(EOHR/IFEX) – According to EOHR, the first and second issues of “Alf Lela” have been confiscated and the newspaper has been banned from entering Egypt. “Alf Lela” is an art newspaper licensed in Cyprus, and is among foreign publications subject to the authority of the Censorship Department at the Ministry of Information. EOHR has learnt […]
(EOHR/IFEX) – According to EOHR, the first and second issues of “Alf Lela”
have been confiscated and the newspaper has been banned from entering Egypt.
“Alf Lela” is an art newspaper licensed in Cyprus, and is among foreign
publications subject to the authority of the Censorship Department at the
Ministry of Information. EOHR has learnt that the reason given for the first
confiscation, of the 12 August 1998 issue, was that it included political
articles. This reason was described by Ibrahim Eissa, the paper’s
editor-in-chief, to be invalid. Eissa said that the paper only commented on
a movie on Gamal Abdel Nasser (former president of Egypt), which is now
showing at many cinemas. Eissa added that the issue also included a story
that the late president Anwar Al-Sadat watched a film in a special
performance, and that this is not among prohibited subjects. The 19 August
1998 issue of the newspaper was confiscated without any reasons given.
It must be noted that the staff working in “Alf Lela” is the same staff that
worked for “Al-Dostour”, whose license to be printed and distributed in
Egypt was cancelled by the head of the Censorship Department of the Ministry
of Information on 26 February 1998. The cancellation was made in a verbal
decision, which made it impossible for “Al-Dostour” to file an
administrative challenge. It was associated with the dissatisfaction of
some officials and businessmen with an article in the 25 February 1998
issue, entitled “Terrorist groups threaten to kill the most important three
businessmen in Egypt.” The article was viewed as provoking sectarian strife
in Egypt (for more information on this case, see IFEX alerts of 30 and 2
March 1998).
EOHR calls on the Press Syndicate and all civil society institutions to
combine efforts to confront the continuous attacks on the freedom of the
press.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
of the press and a violation of freedom of opinion and expression
thought and
expression, and the freedom to receive and impart information as stated in
the Constitution and international human rights standards ratified by Egypt
Appeals To
His Excellency Mohammad Hosni Mubarak
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Oruba Palace
Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +202 260 5417 / 355 5700Ms. Nayla Gabr
The Human Rights Department
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Corniche al-Nil, Cairo, Egypt
Fax: +202 574 9808
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
