CAIRO: A Cairo court fined a female reporter from Rose Al-Youssef newspaper LE 20,000 for allegedly writing a libelous story concerning a top official in the Ministry of Culture. The daily sacked the journalist as a result, even though the latter vehemently insists her story was true. "They say they have protected journalists from imprisonment. But giving me such a fine is as bad as imprisonment, says Ayat El-Sherbiny, a young reporter. "All the same; if I don't pay within a few days I will be arrested and I will go to prison. "I do not have this kind of money, adds El-Sherbiny, who was expelled by the newspaper shortly before her indictment. According to the reporter, she was already on probation at the young newspaper when the case was brought against her. Since she wasn't a permanent employee, the newspaper did not want the trouble of standing by a prosecuted reporter, says El-Sherbiny. "I have been working in the newspaper since its creation, from day one, says El-Sherbiny. "I remember setting up with them the zero issue. So I do not understand how they could abandon me as such. El-Sherbiny's case first began late last year when she reported a story about Samir Ghareeb, a top official in the Ministry of Culture. The reporter wrote that Ghareeb owed a company more than LE 3 million in a financial deal. "The story was already published in the [national newspapers] Al-Gomhouriya and Al-Akhbar, said El-Sherbiny "I used these papers as my main source and changed the wordings of the story. According to the reporter, Ghareeb personally called her to protest the story; he was particularly angry over one word she had chosen. "The word 'embezzlement' was not right, he claimed. It was a typo, I had said in defense. But he didn't believe me, claims El-Sherbiny. "He then started threatening me; telling me he will put me behind bars and that he will destroy my career. Following the alleged phone call, Ghareeb filed a complaint with the attorney general's office. When the complaint was accepted, Ghareeb pursued the case. The Supreme Court initially rejected the case due to lack of evidence, saying that it was not a libel and slander issue, explains El-Sherbiny. "My lawyer and I presented my source stories and it was clear that there was [an] absence of malice and not enough evidence to indict me. "But Samir Ghareeb did not give up, and he took my case to another court. The second Cairo court, however, sentenced El-Sherbiny. The reporter said she was "lucky enough to be sentenced in absentia or else she would have been kept in custody until she paid the fine. According to El-Sherbiny, the fine that she received in this Cairo court is only the beginning. "The court gives the plaintiff the right to demand the compensation that he or she sees fit . and I would have to pay it then. The LE 20,000 is just the initial fine. "My accuser is already disappointed that I was not sentenced to prison, states El-Sherbiny. "He would do anything to destroy me. Although being a junior reporter and not a member of the press syndicate, several journalists have shown sympathy with their fellow journalist. Independent Nahdet Misr and Al-Masry Al-Youm journalists told the reporter that they were willing to stand by her. Nahdet Misr published an article on Sunday supporting El-Sherbiny. El-Sherbiny's case follows a series of libel and slander cases raised against Egypt's journalists. Although similar cases have ended in reconciliation, backed by their respective newspapers and the press syndicate, hopes of reconciliation have already faded says the fined reporter. "I was offered reconciliation by Ghareeb's lawyer, she says. "He told me that I would have to apologize in a four-column front page article admitting that I am a liar and that I had fabricated the whole story. "The lawyer added that he wanted me to pay his fees . but of course I refused the whole deal. "I have nowhere to turn to now, says El-Sherbiny. "I am afraid of being arrested; I cannot pay this amount of money. So I will have to stay at home or in hiding. I can't even walk the streets.
