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A new breach for the freedom of speech and expression
A "year in prison" for journalist Amira Malash
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7/3/2006
As a direct result of the government's unjustified reluctance to fulfill the president's promise to annul freedom restriction penalties in publication cases, Giza Criminal Court issued a verdict on Tuesday March 7th 2006 imprisoning Amira Malash, the Journalist at Al Fajr newspaper, for a year, in case number 1381 for the year 2006.
"The trial didn't take more than seven minutes, after which the court issued its verdict", said Nashaat Agha, the journalist's lawyer, to the Organization's representative.
The Public Prosecution Office received a report from Judge Ateya Mohamed Awad, accusing journalist Amira Malash of defaming and insulting him in her article published in Al Fajr newspaper, 6th issue dated July 9th 2005, entitled, "Clothes and 150000 L.E. as a bribe for the runaway Alexandria judge". Amira Malash attended investigations at the Public Prosecution Office on December 31st 2005, in the presence of a representative from the organization. She told the investigators that her article relied on the investigations of the State Security Prosecution authority in case number 696 for the year 2005.
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), while confirming its solid respect for the verdicts of the Egyptian judiciary, is once again calling upon the total respect for freedom of speech and expression, and is also expressing its anxiety regarding working by the laws penalizing such freedoms and applying imprisonment in publication cases. The organization is also anxious about the new verdicts restricting the freedom of journalists, and also investigating with others in publication cases, which leads to the restriction of press freedom in Egypt.
The Organization is also asking the president, once again, to fulfill his promise to annul imprisonment sentences in publication cases, and assign to the government the representation of a draft law to the People's Assembly to amend the current legislations which penalize journalists condemned with defaming and insult with imprisonment.
Accordingly, the organization is renewing its demands for the President to fulfill his promise to annul imprisonment sentence in publication cases, in order to protect the freedom of journalism and journalists, enacting the Constitution and the international laws protecting the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
EOHR also believes that applying fines is enough in publication cases especially that the right to respond in the same newspaper is granted to the injured in addition to filing a case in civil courts, and a fine should be applied if the journalist is proved guilty.
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