CAIRO - Egypt's Press Syndicate Sunday urged President Hosni Mubarak to release an opposition journalist who had been sentenced to two years in prison for infiltrating into the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip. "Since the President ordered the opening of the Rafah border crossing(late last month), we call on him, as the military ruler, to release Magdi Ahmed Hussein, who was aiming to support the Palestinian people in Gaza," a statement from the Press Syndicate read. The statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Gazette, added that Hussein had served more than three quarters of his jail term. "All members of the Press Syndicate unanimously call for Hussein' release, for human and health reasons," it added. Mubarak ordered the opening of the Rafah border crossing, the only point bypassing Israel, after an Israeli raid against an international aid flotilla killed nine activists. Hussein, 57, a vociferous opponent of the Egyptian government and editor-in-chief of the now-suspended Al-Shaab newspaper, was arrested on January, 31, 2009 at the Rafah border crossing upon his return from the Gaza Strip. On February, 11, 2009, he was brought before a military tribunal that and sentenced him to two years in prison and fined 5, 000 Egyptian pounds (900 dollars). He is currently in prison.
