(HRinfo/IFEX) – The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) is highly concerned by the defamation claim filed by a feudal family against an academic, Dr. Sherin Abu El Naga, a political activist, Shahenda Mekled, and the owner of the Dar Merit Publishing House, Mohamed Hashem. HRinfo is also worried about the attempt to confiscate […]
(HRinfo/IFEX) – The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) is highly concerned by the defamation claim filed by a feudal family against an academic, Dr. Sherin Abu El Naga, a political activist, Shahenda Mekled, and the owner of the Dar Merit Publishing House, Mohamed Hashem. HRinfo is also worried about the attempt to confiscate a historical document issued in the form of a book.
Some of the employees of the feudal Aziz Al-Fiki family filed a defamation claim against the two writers and the publisher and demanded confiscation of the book titled “From the Papers of Shahenda Mekled” published by Dar Merit. Dr. Sherin Abu El Naga, the author of the book, recounted some of the feudal practices in Kamshich village, Menoufia Governorate, in the 1950s and 1960s. She documented the murder of Shahenda Mekled’s husband and political activist Salah Hussein in 1966. The book is considered an important historical document about this era. However, the Aziz Al-Fiki family’s members regarded the book as both defamatory and insulting because it discussed some of their violations against poor peasants at that time. Consequently, the Al-Fiki family filed a claim and called for the imprisonment of the two writers and the publisher in addition to confiscation of the book.
Some members of the above-mentioned family were previously convicted for committing several violations against peasants in Meet Shahala village, Menoufia Governorate, in mid-2005. The claim and consequent procedures were surrounded by suspicions and violations. Some Egyptian human rights organisations documented them in a press release on 20 July 2005.
“This claim is considered a serious threat to freedom of expression and an attempt to prevent the exchange of information on a critical incident in Egyptian history. The book documented the era before and after the revolution of July 1952 and the resistance against feudalism, which is apparently still practiced in Egypt up till now. We, Egyptians, should not keep watching while others are attempting to deprive us of our right to learn about major incidents in our history,” HRinfo Executive Director Gamal Eid said.
It is noteworthy that Dar Merit, the book’s publishing house, recently won the Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award in 2006. The award was given by the Association of American Publishers’ International Freedom to Publish Committee (IFTP) in appreciation of Dar Merit’s significant role in Egyptian cultural life and its ongoing commitment to defending freedom of expression under politically dangerous circumstances.
