Omah weekly, and Abd Al-Halim Kandil, former editor of Al-Karama newspaper, to a year in prison and a LE 20,000 fine for intentionally insulting President Mubarak, his son and the ruling party. On Monday, the chief editor of Al-Wafd newspaper, Anwar Al-Hawari, as well as Mahmoud Galeb, and Amir Salem - two journalists at the same newspaper - received a two-year jail sentence for misquoting the Minister of Justice. Al-Badil editor Mohammed Sayyed Said is also facing prosecution for writing about President Hosni Mubarak s health. Despite the Press Syndicate s announcements and statements denouncing the detainment of journalists, the authorities continue to ignore all calls to cancel prison sentences from the publishing offences law.
