CAIRO: As the Egyptian bloggers recently acquitted of libel and defamation of Alexandria Judge Abdel Fattah Murad welcomed the verdict, they also warned that their case demonstrates the risk of libel and defamation laws being used to silence activism in Egypt.
“Civil and criminal courts using legislation that s supposedly against libel, slander or hate speech may [prove] to be more dangerous than Mubarak s state security, military courts and even torture, Alaa Seif El-Islam told Daily News Egypt in an email interview.
Seif El-Islam, along with his wife Manal Bahy Eddin Hassan, and Gamal Eid, director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), were accused of libel and defamation by Murad in April 2007.
The charges stemmed from comments made during a court proceeding in a different case, also filed by Murad. In February 2007, Murad sued to block 51 websites that published allegations of copyright violations against one of his books. His charges against Seif El-Islam, Hassan, and Eid were based on testimony in the web-blocking case.
Both trials have resulted in losses for Murad. In December 2007, the Administrative Court ruled against Murad’s attempt to block the websites, citing Article 47 of the Egyptian Constitution that “freedom of expression is sacred. Murad’s appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court is set to resume on July 4, 2009.
On Dec. 31, 2008 the Dokki Court of Misdemeanors ruled in favor of Eid, Seif El-Islam, and Hassan in the libel and defamation case. Murad then appealed to the Court of Appeals, resulting in the June 29 ruling.
Seif El-Islam claimed to have expected the result, expressing surprise that the prosecutor launched an appeal after the Dec. 2008 decision. However he said that he had “no doubts about the verdict. The charges are after all ridiculous.
He expressed concern, however, that powerful individuals and corporations in Egypt may continue to use libel, defamation, or hate speech legislation as a means for punishing dissent. He pointed to the case of blogger Tamer Mabrouk, who was convicted of defamation after posting pictures on his blog of dangerous substances being dumped by into Manzallah Lake and Suez Canal.
Mabrouk was sued by his former employer the Trust Chemicals Company, and on May 27, 2009, the El-Zohour Appeal Court ordered him to pay the company LE 40,000 in civil compensation on top of the LE 2,500 fine issued at his first trial in January 2009.
The use of defamation laws poses a danger to political and other activists, according to Seif El-Islam.
“The mere fact that anyone can be dragged to prosecutor, police stations and court on the whims of a single corrupt but powerful person is reason enough to make many consider self censorship [sic], he said.
