CAIRO: Human rights watchdog, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) strongly condemned the Supreme Council for Journalism's decision to ban Al-Balagh after the weekly tabloid published a story about a homosexual prostitution ring. "[The] decision was taken before any court decisions regarding the newspaper were issued, ANHRI said in a statement. "ANHRI considers this a harsh blow to freedom of the press and a battering of the judiciary. Al-Balagh was banned after reporting last week that three Egyptian cinema celebrities were caught in a gay prostitution network at a Cairo hotel. The newspaper claimed that the actors bribed police officers and hotel management to hush up the incident. The actors denied the claim and filed lawsuits against the paper's editors and one of its reporters. Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud referred three journalists from the newspaper to court for alleged libel and defamation. The paper's editor-in-chief, managing editor and an editor will appear before the Sayeda Zeinab Misdemeanor's Court on Oct. 14. ANHRI objects to the fact that the newspaper didn't go through a fair trial before the Egyptian Higher Council for Journalism, a governmental body that oversees the licensing of private newspapers, announced the ban. "The prosecutor general has started investigations in the incident in Al-Balagh's newspaper report about homosexual male Egyptian actors in a sex party, but the Supreme Council of Press revoked the license of the paper on Oct. 5, irrespective of the outcome of the investigation. Even if the court found the newspaper at fault, the license revoking is not a stated legal penalty in press issues in Egypt, ANHRI explained. ANHRI noted in its statement that "even if Al-Balagh [.] was convicted of libel or otherwise, the administrative authorities have no right to jump to conclusions by revoking its license or closing it down. "This is a blatant assault on freedom of the press. ANHRI would accept convicting a reporter in a fair trial, but will certainly refuse such encroachments on newspapers' right to print. Newspaper issuance is primarily a public right before being a reporters' right. Galal Dweidar, secretary-general of the Supreme Press Council, said that their decision was not triggered by this "scandal. "There are many complaints about this newspaper, it has been accused of publishing incorrect information, libel and defamation [.] it's not only about this case but there are around 10 to 12 lawsuits against this newspaper, he said. According to Dweidar, Al-Balagh is considered a foreign newspaper because it carries an off-shore license, which makes it bound by the foreign publications law. They decided to ban it after a committee meeting attended by representatives from a number of parties, including the Ministry of Information.
