CAIRO: A journalist has been summoned for interrogation before a military judicial body in connection with a book he has recently published, according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). ANHRI claims that Abdel Khaleq Farouq is scheduled to attend the interrogation with the military public prosecutor today. The book at the center of the case, "Charge Sheet, is a compilation of Farouq's articles published in Egyptian and Arab newspapers. ANHRI director Gamal Eid told Daily News Egypt that some of the topics tackled in the book include corruption in the economic sector and a comparison of the amount spent on government propaganda with that of the funding allocated to education and public sector employees wages. According to an ANHRI statement, the head of the Military Security Authority sent a letter to the head of the Journalists' Syndicate requesting that an investigation be carried out with Farouq on Wednesday, July 2. When Farouq failed to attend the investigation on time because he was not given enough notice, the military public prosecutor decided to postpone it until today. Eid told Daily News Egypt that "Charge Sheet contains a chapter titled "How do military officers control the Civil Services Authority? He said that while this may be the reason why Farouq has been summoned by a military body for investigation, there is also a possibility that remarks made during a lecture given by Farouq recently could account for the summons. The officer who spoke to Farouq on the telephone said that officers do not get as much compensation upon retirement as you say they do. Roughly three weeks ago Farouq mentioned the sums given to officers when they retire in a public lecture. It might be the case that they mistakenly think that Farouq has mentioned this in his book which is not true, Eid explained. While Egyptian legislation bans the publication of certain data classified as military secrets, Eid told Daily News Egypt that Farouq's book does not violate any law. ANHRI says in its statement that they will attend the investigation with Farouq to appeal the illegality of an investigation carried out by a military body into a topic falling within the scope of freedom of opinion and expression. In 2003 Farouq won both the National Incentive Award for Economic and Judicial Sciences as well as a prize from the Academy for Scientific and Technological Research.
