(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is a 1 March 2006 EOHR statement: EOHR demands the enactment of the presidential promise of annulling the imprisonment penalty in publication suits EOHR calls upon President Mubarak to fulfill the promise he made two years ago concerning the annulling of the imprisonment penalty in publication suits. The President should assign […]
(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is a 1 March 2006 EOHR statement:
EOHR demands the enactment of the presidential promise of annulling the imprisonment penalty in publication suits
EOHR calls upon President Mubarak to fulfill the promise he made two years ago concerning the annulling of the imprisonment penalty in publication suits. The President should assign to the government the task of presenting a draft law to the People’s Assembly to amend the current legislation which penalizes journalists condemned to imprisonment for defamation and insult crimes.
In February 2004, President Mubarak announced in the opening ceremony of the 4th Journalists Conference that he will abolish the imprisonment penalty in suits concerned with journalists and publication, currently covered under Law 96/1996, Articles 22, 21, 20, and 28, in addition to the Egyptian Penal Code Articles 307, 306, 303, 302, and 171.
EOHR expresses its anxiety concerning the continued application of laws that restrain freedom of opinion and expression and penalize with imprisonment. EOHR is also concerned by the recent court decisions to imprison journalists and to interrogate others in similar suits. Accordingly, EOHR calls upon President Mubarak to fulfill his promise, which constitutes a protection of freedom of expression and opinion in accordance with the Constitution and international agreements concerned with freedom of expression. EOHR believes that fines constitute a suitable penalty in publication suits, especially given that additional provisions for the injured party exist, including the right to respond in the same newspaper and the option to file a case in civil court, if it is found that the journalist is guilty.
It is worth mentioning that the Journalist Syndicate prepared a draft law concerned with this issue, and invited lawyers and journalists and those with legal expertise to discuss this draft law. The same people also participated in meetings organized by the Ministry of Justice to discuss the amendments presented by the Government. Unfortunately, all these efforts never yielded a law that abolished the imprisonment of journalists.
EOHR renews its demands to abolish all laws that restrain freedom of the press. EOHR declares its complete support to the demands of the Journalists Syndicate concerning the protection of journalists and empowering freedom of expression and human rights, in addition to establishing a mechanism of questioning and condemning those who hide information from journalists, whether they are governmental or public personnel, under the guise of upholding national security. EOHR also stresses the importance of access to information and of building an empowered and critical journalism profession throughout the syndicate, in accordance with the East Journalists Charter. As for media, a level of independence from the government should be maintained, stressing the need for maintaining neutrality by all forms of media, whether state-owned or private sector agencies.
