Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Press syndicate appeals editor's sentence

The editor of the opposition newspaper Al Dustor, Ibrahim Eissa, has appealed a court sentence for a second time, according to the African News Agency(APA). Eissa was accused of spreading false rumors and endangering national stability after he published rumors that President Hosni Mubarak was in ill health and was being treated in a foreign hospital. The APA reported that the Egyptian press syndicate made the appeal on Eissa's behalf. A lower court originally sentenced him to six months.
Some argue that the Egyptian people are not ready for a completely free press and that a special regulator should be formed outside of the press syndicate to judge the actions of journalists.
The Egyptian government routinely suppresses press freedom through tactics such as prior restraint (an injuction of printing) or bringing charges against editors, as in the case of Eissa. Libel and slander law have not been developed significantly, and the Egyptian press often blurs the line between opinion pieces and journalism articles. Since there is little accountability and significant government control, Egyptian journalism has to be developed significantly to gain credibility.

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