Pressure is mounting on Egypt President Hosni Mubarak to implement the promise he made two years ago to initiate legislations to decriminalise press offences.
Freedom of expression organisations at the general meeting of the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) in Brussels on February 22 expressed deep concern about the failure of the Egyptian state to implement the promise Mubarak made two years ago to initiate legislation to decriminalise press offences.
On 23 February 2004, the Egyptian President had asked Galal Aref, secretary-general of the Egyptian Press Syndicate (EPS), to convey to the hundreds of journalist and writer members his commitment to enact legislations to end the imprisonment of journalists for press offences and bring Egypt closer to its obligation to abide by international standards for press freedom. Two years later, not only does this pledge, which prompted ephemeral hope among Egyptian journalists, remain unfulfilled, but journalists continue to be sentenced to prison, harassed and assaulted with impunity simply for doing their job, the IFEX member organisations said.
"The Egyptian parliament, largely controlled by the National Democratic Party (NDP) which you head, in 2005 promulgated new amendments to the 1956 Law on Political Rights introducing imprisonment and fines for publishing 'false information' on elections and on the behavior, or morality of candidates," they pointed out. These amendments, coupled with various attacks on the press and prison sentences handed down by the courts to reporters over the past two years, amounted to new assaults on the basic right to free expression, the organisations said.
"We urge you to act promptly, to fulfill your commitment to initiate new legislation ending the imprisonment of journalists for practicing their profession and to help Egypt to take significant steps toward compliance with the international standards for free expression, " the IFEX member organisations said.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), in a letter to Mubarak, said that laws which allow the jailing of journalists for exercising their professional rights are "a stain on the fabric of freedom" which should be removed immediately.
"We are concerned that three years after a solemn promise was made there is still no action by the government to remove legal obstacles to the exercise of free journalism," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "The entire community of journalists and free speech defenders in Egypt are saying that further delays are intolerable. Threats of imprisonment for journalists doing their job should be removed immediately."
The IFJ is supporting the Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate which on Febryary 22 – the second anniversary of the government's promise to remove the offensive legislation – reiterated its determination to press for a law that bans jail sentencing for journalists. This decision came after a meeting, chaired by EJS president Galal Aref, unanimously supported a draft a new law prepared by legal experts and supported by the syndicate, which has run into bureaucratic and political opposition within government circles.
"Our colleagues in Cairo are rightly concerned at statements by the Prime Minister which undermine attempts to put right the injustice of supporters of independent journalism and free speech facing jail," said White. "The time has come to end all prevarication and delay and to remove immediately this stain on the fabric of freedom in Egypt."
"The government's failure to deliver on its promise is bad news for journalism and for all citizens," said White. "That's why IFJ member unions around the world strongly support this call for the government to end the victimisation of journalists."
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also urged the President to keep his promise, and said, "Not only is your pledge unfulfilled two years later, but during this period journalists were sentenced to prison, harassed, and assaulted for doing their job.
"Indeed, the government has moved to add legal restrictions on the press. In June 2005, the parliament largely controlled by the ruling National Democratic Party passed amendments to the 1956 Law on Political Rights, introducing imprisonment and fines for publishing 'false information' about elections or the behaviour or morality of candidates. These amendments, together with attacks on the press and prison sentences handed down by courts, have had a chilling effect on the already beleaguered community of independent journalists in Egypt."
Prominent journalists and writers contributing to state-owned papers such as Al-Ahram and to emerging independent papers told CPJ after the release of its annual report, Attacks on the Press, on February 14, 2006, that opponents of the press remain entrenched and are extremely influential within the Egyptian state.
The decision to try Abdel Nasser al-Zuheiry, Alaa al-Ghatrifi, and Youssef al-Oumi, reporters for the independent mgazine Al Masry al-Youm (Egypt Today), for allegedly defaming former Minister of Housing Mohammed Ibrahim Suleiman in an August 2004 article serves as an example of the tremendous influence exerted by those opposed to press freedom in Egypt, CPJ said in the letter to Mubarak.
Ironically, a Cairo criminal appeals court the same day (as the letter was sent by CPJ) upheld the conviction and one-year prison sentence of al-Zuheiry. Al-Zuheiry had lodged the appeal along with his two colleagues at the paper who had been convicted for the same offence and also sentenced to a year in jail. The court overturned their convictions. It upheld fines of E?10,001 (US$1,743) for all three journalists.
"The impending imprisonment of our colleague Abdel Nasser al-Zuheiry makes a mockery of President Mubarak's pledge to do away with jail time for journalists," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. "It's a reminder that Egypt is a long way from recognizing some of the most basic international standards for a free press that say journalists should never be jailed for what they write."
Hisham Kassem, vice-president of the board of Al Masry al-Youm, said he was baffled by the ruling and said he feared al-Zuheiry would be arrested soon. Al-Zuheiry has moved into the offices of the Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate in order to avoid imprisonment. Al-Zuheiry's lawyer told CPJ he planned to refer the ruling to the Court of Cassation, the highest appeals court.
