CAIRO: The public prosecutor released Ibrahim Eissa, chief editor of Al-Dostour independent daily newspaper, without bail, after a seven-hour interrogation, on Wednesday Sept. 5,
The editor of the independent Egyptian daily was summoned for questioning Sept. 3 over his paper’s coverage of the state of President Hosni Mubarak’s health.
Many journalists and representatives from several human rights organizations went to the prosecutor’s office to express their support for Eissa.
There were around 30 to 35 lawyers who volunteered to represent Eissa, according to Adel Ramadan, from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights Organization (EIPR), who is also one of Eissa’s lawyers.
Ramadan told Daily News Egypt that members from both the journalists and the lawyers syndicates attended the hearing, which lasted seven hours, along with some representatives from human rights organizations.
The case is not closed yet, said Ramadan.
He added that the prosecution has decided not to place Eissa under temporary arrest. He is a public figure whose address is known. [Also], no harm was inflicted on anyone to lead the prosecution to detain him temporarily.
Charges pressed against Eissa are based on two articles of the penal code, which Ramadan said are continuously abused by the government.
The first is Article 102, which stipulates that journalists can be punished by either a one-year jail sentence or a financial fine, maximum LE 300, if proven to have spread fake or false news or rumors to create national instability, according to Ramadan.
The second is Article 188 says that journalists can be detained for up to three years or fined a maximum of LE 50,000 if they publish fake or false information that causes panic and or public disturbance.
If the prosecution finds Eissa guilty, they can refer him to court according to one of these two articles.
Many have called for the removal of those two articles because they are “vague and unclear, and can be used against freedom of expression.
We are asking the prosecution to close the case and not refer it to court, because by doing this, we will be going backward. The case will not affect Eissa alone, but will be impact the press and the status of freedom of expression as a whole, Ramadan said.
For the past couple of weeks, rumors and speculation spread among Egyptians and in the media regarding Mubarak’s health. Some said he was hospitalized, others claimed he had traveled for medical treatment. But the most serious rumor circulated went as far as saying that the president had passed away.
Independent press indirectly implied that Mubarak’s health was deteriorating while state-run media reported regularly on his political engagements. Some rumors circulated via the Internet and by word-of-mouth claimed Mubarak was dead, forecasting impending chaos.
In an interview with the state-run daily paper Al-Ahram, last Friday, President Hosni Mubarak rebuffed the recent rumors that surfaced about his weakened health.
A few days later, First Lady Suzanne Mubarak spoke to the pan-Arab Al Arabiya news channel, affirming that the rumors about Mubarak s health were incorrect.
The first lady also condemned every one who has helped spread the rumor.
The Higher Press Council (HPC) had asked a special committee to review all articles published concerning the rumor about President Hosni Mubarak s health, according to Louis Greiss, journalist and member of the council.
On Tuesday, President Mubarak met King Abdallah of Jordan, Quartet Middle East Envoy Tony Blair and Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema in Alexandria to discuss a range of issues and finally debunk recent rumors about his health.
Mubarak was photographed walking into Ras El-Tin Palace in Alexandria to receive his visitors and was also pictured sitting with Abdallah and the former British prime minister as they discussed ways to relaunch the peace process.
